{
  "schema_version": 2,
  "title": "Waterfall Workshop",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-03",
  "summary": "A dated, evidence-backed catalog of models, coding surfaces, agent skills, and MCP servers for a Claude plus Codex workflow.",
  "ranking": {
    "as_of": "2026-09-03",
    "scope": "Waterfall fit for independent developers using Claude and Codex",
    "refresh_cadence": "weekly",
    "methodology": [
      "Fit for a recurring developer job",
      "Current benchmark, official-source, usage, or install evidence",
      "Permission, context, billing, and maintenance cost",
      "A clear negative case that explains when to leave the tool off"
    ],
    "signals": [
      {
        "name": "Agent Arena",
        "url": "https://arena.ai/leaderboard/agent/",
        "use": "Dated agent-task performance and cost evidence",
        "limit": "Its task mix and rank spreads do not settle every workflow"
      },
      {
        "name": "skills.sh",
        "url": "https://skills.sh/",
        "use": "Anonymous CLI install popularity for public skills",
        "limit": "Install volume is not task performance, code quality, or a security endorsement"
      },
      {
        "name": "MCP Registry",
        "url": "https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/",
        "use": "Canonical versioned MCP publishing metadata",
        "limit": "Registry presence is not a security endorsement"
      },
      {
        "name": "mcp.directory",
        "url": "https://mcp.directory/servers/leaderboard",
        "use": "Broad MCP discovery plus star, install, and view leaderboards",
        "limit": "Its default leaderboard ranks GitHub stars, not task fit, maintenance quality, or security"
      }
    ]
  },
  "audit": {
    "active_skills": 352,
    "unused_skills_removed": 84,
    "public_starter_skills": 3,
    "affiliate_links": 0
  },
  "principles": [
    "Choose for the task, not the logo.",
    "Treat rankings, pricing, and plan access as dated snapshots.",
    "One agent implements and another reviews when correctness matters.",
    "Keep optional tools off until their benefit exceeds their context, permission, and maintenance cost.",
    "Link third-party work to its source unless the exact artifact has a clear redistribution license.",
    "Never publish credentials, private paths, account identifiers, or personal workflow data."
  ],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "models",
      "title": "Models and model signals",
      "summary": "Use Arena for dated task evidence, vendor guides for current aliases, and OpenRouter for live routing metadata. No single rank settles every task.",
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "agent-arena",
          "ranking_eligible": false,
          "rank": null,
          "name": "Agent Arena",
          "publisher": "Arena",
          "url": "https://arena.ai/leaderboard/agent/",
          "role": "Start here when comparing agent models on real tool-using sessions.",
          "default_state": "reference",
          "evidence": "The 2026-08-30 snapshot covered 2.1M sessions and 55 models, with task completion, steerability, command recovery, hallucination, tokens, and median cost signals.",
          "avoid": "Do not read a one-place rank gap as decisive when rank spreads overlap. Arena reflects its own harness and task mix.",
          "access": "Free public leaderboard",
          "tags": ["benchmark", "agent", "volatile"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-30",
          "volatility": "daily",
          "refresh_cadence": "weekly"
        },
        {
          "id": "claude-opus-5-high",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 1,
          "name": "Claude Opus 5 High",
          "publisher": "Anthropic",
          "url": "https://code.claude.com/docs/en/model-config",
          "role": "Hard planning, architecture, ambiguous work, and the final review pass.",
          "default_state": "hard-work",
          "evidence": "Ranked first overall in the 2026-08-30 Agent Arena snapshot. Its rank spread overlapped other frontier entries, so treat it as a leading option rather than an uncontested winner.",
          "avoid": "Do not spend it on clear mechanical work or long unfiltered tool output.",
          "access": "Claude plan or API, subject to current limits",
          "tags": ["claude", "frontier", "planning", "review"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-30",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "weekly"
        },
        {
          "id": "claude-sonnet-5-high",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 3,
          "name": "Claude Sonnet 5 High",
          "publisher": "Anthropic",
          "url": "https://code.claude.com/docs/en/model-config",
          "role": "Daily Claude coding when Opus-level reasoning is unnecessary.",
          "default_state": "daily",
          "evidence": "Ranked eighth in the 2026-08-30 Agent Arena snapshot with a lower median cost per task than the Opus 5 entries.",
          "avoid": "Escalate when the task is dominated by product judgment, architecture, or repeated failed attempts.",
