build-mcp-app
Installation
SKILL.md
Build an MCP App (Interactive UI Widgets)
An MCP app is a standard MCP server that also serves UI resources — interactive components rendered inline in the chat surface. Build once, runs in Claude and ChatGPT and any other host that implements the apps surface.
The UI layer is additive. Under the hood it's still tools, resources, and the same wire protocol. If you haven't built a plain MCP server before, the build-mcp-server skill covers the base layer. This skill adds widgets on top.
When a widget beats plain text
Don't add UI for its own sake — most tools are fine returning text or JSON. Add a widget when one of these is true:
| Signal | Widget type |
|---|---|
| Tool needs structured input Claude can't reliably infer | Form |
| User must pick from a list Claude can't rank (files, contacts, records) | Picker / table |
| Destructive or billable action needs explicit confirmation | Confirm dialog |
| Output is spatial or visual (charts, maps, diffs, previews) | Display widget |
| Long-running job the user wants to watch | Progress / live status |