All four of these come up constantly in AI circles in 2026, but people use them interchangeably in ways that don't hold up. This deck untangles what each one actually means, how they differ, and how they relate to each other.
An open protocol that lets AI talk to external tools and data in one standard way, everywhere
JSON-RPC 2.0, and servers expose 3 core primitives: Tools, Resources, PromptsThe client side has its own primitives too, like sampling and elicitationA filesystem server (reads/writes local files), the Sentry MCP server (error tracking/monitoring), Google Drive, GitHub, various databases — these are servers that any host can call into
Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, VS Code, and Cursor all now support MCP as a host. This is a sign that MCP has genuinely become a cross-vendor standard — not something owned by Anthropic alone anymore
A bundle of instructions/knowledge wrapped in a folder, which Claude "reaches for" only when it's actually needed
SKILL.md file at its core, plus optional scripts, templates, or other supporting filesSKILL.md has 2 parts: YAML frontmatter (a name + short description) and Markdown content (the detailed how-to)SKILL.md for more detailLike opening the one relevant chapter of a manualA Skill for reading/editing PDFs that ships with a Python script to extract form data directly — Claude can just call that script instead of writing the code from scratch every time
A Skill is an application-level mechanism, not a cross-system open standard like MCP — it's how Claude (and Claude Code) manages its own extra capabilities
"Plugin" isn't a fixed standard like MCP — different platforms use this word differently
/plugin installA Plugin = Skill + Connector + Sub-agent wrapped together, sometimes with a local MCP server attached, which runs with the same permissions as any other program on your machine — so only install from sources you trust
Comparable to a VS Code extension or a Dify plugin — an "add-on that extends the core platform's capability" — though the technical details differ from system to system
A ready-made connection to a real app, letting Claude read and act on your data — with MCP running underneath
Connect Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive, then let Claude search email, manage your calendar, or edit documents without ever leaving the chat window
On Team/Enterprise plans, an admin (Owner) has to enable a Connector at the account level first before individual team members can authenticate and use it themselves
| Term | What it is (short) | Who defines it | Examples | When to know it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCP | An open protocol connecting AI to tools/data | Originated by Anthropic, now stewarded by the Agentic AI Foundation (Linux Foundation) | Filesystem server, Sentry MCP server | When you want to understand how the "plumbing" behind connecting AI to other systems actually works |
| Skill | A bundle of knowledge/scripts in SKILL.md that Claude invokes as needed | Anthropic + users can write their own | PDF skill, the booaibootcamp-blog skill | When you want Claude to get better at a repeated task without re-explaining it every time |
| Plugin | A package bundling several things (Skill + Connector + MCP server, etc.) installed in one shot | Defined differently per platform (Claude, Claude Code, formerly ChatGPT) | A Claude plugin bundling a Skill+Connector, a Claude Code plugin from a marketplace | When you want a ready-made capability set without configuring each piece separately |
| Connector | A ready-made connection to a real app, via claude.ai's settings page | Anthropic + individual app partners | Google Drive, Gmail, Slack, GitHub | When you want Claude to read/act on your real data in an app you already use every day |
A live 1-day workshop (10:00–16:00) — hands-on build of a real AI Agent + Workflow you can use right after class, no coding background needed
Chiang Mai rounds July 17–18 & 24–25, 2026 · Early Bird from ฿7,599 · Bangkok round August 2026
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