          "access": "Claude plan or API, subject to current limits",
          "tags": ["claude", "daily", "coding"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-30",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "weekly"
        },
        {
          "id": "gpt-5-6-sol-xhigh",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 2,
          "name": "GPT-5.6 Sol xHigh",
          "publisher": "OpenAI",
          "url": "https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/models",
          "role": "Complex, open-ended implementation and autonomous repository work.",
          "default_state": "hard-work",
          "evidence": "Ranked fourth in the 2026-08-30 Agent Arena snapshot and led its praise-versus-complaint signal. Median task cost was lower than the top Opus 5 entries in that snapshot.",
          "avoid": "Do not default to xHigh effort for routine tasks. Start lower and raise effort only when representative work justifies it.",
          "access": "Codex through eligible ChatGPT plans or API",
          "tags": ["codex", "frontier", "implementation"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-30",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "weekly"
        },
        {
          "id": "gpt-5-6-terra",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 4,
          "name": "GPT-5.6 Terra",
          "publisher": "OpenAI",
          "url": "https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/models",
          "role": "Everyday engineering where Sol would be unnecessary.",
          "default_state": "daily",
          "evidence": "OpenAI's current Codex guide positions Terra as the balanced everyday model. The 2026-08-30 Agent Arena snapshot also exposed a lower median task cost than Sol xHigh.",
          "avoid": "Escalate to Sol when the task is open-ended, high-risk, or repeatedly needs correction.",
          "access": "Codex through eligible ChatGPT plans or API",
          "tags": ["codex", "daily", "balanced"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "monthly"
        },
        {
          "id": "gpt-5-6-luna",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 6,
          "name": "GPT-5.6 Luna",
          "publisher": "OpenAI",
          "url": "https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/models",
          "role": "Clear, repeatable coding, bulk checks, and low-cost delegated work.",
          "default_state": "routine",
          "evidence": "OpenAI's current Codex guide positions Luna as fast and affordable. Agent Arena's 2026-08-30 xHigh snapshot showed a low median realized task cost, but also a lower overall rank than Sol and Terra.",
          "avoid": "Do not use a cheap rank or price as permission to skip verification on correctness-sensitive work.",
          "access": "Codex through eligible ChatGPT plans or API",
          "tags": ["codex", "fast", "routine"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "monthly"
        },
        {
          "id": "kimi-k3-max",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 5,
          "name": "Kimi K3 Max",
          "publisher": "Moonshot AI",
          "url": "https://platform.kimi.ai/",
          "role": "Independent value check when you want a third model outside the Claude and Codex pair.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "Ranked sixth overall and led confirmed success in the 2026-08-30 Agent Arena snapshot, with a lower median task cost than the top four entries.",
          "avoid": "Do not add a third provider unless the task or evaluation benefits from a genuinely independent result.",
          "access": "Provider plan or API",
          "tags": ["value", "third-opinion", "agent"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-30",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "weekly"
        },
        {
          "id": "openrouter-models-api",
          "ranking_eligible": false,
          "rank": null,
          "name": "OpenRouter Models API",
          "publisher": "OpenRouter",
          "url": "https://openrouter.ai/docs/api/api-reference/models/get-models",
          "role": "Live price, context, provider, privacy, throughput, and capability metadata for routing.",
          "default_state": "reference",
          "evidence": "The official API exposes current model IDs, pricing, supported parameters, providers, ZDR support, latency, throughput, and server-side sorting.",
          "avoid": "Popularity and token volume are adoption signals, not proof that a model completes your task well.",
          "access": "Public metadata, paid inference when routed",
          "tags": ["routing", "metadata", "openrouter"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "live",
          "refresh_cadence": "live"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "ides",
      "title": "IDEs, agents, and control rooms",
      "summary": "Editors, agent harnesses, and supervisory shells solve different problems. Pick one daily surface and add a control room only when parallel work earns the overhead.",
