A workspace in Aiola is one project, with its own local MCP configuration and project skill folders. The skill catalog also includes sources from installed providers. Workspace-local discovery and chat startup depend on the selected workspace.
Why keep skills on one project?
Workspace MCP settings apply to the active repository. Skills combine provider sources with the selected project's .agents/skills and .claude/skills folders. Selecting a workspace determines which repository supplies that local context.
Central Skills uses the same page implementation as workspace Skills. It is a shared surface whose workspace-local discovery depends on context. Starting a chat from Central requires a target workspace.
Use /central/skills when you start from Central, because that item is the default. Open /skills inside a project for the direct workspace route. That path is not a default workspace item. The Skills documentation lists both routes and their workspace behavior.
Which CLIs contribute skills?
Claude Code contributes user plugins and marketplace plugins. Cursor contributes installed skills, including its built-in skills. OpenCode contributes the skill catalog for the current workspace. Codex contributes global and system skill directories, plus the Codex plugin cache. Grok contributes global skills and bundled CLI skills.
Project skills are read from .agents/skills and from .claude/skills. Those paths belong to the repository you have open. They show up in the same catalog as the CLI sources.
Skills from providers you have not installed are hidden. Search and filters work on the combined catalog, including workspace folders.
Search looks across the combined catalog rather than inside one folder. A provider filter limits the list to one CLI, such as Cursor or Claude. Category filters narrow the same combined catalog even further.
How do you edit a skill?
A skill is a reusable bundle of instructions for chats and agents. Open one to inspect the files and the instructions inside it. You can create, edit, or delete a skill you own. A created skill is written to the selected provider's native directory.
Grok bundled skills stay read-only in the catalog. Create a separate skill when you want to customize one of them.
How does a chat pick up a skill?
Use a skill's chat action to open a draft that already has the skill attached. On the central skills page, choose the target workspace before you continue. That choice gives the chat repository, file, and workspace-local skill context. On the workspace route, the active workspace is already selected for you.
Two sources can expose the same skill ID. Aiola then applies provider and workspace precedence to those copies. You see the winning definition in the catalog.
How do MCP servers attach to one workspace?
Workspace MCP Servers holds the local MCP configuration for the active repository. Read Hosted MCP for the connector that is kept separate from this list. The table below compares scope, settings, configuration, and availability. Local server configuration belongs to Workspace Settings; hosted MCP configuration belongs to Central Settings.
| Property | Workspace MCP | Hosted MCP |
|---|---|---|
| Settings | Workspace Settings, then MCP Servers | Central Settings, then MCP |
| Scope | One workspace | All projects available to the signed-in account |
| Configuration | Local stdio or HTTP entries | https://aiola.app/api/mcp |
| Availability | Depends on the local workspace and the desktop app | Remote, always-online service |
Hosted MCP needs Pro or the 7-day trial. Only a first-time Pro Monthly customer can start that trial. You need a card before the trial can start.
What happens after you add a server?
Select Add server and enter the server name in the form. The form also asks for one configuration object written as valid JSON. A duplicate server name is rejected, so pick a different name.
For HTTP, set type to http and url to the server address. The documented example uses https://example.com/mcp. For stdio, set type to stdio, then supply command and an args list. The example uses npx with -y and example-mcp-server as arguments. Replace the example address or command arguments with your server configuration.
Use the row toggle when you want to enable or disable a server. Third-party rows include a Remove server action on the row. The built-in Aiola entry cannot be deleted from its row. Expand only an enabled row to connect and discover its tools. The expanded row reports progress, available tools, an empty result, or a connection error.
When does the local bridge install?
Aiola normally installs its project-bound bridge when workspace onboarding completes. That entry is bound to the current workspace and does not ask you to pick a project. If no servers are configured, choose Install Aiola in the empty state. When other servers exist and the built-in entry is absent, choose Install Aiola MCP Server in the page header.
Both actions install or reconfigure the local workspace bridge. Neither action installs the hosted connector.
The bridge script lives at <workspace>/.aiola/mcp-server.mjs. Installation generates the script and client entries. Claude Code receives its entry in <workspace>/.mcp.json. Cursor receives the entry in <workspace>/.cursor/mcp.json, with approval through cursor-agent mcp enable aiola.
In production, the command uses Aiola Desktop's Electron executable with ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1. Aiola writes absolute executable, script, and session-file paths, then refreshes the entry on launch. Codex receives the command, arguments, and environment through a generated TOML entry in a per-workspace CODEX_HOME.
GUI Lifetime hides the Aiola bridge row and its install action on this page. Third-party workspace MCP servers remain available while that row is hidden. Your added servers can still be stdio or HTTP entries.
Try it in Aiola
Download Aiola version 2.0.8 for macOS 12 or later and Windows 10 or later. The desktop app is a free download, and Linux is not offered. You bring your own Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Grok CLI, OpenCode, and Antigravity subscriptions. Aiola does not add a markup on those tokens.
