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Use skills in Codex and Claude Code

Glyphs MCP ships a small bundle of workflow skills in skills/. They help agents use Glyphs MCP tools with better defaults for connection checks, kerning, spacing, and outline editing.

Prerequisites​

Before using the skills:

  • Glyphs MCP must be running in Glyphs
  • your client must be connected to http://127.0.0.1:9680/mcp/
  • you must either open this repository in the client or install the bundled skills globally

If you still need to connect your client, start with Connect a client.

Two install paths​

You can use the same bundled glyphs-mcp-* skills in two ways:

  • Repo-local: open this repository and let the client discover the repo-owned skills directly.
  • Global install: use the Glyphs MCP installer to copy the bundled skills into the client’s global skills directory.

Repo-local discovery​

The authored source of truth lives in skills/.

The repo exposes the same skills to each client through a client-specific bridge:

  • Codex reads .agents/skills
  • Claude Code reads .claude/skills

If you update the repo and do not see the latest skills immediately, reload the workspace or restart the client.

Repo-local in Codex​

  1. Open this repository in Codex and trust the workspace.
  2. Add the local Glyphs MCP server if you have not already:
codex mcp add glyphs-mcp-server --url http://127.0.0.1:9680/mcp/
codex mcp list
  1. Start Glyphs and confirm the server is running in Edit -> Glyphs MCP Server Status....
  2. Pick the narrowest useful tool profile before you begin.
  3. Explicitly invoke a skill when you want a guided workflow:
Use $glyphs-mcp-connect to verify my Glyphs MCP setup, call list_open_fonts, and tell me which font_index to use next.

Repo-local in Claude Code​

  1. Open this repository in Claude Code.
  2. Add the local Glyphs MCP server if you have not already:
claude mcp add --scope user --transport http glyphs-mcp http://127.0.0.1:9680/mcp/
claude mcp list
  1. Restart or reload Claude Code if the server or repo skills do not appear immediately.
  2. Run /mcp if you want to confirm the server is available.
  3. Ask for the skill by name:
Use the glyphs-mcp-connect skill to verify my Glyphs MCP setup, call list_open_fonts, and tell me which font_index to use next.

Global install​

Use this when you want the bundled Glyphs MCP skills available without opening the repo.

  1. Run the installer from the repo root:
python3 install.py

For scripted dev installs, use the explicit CLI mode instead of prompts. Example:

python3 install.py --non-interactive --python-mode glyphs --plugin-mode link --install-skills --skills-target codex --overwrite-plugin --overwrite-skills --skip-client-guidance
  1. In the terminal installer or macOS installer app, enable Install Glyphs MCP agent skills for Codex and/or Claude Code.
  2. The installer copies the bundled glyphs-mcp-* skills into:
    • ~/.codex/skills/
    • ~/.claude/skills/
  3. Reload or restart Codex / Claude Code after installation.
  4. Ask for the skill by name:
Use the glyphs-mcp-connect skill to verify my Glyphs MCP setup, call list_open_fonts, and tell me which font_index to use next.
Advanced Codex-only option

Codex can also install individual skills with its built-in $skill-installer, but the primary Glyphs MCP workflow is either repo-local discovery or the Glyphs MCP installer’s global skill bundle.

Available skills​

SkillUse it forExample prompt
glyphs-mcp-connectStart-up checks, endpoint verification, and first health checksUse the glyphs-mcp-connect skill to verify my setup and call list_open_fonts.
glyphs-mcp-kerningReview kerning bumper suggestions and apply approved changesUse the glyphs-mcp-kerning skill to review kerning collisions and do a dry run first.
glyphs-mcp-spacingReview spacing suggestions and apply approved changesUse the glyphs-mcp-spacing skill to review spacing for the selected glyphs and do a dry run first.
glyphs-mcp-outlines-docsOutline edits, components, anchors, selected nodes, and docs lookupUse the glyphs-mcp-outlines-docs skill to inspect selected nodes, prefer dedicated tools, and fetch only the docs pages I need.

Best practices​

  • Choose the narrowest useful Glyphs MCP tool profile first.
  • Read current state before changing anything.
  • Prefer dedicated tools over free-form code.
  • Use dry runs before apply steps.
  • Never auto-save the font unless a human explicitly asks for it.
  • Prefer docs_search plus docs_get instead of loading broad documentation into context.