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "codex",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 1,
          "name": "Codex app and CLI",
          "publisher": "OpenAI",
          "url": "https://openai.com/index/introducing-the-codex-app/",
          "role": "OpenAI-first command center for parallel agents, worktrees, skills, review, and automations.",
          "default_state": "daily",
          "evidence": "The official app is designed around parallel agent work. The CLI is Apache-2.0 and is the direct terminal surface.",
          "avoid": "It is less editor-centric than a conventional IDE, and desktop app licensing should not be inferred from the CLI license.",
          "access": "Included with current ChatGPT plans at plan-dependent limits",
          "tags": ["agent-harness", "desktop", "cli", "openai"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "monthly"
        },
        {
          "id": "claude-code",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 2,
          "name": "Claude Code",
          "publisher": "Anthropic",
          "url": "https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code",
          "role": "Terminal-first deep repository pairing with IDE integrations and strong project instruction support.",
          "default_state": "daily",
          "evidence": "Official integrations cover VS Code, Cursor, other VS Code forks, and JetBrains. The repository publishes plugins and examples.",
          "avoid": "Claude Code is proprietary, and plan usage is shared with other Claude surfaces. API environment variables can switch billing paths.",
          "access": "Claude Pro, Max, organization plan, or API",
          "tags": ["agent-harness", "terminal", "anthropic"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "monthly"
        },
        {
          "id": "vscode",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 3,
          "name": "VS Code",
          "publisher": "Microsoft",
          "url": "https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/agents/run/agent-harnesses",
          "role": "Best neutral editor default when several agent harnesses must coexist.",
          "default_state": "daily",
          "evidence": "Official docs support local, Copilot, Claude, Codex, and cloud agent harnesses with handoffs. The cross-project Agents window remains Preview.",
          "avoid": "Authentication, plan access, and billing still vary by harness. Microsoft-branded binaries are not licensed exactly like Code - OSS source.",
          "access": "Free editor; optional paid agent services",
          "tags": ["editor", "multi-harness", "free"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "cursor",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 4,
          "name": "Cursor",
          "publisher": "Anysphere",
          "url": "https://cursor.com/docs",
          "role": "Polished commercial AI IDE with integrated agents, search, terminal, skills, MCP, CLI, and cloud work.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "Official docs put the agent loop inside the editor and expose a free Hobby tier alongside paid usage.",
          "avoid": "Service dependence and model usage can become expensive. Cloud agents require temporary encrypted repository retention.",
          "access": "Free tier plus paid plans",
          "tags": ["editor", "commercial", "cloud-agent"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "zed",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 5,
          "name": "Zed",
          "publisher": "Zed Industries",
          "url": "https://zed.dev/docs/ai/external-agents",
          "role": "Open-source editor and neutral ACP host for Claude, Codex, OpenCode, and other external agents.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "The editor works without AI or login and supports BYO keys and external agents on Free. Most editor source is GPL-3.0.",
          "avoid": "The extension ecosystem is smaller than VS Code, and external-agent feature parity varies.",
          "access": "Free editor; optional paid AI",
          "tags": ["editor", "open-source", "acp"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "opencode",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 6,
          "name": "OpenCode",
          "publisher": "Anomaly",
          "url": "https://github.com/anomalyco/opencode",
          "role": "Provider-neutral open-source coding agent with terminal and beta desktop surfaces.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "MIT-licensed, with more than 75 providers, local models, custom compatible endpoints, plan and build agents, and subagents.",
          "avoid": "Provider variability adds setup and debugging cost, and the desktop app is still beta.",
          "access": "Free software; inference costs are separate",
          "tags": ["agent-harness", "open-source", "provider-neutral"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "cline",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 7,
          "name": "Cline",
          "publisher": "Cline",
          "url": "https://github.com/cline/cline",
