Manage snippets, skills, and MCP servers

Managed content is guidance or tooling Aura can offer to every selected coding application. Use a snippet for short shared instructions, a skill for a reusable workflow, and an MCP server for an external tool or data source.

Choose the right content type

Snippet

A Markdown fragment appended once to ~/agents/AGENTS.md. Aura records the installation but never rewrites or removes the installed text.

Skill

A reviewed directory rooted at SKILL.md. Aura installs one shared copy and links supported application skill directories to it.

MCP server

A credential-safe stdio or HTTP definition converged into selected applications’ global MCP configuration.

Add content

1. Open the focused picker.

   aura setup --add snippet
   aura setup --add skill
   aura setup --add mcp

2. Preview the content before selecting it. For skills, read the complete SKILL.md; for MCP, inspect the command or endpoint and every requested credential variable.

3. Review the final plan and apply it.

4. Verify the resulting application state.

   aura check

Credential safety

MCP definitions name environment variables, never credential values. A stdio transport lists variables such as GITHUB_TOKEN; an HTTP header uses a template such as Bearer ${GITHUB_TOKEN}. Aura rejects plain-text credentials in definitions it manages.

Do not store tokens in content

Never place credential values in a preset, plugin contribution, command argument, URL, header, skill, snippet, or compiled distribution. Set the named variable in the environment where the application runs.

What just happened?

Selections become desired state in ~/agents/aura.json. Snippets are install history; skills and MCP servers remain convergent desired state. Aura’s ownership ledger prevents removal of user-authored application configuration with the same file around it.

Common failures

Symptom	Cause	Fix
A skill is unavailable	Its source failed, was disallowed, or returned invalid content	Read the source note, restore access, and reopen the skill picker.
A changed skill is held	Every new tree hash requires interactive review	Run interactive aura setup --add skill and review the full definition.
An MCP credential is missing	A declared environment variable is unset	Follow the setup URL when provided, set the variable, and rerun setup.
An MCP server cannot target an app	The app is unmanaged, unsupported, or has no safe writer	Manage/update the app or select a supported application.

Next steps

Share repository contentOffer project-specific content from a committed .aura directory.

MCP catalog schemaAuthor credential-safe stdio and HTTP server definitions.