# Claude skill, self-hosted: overview and architecture

Agent Mission Control developer docs > Claude skill, self-hosted

> What the self-hosted path builds, the two HTTP surfaces it can serve, and which one AMC connects to.

**Before you start:** A Claude skill folder with a `SKILL.md`, Claude Code, and Docker.

The `claude-skills-agent-creator` skill turns an existing Claude skill into a containerized HTTP service. Inside the container, Anthropic's `claude-agent-sdk` loads the skill and runs it. You build the image and host the container yourself. There is no Foundry hosting on this path.

The creator is itself a Claude Code skill. You hand it a skill folder (one that contains a `SKILL.md`) and answer a few questions. It copies its own templates into a new agent directory and fills in the placeholders. It does not build the image or deploy anything.

## Two host surfaces: pick one

A generated agent serves exactly one of two HTTP surfaces. The creator always asks which one you want.

| Surface | Endpoints | Served by | Who calls it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Plain HTTP** (the creator's default, called A2A in the skill) | `GET /health`, `POST /execute` (NDJSON stream), `POST /tasks/{task_id}/cancel` | `http_agent_server.py` plus `__main__.py` | An orchestrator that speaks the `/execute` NDJSON contract |
| **AMC variant** | `GET /health`, `GET /workflows`, `POST /runs`, `GET /runs/{id}/status`, `GET /runs/{id}/events` (SSE), and the rest of the AMC contract | `app.py` built on `amc_sdk.build_app` | Agent Mission Control |

> **Important:** AMC drives self-hosted endpoints through the AMC contract that `amc_sdk` serves. It does not call `/execute`. To connect a self-hosted skill to AMC, generate the **AMC variant**. See [Serve the agent to AMC with amc_sdk](https://www.agentmissioncontrol.ai/developers/self-hosted-amc-sdk/).

## Architecture

`Request path (AMC variant)`
```text
AMC  ──HTTP + JSON + SSE──▶  app.py  (amc_sdk.build_app, port 8080)
                               │
                               ▼
                     claude_skills_agent.py   (the SDK core)
                               │  query(prompt, options)
                               ▼
                     claude-agent-sdk  ──▶  bundled Claude Code CLI  ──▶  Claude
                               │                                (Anthropic API or Microsoft Foundry)
                               ▼
                     /app/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md   (baked into the image)
```

The core is the same for both surfaces. It runs `claude-agent-sdk` with `cwd=/app` and `setting_sources=["project"]`, so the SDK discovers the skill at `/app/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/`. Only the host layer around it changes: `http_agent_server.py` for plain HTTP, or `amc_sdk` for AMC.

- **Brain:** `claude-agent-sdk>=0.2.138`. The Claude Code CLI ships inside the wheel as a native binary, so the image needs no Node.js.
- **Credentials:** Anthropic API direct, or Claude on Microsoft Foundry. Both come in at runtime as environment variables, never baked into the image.
- **Skill:** copied unchanged into the image. When the skill expects a particular filesystem, the Dockerfile reshapes the filesystem instead of patching the skill.
- **Permissions:** `permission_mode="dontAsk"` denies any tool outside the allowlist instead of prompting, and the container runs as a non-root user.

## How this differs from the Foundry-hosted path

The same skill can also run inside Microsoft Foundry, hosted by Microsoft Agent Framework. Both paths use `claude-agent-sdk` as the brain and turn an existing skill into a deployed agent. They differ only in where the agent runs: here it runs in a container you operate and expose over HTTP. For the Foundry variant, see [Claude skill on Microsoft Foundry](https://www.agentmissioncontrol.ai/developers/foundry-hybrid-overview/).

## What the creator asks you

| Input | Choices |
| --- | --- |
| **Source skill path** | Absolute path to the skill folder. If the skill also ships as a plugin, copy from the bare folder, not the `.plugin` wrapper. |
| **Credentials backend** | Foundry (the creator's default) or Anthropic-direct. |
| **Trigger mode** | Single-purpose (always run the skill) or multi-purpose (hint the skill and let Claude decide). See [The agent core and prompt strategies](https://www.agentmissioncontrol.ai/developers/self-hosted-agent-core/). |
| **Host surface** | Plain HTTP (`/execute`) or the AMC variant. Always asked. |

It does not ask for a port. A plain-HTTP agent takes the next free port from the port convention; the AMC variant always uses `8080`.

## The generation pipeline

1. **Analyze the skill.** Read `SKILL.md` and `scripts/`: the frontmatter `name:` and `description:`, hardcoded paths (`grep -r "/sessions/" scripts/`), third-party Python imports, binaries the scripts call, credential needs, and where outputs go.
2. **Decide naming.** Directory, class, package, and image names derive from the skill's `name:`. See [Project layout and placeholders](https://www.agentmissioncontrol.ai/developers/self-hosted-project-layout/).
3. **Generate the scaffold.** Copy verbatim files unchanged. Fill each `.tpl` file and write it without the `.tpl` suffix.
4. **Patch the skill-specific blocks:** the prompt strategy, Dockerfile prep, tool labels, and outputs handling.
5. **Verify** that the generated Python parses, and optionally run `tests/test_run.py` if credentials are available.
6. **Record the port** for a plain-HTTP agent.

## Rules the generated agent keeps

- Never modify `http_agent_server.py`. It is the shared transport contract.
- Never bake secrets into the image. `.env` is excluded by `.dockerignore`.
- Never patch the source skill. Match the filesystem to what it expects.
- Never ship `tests/` in the image. `.dockerignore` excludes it.

For how agents connect to AMC in general, read [How agents connect](https://www.agentmissioncontrol.ai/developers/how-agents-connect/) and [The integration contract](https://www.agentmissioncontrol.ai/developers/integration-contract/). To compare build paths, see [Choose a build path](https://www.agentmissioncontrol.ai/developers/choose-a-build-path/).

## Related

- [Project layout and placeholders](https://www.agentmissioncontrol.ai/developers/self-hosted-project-layout/)
- [Serve the agent to AMC with amc_sdk](https://www.agentmissioncontrol.ai/developers/self-hosted-amc-sdk/)
- [Run a Claude skill as a Microsoft Foundry hosted agent](https://www.agentmissioncontrol.ai/developers/foundry-hybrid-overview/)
- [Choose a build path](https://www.agentmissioncontrol.ai/developers/choose-a-build-path/)

---
Source: https://www.agentmissioncontrol.ai/developers/self-hosted-overview/ · Last updated 2026-10-21 · Full index: https://www.agentmissioncontrol.ai/llms.txt