          "role": "Inspectable agent layer inside VS Code or JetBrains with explicit approval controls.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "Apache-2.0 extension, CLI, and SDK with provider choice, local models, and parallel task surfaces.",
          "avoid": "It is not a full editor, and unconstrained context or tool use can become expensive.",
          "access": "Free software; inference costs are separate",
          "tags": ["agent-harness", "extension", "open-source"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "aionui",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 8,
          "name": "AionUi",
          "publisher": "iOfficeAI",
          "url": "https://github.com/iOfficeAI/AionUi",
          "role": "Broad multi-agent and cowork shell over several CLI agents and non-coding assistants.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "Free Apache-2.0 desktop app with external CLI agents, remote access, and scheduling.",
          "avoid": "Full file access, remote channels, and unattended schedules increase the permission and security surface.",
          "access": "Free software; provider costs are separate",
          "tags": ["control-room", "multi-agent", "open-source"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "openchamber",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 9,
          "name": "OpenChamber",
          "publisher": "OpenChamber",
          "url": "https://github.com/openchamber/openchamber",
          "role": "Focused visual workbench for OpenCode sessions, diffs, terminals, worktrees, and multi-model runs.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "MIT-licensed desktop, web, PWA, and VS Code surfaces around OpenCode, including a multi-run workflow.",
          "avoid": "It is tightly coupled to OpenCode. Official repository and install docs currently disagree about whether desktop bundles OpenCode.",
          "access": "Free software; provider costs are separate",
          "tags": ["control-room", "opencode", "open-source"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "skills",
      "title": "Agent skills",
      "summary": "Install fewer skills and make them earn their context. Start with the three reviewed Waterfall skills, then add source-pinned vendor skills for recurring work.",
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "skill-next",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 1,
          "name": "next",
          "publisher": "Waterfall Workshop",
          "url": "/workshop/skills/next/SKILL.md",
          "role": "Inspect a project's real state, present grounded next-step choices, and stop for the user to choose.",
          "default_state": "daily",
          "evidence": "The private version was read 47 times in the audited local history. This public edition removes personal names and host-specific assumptions.",
          "avoid": "Do not use it when the user already chose a task or explicitly wants the agent to decide and execute.",
          "access": "Free in this repository",
          "tags": ["waterfall", "planning", "public-sanitized"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "low",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "skill-research-report",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 2,
          "name": "research-report",
          "publisher": "Waterfall Workshop",
          "url": "/workshop/skills/research-report/SKILL.md",
          "role": "Run current research with primary sources, dated claims, explicit uncertainty, and no fabricated gaps.",
          "default_state": "daily",
          "evidence": "The pattern repeatedly produced durable project research. The public edition removes personal files and workflow references.",
          "avoid": "Do not invoke a full research process for a stable fact already supported by current project evidence.",
          "access": "Free in this repository",
          "tags": ["waterfall", "research", "public-sanitized"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "low",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "skill-waterfall",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 3,
          "name": "waterfall",
          "publisher": "Waterfall Workshop",
          "url": "/workshop/skills/waterfall/SKILL.md",
          "role": "Route self-contained routine work to a cheaper model while keeping secrets and context-heavy work with the primary agent.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "Built from the project's live classifier, cascade fallback, response cache, and savings ledger workflow.",
          "avoid": "Do not route a bare existing-file edit, secret, architecture decision, or task whose verification costs more than doing it directly.",
          "access": "Free skill; routed inference may cost money",
          "tags": ["waterfall", "routing", "cost-control"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "gstack",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 4,
          "name": "gstack",
          "publisher": "Garry Tan and contributors",
          "url": "https://github.com/garrytan/gstack",
