[skills] Add an interactive schema picker to `ug skill add --mcp` by xsh310 · Pull Request #588 · databricks/unity-gateway

xsh310 · 2026-09-13T04:28:06Z

What

ug skill add --mcp with no --location errored asking for a typed schema. On an
interactive terminal it now opens a picker of the workspace's schemas that contain
skills, streamed in as discovery finds them, and adds the selected schemas to the
skills MCP connection's scope.

Why

The download path already has an interactive picker; the MCP scope path was the only
add-side flow still requiring a typed --location. This makes the two symmetric.

How

The picker (in mcp.py, beside the other skill MCP-scope commands) reuses the download
picker's machinery: the workspace walk (list_all_skills) and the streaming checkbox
widget. list_all_skills probes one schema per call, so each streamed batch is one
schema's skill set; the loader renders one row per schema with its exact skill count.
Already-scoped schemas are flagged and stay selectable; re-selecting is a no-op, since
adding is additive (removal is ug skill remove --mcp).
To let both mcp.py (picker) and skills_download.py (download) use the workspace walk
without a circular import, the UC skills read layer (SkillRef, the API client, and
list_all_skills) moves into a new skills_api.py that depends only on databricks.py.
add_skills_command's apply body is extracted into add_skill_locations_to_mcp, shared
by the command and the picker so each runs a single client setup.
Non-interactive (no TTY) still errors asking for --location, so scripts fail loudly.

Testing

uv run ruff check, ruff format --check, ty check src, and uv run pytest all pass
(the pre-existing test_e2e_user_agent / test_claude_smart_routing_v2 failures also fail
on the base). The read-layer tests move to test_skills_api.py; added tests for the schema
picker, its command, add_skill_locations_to_mcp / configured_skill_locations, and the CLI
dispatch.

Stack

Part of gh stack #576, on top of #586 (skills-download-workspace-id).

This pull request and its description were written by Isaac.

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`ug skill add --mcp` with no --location errored asking for a typed schema. On an interactive terminal it now opens a picker of the workspace's schemas that contain skills, streamed in as discovery finds them, and adds the selected schemas to the skills MCP scope. The picker mirrors the download picker and reuses its machinery: the workspace walk (list_all_skills) and the streaming checkbox widget. Because list_all_skills probes one schema per call, each batch is one schema's skill set, so the loader renders one row per schema with its exact skill count. Already-scoped schemas are flagged and stay selectable, since adding is additive (removal is `ug skill remove --mcp`). To let both the picker (in mcp.py) and the download flow use the workspace walk without a circular import, the UC skills read layer (SkillRef, the API client, and list_all_skills) moves into a new skills_api.py that depends only on databricks.py; mcp.py and skills_download.py both import it. add_skills_command's apply body is extracted into add_skill_locations_to_mcp, shared by the command and the picker. Co-authored-by: Isaac <no-reply@databricks.com>

The `ug skill add --mcp` schema picker's loader dropped list_all_skills' return, so a timed-out walk silently showed a partial schema list. Capture the deadline and surface it in the footer, mirroring the download picker. Co-authored-by: Isaac <no-reply@databricks.com>

## What `ug skill remove --mcp` was interactive-only. This adds `--location` support so a specific set of `<catalog>.<schema>` schemas can be dropped from the skills MCP connection's scope non-interactively, and makes the no-`--location` case behave like `ug skill add --mcp`: a picker on an interactive terminal, a clear error otherwise. ## Why `ug skill add --mcp --location` (and its picker, from #588) had no removal counterpart. Scripts and non-interactive callers could not remove a schema from the MCP scope, and `ug skill remove --mcp` in a non-interactive shell fell into a picker that cannot be used. This makes the add and remove paths symmetric. ## How - CLI (`skills_remove`): `--mcp` now accepts `--location`. With locations it calls the new `remove_skills_locations_command`; with none it opens the existing picker on a TTY, otherwise it errors asking for `--location`. `--path` and `--skills` stay rejected with `--mcp`, and `--agents` scoping is unchanged. - The removal core is extracted into `remove_skill_locations_from_mcp`, shared by the interactive `remove_skills_command` and the new non-interactive command, mirroring #588's `add_skill_locations_to_mcp` split. A schema not in scope is a no-op. - README updated for the new usage. ## Testing `uv run ruff check`, `ruff format --check`, `ty check src`, and `uv run pytest` all pass (the pre-existing `test_e2e_user_agent` / `test_claude_smart_routing_v2` failures also fail on the base). Added tests for `remove_skills_locations_command` (per-client removal, agent scoping, a not-in-scope no-op, and the schema-less connection kept when the last schema is removed) and for the CLI dispatch (`--mcp --location`, agent scope, the non-interactive no-`--location` error, a malformed location, and `--path` / `--skills` rejection). ## Stack Part of gh stack #576, on top of #588 (`skills-mcp-add-picker`). This pull request and its description were written by Isaac. --- <sub>Stack created with <a href="https://github.com/github/gh-stack">GitHub Stacks CLI</a> • <a href="https://gh.io/stacks-feedback">Give Feedback 💬</a></sub> Co-authored-by: Isaac <no-reply@databricks.com>

xsh310 added this pull request to stack #576 September 13, 2026 04:28