nitan_skill

Overview

This skill provides a thin bridge to a locally running Nitan MCP stdio server for interacting with uscardforum.com. It relies on the MCP server started via npx (or installed globally) and uses the server's JSON-RPC tools for search, read, monitoring, and optional posting workflows. The skill avoids reimplementing forum logic and delegates all data access to the running MCP tools.

How this skill works

The skill calls short-lived stdio MCP sessions using the provided shell wrappers, which launch npx --no-install nitan-mcp and invoke the server tools (search, read_topic, list_* etc.). It parses JSON responses, preserves topic IDs and URLs, and follows a discover->read->summarize flow for most requests. Write actions are available only if the MCP server is configured with write access; the skill will ask for explicit user confirmation before calling any write tool.

When to use it

• Search the forum by keyword, category, author, or date to discover relevant topics.
• Read and summarize a full topic or a subset of posts for research or triage.
• Monitor trending, top, or badge-tagged topics to stay updated on forum activity.
• Track a specific user's recent activity or watch notifications (login required).
• Publish a post or topic only when you explicitly request writing and the MCP server allows writes.

Best practices

• Start with discourse_search to narrow results, then call discourse_read_topic for deep reading and context.
• Keep NITAN_USERNAME and NITAN_PASSWORD configured in your local MCP env for features that require login; do not paste credentials in chat.
• When making writes, review and confirm the exact draft and target before submission; the skill will echo the draft back for your approval.
• Use limit/max_results and post_limit parameters to control data volume and speed up responses.
• If npx --no-install nitan-mcp fails, install once globally with npm install -g @nitansde/mcp@latest rather than running remote scripts.

Example use cases

• Find recent discussions about H1B sponsorship by running discourse_search {"query":"h1b","max_results":5} and read top matches.
• Summarize a topic by id: use discourse_read_topic {"topic_id":12345,"post_limit":20} and request a concise summary and key actions.
• Monitor hot forum activity daily with discourse_list_hot_topics {"limit":10} and follow up on interesting topics.
• Track a user's contributions with discourse_get_user_activity {"username":"example","page":1} to compile their recent posts.
• Check your unread notifications with discourse_list_notifications {"unread_only":true} after configuring login credentials in the MCP client.