          "role": "Opinionated planning, review, QA, and shipping workflows, including high-use ship and land-and-deploy skills.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "The local audit recorded 123 reads for land-and-deploy and 29 for ship.",
          "avoid": "The workflow is large and opinionated. Read the selected skill completely and expect repository changes when invoking shipping skills.",
          "access": "Public source; check repository license and release",
          "tags": ["workflow", "ship", "review", "upstream"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "monthly"
        },
        {
          "id": "repos-chat-skills",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 5,
          "name": "repos.chat skills",
          "publisher": "repos.chat",
          "url": "https://github.com/adamtpang/repos.chat",
          "role": "Search and compare public GitHub repositories using explicit repository evidence.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "The repos-chat skill was read 68 times in the audited local history and already has a public upstream source.",
          "avoid": "Do not treat stars or README claims as proof of fit without inspecting the actual repository.",
          "access": "Public source",
          "tags": ["repositories", "research", "upstream"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "skills-sh",
          "ranking_eligible": false,
          "rank": null,
          "name": "skills.sh",
          "publisher": "Vercel Labs",
          "url": "https://skills.sh/",
          "role": "Discover and install public agent skills across supported hosts.",
          "default_state": "reference",
          "evidence": "The MIT-licensed CLI publishes anonymous install telemetry and can install individual skills or unlisted packs across supported hosts.",
          "avoid": "Its leaderboard measures install popularity, not task performance or safety. Packs are unlisted rather than access-controlled. Inspect every included skill before installing.",
          "access": "Free discovery and CLI",
          "tags": ["registry", "discovery", "skills"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "mcp-security-audit-skill",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 6,
          "name": "MCP security audit",
          "publisher": "GitHub",
          "url": "https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/blob/main/skills/mcp-security-audit/SKILL.md",
          "role": "Review MCP configurations for exposed secrets, command injection, unpinned packages, and unapproved servers.",
          "default_state": "pilot",
          "evidence": "The exact skill is maintained in GitHub's MIT-licensed awesome-copilot repository. The skills.sh CLI reported about 1,000 installs when checked on 2026-09-03, which is popularity evidence only.",
          "avoid": "It overlaps broad security-review skills and cannot certify an MCP server as safe. Run it when MCP configuration changes, then verify findings against source and policy.",
          "access": "Free and MIT-licensed",
          "tags": ["mcp", "security", "github", "pilot"],
          "checked_at": "2026-09-03",
          "source_date": "2026-09-03",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "vercel-agent-skills",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 7,
          "name": "Vercel agent-skills",
          "publisher": "Vercel",
          "url": "https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills",
          "role": "Source-pinned frontend, React, and web quality skills with an explicit MIT license.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "Official vendor collection with immutable releases and per-skill artifacts.",
          "avoid": "Install only skills that match the stack. A large vendor bundle still adds discovery and maintenance noise.",
          "access": "Free and MIT-licensed",
          "tags": ["frontend", "vendor", "open-source"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "awesome-copilot",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 8,
          "name": "awesome-copilot",
          "publisher": "GitHub",
          "url": "https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot",
          "role": "Broad coding-oriented collection of skills, instructions, prompts, and agents.",
          "default_state": "reference",
          "evidence": "Official GitHub collection under MIT. GitHub explicitly advises inspecting skills before installation because they can run commands and modify code.",
          "avoid": "Do not bulk-install the collection. Curate individual entries against actual recurring work.",
          "access": "Free and MIT-licensed",
          "tags": ["github", "collection", "open-source"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "anthropic-skills",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 9,
          "name": "Anthropic skills",
          "publisher": "Anthropic",
          "url": "https://github.com/anthropics/skills",
          "role": "Official examples and task skills for Claude-compatible hosts.",
          "default_state": "reference",
