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A skill teaches an AI assistant how to carry out a repeatable workflow. An MCP server makes tools and service-backed capabilities available to it. A plugin packages capabilities—such as skills, MCP servers, and connected apps—into an installable experience. They solve different problems and can be used together.
What is a skill?
A skill is reusable workflow guidance: instructions and supporting resources that explain when to follow a process, what steps to take, and what a successful result should contain. It may include a SKILL.md file, reference material, scripts, templates, or assets. OpenAI describes a skill as providing “the workflow around its tools: when to call them, in what order, how to handle incomplete results, and what the final output should contain” (OpenAI Developers: Skills – Plugins).
A skill does not inherently connect to an external service. It can guide a workflow using instructions and tools already available, or it can teach the assistant how to combine tools exposed by an MCP server.
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An MCP server exposes tools, schemas, and connections to services or infrastructure. Depending on the integration, those capabilities can provide live information, structured results, authentication, or controlled actions. OpenAI summarizes the role this way: “An MCP server provides live information and controlled actions” (OpenAI Developers: Skills – Plugins).
The server supplies capabilities; it does not necessarily include the workflow instructions for using them to complete a familiar goal. A skill can provide those instructions. For example, an MCP server might make a service’s search or update tools available, while a skill explains the sequence and decision rules for handling a particular task.
“MCP connector” is not established in the reviewed OpenAI documentation as one stable product category across every surface. People may use the phrase to mean an MCP server, a connected app, or another integration that exposes external capabilities. Check the product’s documentation to see which one it actually refers to.
What is a plugin?
A plugin is a package and distribution layer, not another name for a skill or server. OpenAI describes plugins as “the packages people discover, install, share, and publish in ChatGPT and Codex” (OpenAI Developers: Plugin architecture – Plugins).
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How connected apps fit in
An app is a connection between ChatGPT and an external service. OpenAI’s Help Center explains: “An app connects ChatGPT to an external service, such as Google Drive or Slack, so it can access information or perform supported actions” (OpenAI Help Center: Plugins in ChatGPT and Codex).
Apps and MCP servers are both ways external capabilities may become available, but they are not interchangeable labels for every integration. An app-backed capability remains subject to its own authorization, user permissions, workspace controls, and provider access. A plugin cannot grant access to information beyond what the user or administrator-managed connection permits.
Skills vs MCP servers vs plugins at a glance
| Need | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Provide a repeatable procedure, format, or decision process using tools already available | Skill | It packages workflow instructions and can include supporting resources. |
| Expose service-backed tools, live data, authentication, or controlled actions | MCP server or connected app | It provides external capabilities, subject to applicable access controls. |
| Make a bundle discoverable and installable, or distribute guidance alongside external tools | Plugin | It can package skills, MCP servers, connected apps, and optional UI. |
Which one should you use?
- Start with the workflow. If the assistant needs consistent instructions for a task and its existing tools are sufficient, create or use a skill.
- Add an MCP server or connected app when the task needs external capabilities. Examples include service-backed information or supported actions that are not available from the assistant’s existing tools.
- Use a plugin when people need a packaged experience. A plugin can distribute the skill and external capabilities together rather than asking users to assemble them separately.
OpenAI’s plugin architecture recommends starting with the smallest shape that supports the use case, then adding capabilities as needed (OpenAI Developers: Plugin architecture – Plugins). In practical terms, do not build a plugin merely to describe a workflow; do not expect a skill alone to create an external-service connection.
Availability and access vary
Installation choices, directory visibility, and supported product surfaces can vary by plan, role, region, workspace, and product. A plugin may prompt for a separate app connection or provider authorization, and workspace administrators may control access. Skills may also be managed separately across ChatGPT and Codex. Check the relevant product and workspace settings before assuming a capability is available (OpenAI Help Center: Plugins in ChatGPT and Codex; OpenAI Help Center: Skills in ChatGPT; OpenAI Developers: Quickstart – Plugins).
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