          "evidence": "Official source with several useful document and workflow examples.",
          "avoid": "Licensing varies by directory and some document-processing skills are source-available rather than open source. Link individual skills and verify their exact license.",
          "access": "Public source with per-skill license checks required",
          "tags": ["anthropic", "collection", "link-only"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "open-agent-skills-spec",
          "ranking_eligible": false,
          "rank": null,
          "name": "Open Agent Skills specification",
          "publisher": "Agent Skills contributors",
          "url": "https://agentskills.io/specification",
          "role": "Format baseline for portable SKILL.md packages.",
          "default_state": "reference",
          "evidence": "Open specification with Apache-2.0 code and CC-BY-4.0 documentation.",
          "avoid": "Format compatibility does not make a skill safe, correct, or portable across every host tool name.",
          "access": "Free specification",
          "tags": ["specification", "portable", "skills"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "mcps",
      "title": "MCP servers",
      "summary": "Every MCP server adds tools, permissions, context, and another update surface. Start read-only, scope narrowly, and keep credentials outside published configuration.",
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "mcp-registry",
          "ranking_eligible": false,
          "rank": null,
          "name": "MCP Registry and specification",
          "publisher": "Model Context Protocol",
          "url": "https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/",
          "role": "Canonical metadata and protocol reference for finding and checking MCP servers.",
          "default_state": "reference",
          "evidence": "The official Registry exposes versioned publishing metadata and an API. The current Registry remains Preview.",
          "avoid": "Registry presence is not a security endorsement. Verify ownership, version, source, license, permissions, and advisories yourself.",
          "access": "Free public registry and specification",
          "tags": ["registry", "specification", "preview"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-07-28",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "weekly"
        },
        {
          "id": "mcp-directory",
          "ranking_eligible": false,
          "rank": null,
          "name": "mcp.directory",
          "publisher": "mcp.directory",
          "url": "https://mcp.directory/about",
          "role": "Browse a broad community directory before verifying candidates against official source and registry metadata.",
          "default_state": "reference",
          "evidence": "Its exact statistics page reported 2,303 MCP servers and 9,291 skills on 2026-09-03, while the homepage advertised more than 3,000 servers. Its server leaderboard exposes GitHub-star, install, and view tabs.",
          "avoid": "The site currently reports inconsistent server totals. Its default leaderboard ranks GitHub stars, not security, maintenance quality, or fit for your task.",
          "access": "Free public directory",
          "tags": ["directory", "discovery", "community"],
          "checked_at": "2026-09-03",
          "source_date": "2026-09-03",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "weekly"
        },
        {
          "id": "github-mcp",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 1,
          "name": "GitHub MCP Server",
          "publisher": "GitHub",
          "url": "https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server",
          "role": "Repository, issue, pull request, and code-hosting operations through an official server.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "Official GitHub server under MIT with configurable toolsets and read-only mode.",
          "avoid": "Do not expose a broad personal access token or enable write toolsets for read-only research.",
          "access": "Free software; GitHub account and permissions apply",
          "tags": ["github", "official", "read-only-first"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "filesystem-mcp",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 5,
          "name": "Filesystem reference server",
          "publisher": "Model Context Protocol",
          "url": "https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers/blob/main/src/filesystem/README.md",
          "role": "Learn MCP file operations inside one disposable workshop directory.",
          "default_state": "reference",
          "evidence": "Steering-group reference implementation. The filesystem package is MIT and intended as an example.",
          "avoid": "Reference servers are not production guarantees. Never expose a home directory, credential folder, or unrestricted filesystem root.",
          "access": "Free reference implementation",
          "tags": ["filesystem", "reference", "sandbox"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "firecrawl-mcp",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 2,
          "name": "Firecrawl MCP Server",
          "publisher": "Firecrawl",
          "url": "https://github.com/firecrawl/firecrawl-mcp-server",
          "role": "Search, scrape, and structure public web sources for research and site analysis.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "Official MIT server and a recurring tool in the local audit, with 56 observed custom MCP calls.",
          "avoid": "Scraped text is untrusted input. Keep credentials in secret storage and do not use it to bypass access controls.",
          "access": "Open-source server; hosted usage may cost money",
          "tags": ["web", "research", "official"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "neon-mcp",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 3,
          "name": "Neon MCP Server",
          "publisher": "Neon",
          "url": "https://github.com/neondatabase/mcp-server-neon",
          "role": "Manage and inspect Neon Postgres projects with an official database-specific server.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "Official MIT server with OAuth and read-only options. The local audit recorded 10 custom MCP calls.",
          "avoid": "Use synthetic data and an ephemeral branch. Read-only mode does not replace a database role with read-only privileges.",
          "access": "Free software; Neon plan limits apply",
          "tags": ["database", "postgres", "official", "read-only-first"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "context7-mcp",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 4,
          "name": "Context7 MCP",
          "publisher": "Upstash",
          "url": "https://github.com/upstash/context7",
          "role": "Fetch version-specific public library documentation during API and configuration work.",
          "default_state": "pilot",
          "evidence": "The official MIT-licensed server exposes two focused tools for resolving a library and querying its documentation. Its published server metadata supports a hosted HTTP endpoint with an optional API key.",
          "avoid": "Remote documentation is still untrusted context and may be incomplete. Enable it only for current library work, and prefer local source or official docs when already available.",
          "access": "Hosted remote server or self-hosted MIT source; optional account limits apply",
          "tags": ["documentation", "libraries", "remote", "pilot"],
          "checked_at": "2026-09-03",
          "source_date": "2026-09-03",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "monthly"
        },
        {
          "id": "postgres-mcp",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 6,
          "name": "Microsoft Postgres MCP",
          "publisher": "Microsoft",
          "url": "https://github.com/microsoft/postgres-mcp",
          "role": "Generic PostgreSQL access when a vendor-specific server is unnecessary.",
          "default_state": "pilot",
          "evidence": "Microsoft-maintained MIT server with read-only access mode and keyring profiles.",
          "avoid": "It is new and was not found in the live Registry search during this audit. Require both read-only mode and a restricted database role.",
          "access": "Free and MIT-licensed",
          "tags": ["database", "postgres", "pilot"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "high",
          "refresh_cadence": "monthly"
        },
        {
          "id": "obsidian-rest-mcp",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 7,
          "name": "Obsidian Local REST API MCP",
          "publisher": "Community",
          "url": "https://github.com/coddingtonbear/obsidian-local-rest-api",
          "role": "Local Obsidian access through a community plugin with a built-in MCP endpoint.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "MIT community plugin. Its built-in local MCP endpoint can remove the need for an extra wrapper.",
          "avoid": "It is not official Obsidian software. Use a duplicate synthetic vault, loopback access, and no published API key or vault name.",
          "access": "Free and MIT-licensed",
          "tags": ["notes", "community", "local"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        },
        {
          "id": "obsidian-mcp-fallback",
          "ranking_eligible": true,
          "rank": 8,
          "name": "Obsidian MCP Server",
          "publisher": "cyanheads",
          "url": "https://github.com/cyanheads/obsidian-mcp-server",
          "role": "Fallback wrapper when a client cannot consume the Obsidian plugin's local HTTP endpoint.",
          "default_state": "optional",
          "evidence": "Apache-2.0 community server with an active Registry record and read-only controls.",
          "avoid": "Prefer the simpler built-in endpoint when it works. Use explicit path allowlists and read-only mode.",
          "access": "Free and Apache-2.0",
          "tags": ["notes", "community", "fallback"],
          "checked_at": "2026-08-31",
          "source_date": "2026-08-31",
          "volatility": "medium",
          "refresh_cadence": "quarterly"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}