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Getting Started with Skills and MCP in Claude

Learn what Skills are, how to set up MCP (Model Context Protocol), connect it to Claude, and manage your skills over time.

Written by Niall Diamond

Getting Started with Skills and MCP in Claude

This guide explains how the EvoX Skills package works, how to set it up, and what each skill does — so you can get the most out of Claude for managing your EvolutionX store.

Download the Skills Package

Start by downloading the full Skills package. This ZIP contains all the skill files you need to upload to Claude.

📦 Download Skills Pack evox-skills-export.zip

What are Skills?

Skills are instruction packages that tell Claude how to behave for a specific task. Each skill is a SKILL.md file containing rules, API references, tool guidance, and context that Claude reads automatically before taking action.

The EvoX skills package is structured in three layers — and Claude always works through them in order:

Layer 1 — Foundation Skills (always loaded first)

These three skills underpin every EvoX operation. Claude reads them in sequence before doing anything else:

  1. evox-gateway — The master pre-flight skill. Sets the rules for every operation: which tool to use, how to confirm changes, how to resolve ambiguous requests, and how to handle errors. All other skills depend on this one.

  2. evox-store-config — Your store's configuration: storefront URL, store ID, admin URL, API token, and catalog IDs. You fill this in once during setup and Claude references it every time.

  3. evox-auth-and-general — API authentication, base URLs (US and EU), pagination, rate limits, and error codes. Used whenever Claude makes a direct API call.

Layer 2 — Domain Skills

These skills cover specific areas of your store. Claude loads the relevant one automatically based on what you ask:

Skill

What it covers

evox-products

Products, categories, attributes, media, brands, suppliers, product feeds

evox-customers

Accounts, users, addresses, budgets, cost centres, labels

evox-orders

Orders, quotes, remittances, payments, shipping, line items

evox-pricing

Pricing rules, contracts, cost prices, bulk pricing updates

evox-inventory

Stock levels, inventory locations, bulk stock updates

evox-catalogs

Catalog containers, visibility rules, B2B product access

evox-quicklists

Saved product lists, shared quicklists, customer product codes

evox-roles

User roles, permissions, access control

evox-product-relationships

Also Consider, Recommendations, Supplies & Accessories

evox-misc

Heartbeat/ping, branches, third-party data

Layer 3 — Analytics & Reporting Skills

These skills use the EvoX MCP server to pull live store data. They require a one-time UUID setup (see below).

Skill

What it covers

evox-morning-brief

Daily revenue, order count, traffic trends, and search insights — rendered as a visual widget

evox-account-performance

Per-account revenue profile, order frequency, open quotes, and churn prediction

Optional Skill

Skill

What it covers

evox-lumber-image

AI-generated photorealistic product images of lumber using the EvoX image generator

What is MCP?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the connection between Claude and your EvoX store. Once the EvoX MCP server is connected in Claude, Claude can query live store data — orders, revenue, traffic, account activity — directly, without you needing to export anything or copy data across.

The EvoX MCP server powers:

  • The Morning Brief — live daily revenue, order trends, and search data

  • Account Performance profiles — order history, cadence, and churn signals per customer

  • Order and revenue queries — totals, breakdowns, recent activity

  • Traffic analytics — top search terms, failed searches, visitor trends

For most store operations (products, customers, pricing, etc.) Claude uses both MCP and the direct EvoX API — MCP for individual records and lookups, and the direct API via bash for bulk operations involving 11 or more products.

Setting up MCP

Watch: Setting up MCP

The video below walks you through the full MCP setup process step by step.

Step 1 — Fill in your store config

Open evox-store-config/SKILL.md from the downloaded package and replace all [YOUR_VALUE_HERE] placeholders with your real values:

  • Storefront URL — your public EvoX storefront URL

  • Store ID — found in your EvoX Admin

  • Admin URL — us.evoadmin.io (US) or eu.evoadmin.io (EU/UK)

  • API Region — US or EU

  • API Auth Token — generate one in EvoX Admin → Development → API Keys (see below)

  • Catalog IDs — run GET /catalogs to find yours, or ask your admin

How to generate your API token

  1. In EvoX Admin, go to Development → API Keys

  2. Click New API Key, enter a description (e.g. "Claude Integration") and click Save

  3. Copy the key from the confirmation window — this is the only time it will be shown. Store it somewhere safe immediately.

  4. Paste it into the API Auth Token field in evox-store-config/SKILL.md

💡 Issue a dedicated key for Claude — don't share keys between integrations. For full details on managing API keys see the EvoX API Keys documentation.

Step 2 — Connect the EvoX MCP server in Claude

  1. In Claude, go to Settings → Connectors (or ask Claude "What connectors are available?")

  2. Find the EvoX connector and click Connect

  3. Authorise the connection when prompted

  4. Once connected, Claude can start using live store data immediately for most operations

Step 3 — Set your MCP UUID (analytics skills only)

The evox-morning-brief and evox-account-performance skills need to know your specific EvoX MCP server UUID. To set this up:

  1. Find your EvoX MCP server UUID in Claude's MCP / Connector settings

  2. Open evox-morning-brief/SKILL.md and evox-account-performance/SKILL.md

  3. Replace [YOUR_MCP_UUID] with your UUID in both files

  4. Also replace [YOUR_STORE_ID] in the morning brief skill

Step 4 — Upload skills to Claude

  1. In Claude.ai, go to Settings → Your Skills

  2. Upload each skill folder from the downloaded package

  3. Claude will load skills automatically based on your requests — no manual activation needed

How Skills and MCP work together

Every time you ask Claude to do something on your EvoX store, it follows the same sequence:

  1. Reads evox-gateway — checks the rules, confirms the environment (Admin vs Storefront), determines which tool to use

  2. Reads evox-store-config — picks up your store's URLs, IDs, and token

  3. Reads evox-auth-and-general — if making a direct API call

  4. Loads the relevant domain skill — products, orders, customers, etc.

Claude will always tell you what it's about to do and ask for confirmation before making any changes. It will never silently update, create, or delete records.

MCP vs direct API: Claude uses MCP for most operations. For bulk product operations (11 or more products), it switches to the direct EvoX API for reliability and efficiency. If MCP is unavailable, Claude will fall back to the API automatically and tell you when it does so.

Managing and updating Skills

Keeping your config up to date

If your store URL, API token, catalog IDs, or other config values change, update evox-store-config/SKILL.md and re-upload it to Claude. All other skills reference this file, so one update keeps everything in sync.

When a skill is updated

If a skill file is changed or a new one is added, simply re-upload the updated skill folder in Claude Settings → Your Skills. Claude picks up the new instructions immediately — no restart needed.

If something isn't working as expected

  • Claude isn't using the right skill — be more specific about what you want. For example, say "update the pricing rule for customer X" rather than just "change the price".

  • Analytics skills aren't working — check that your [YOUR_MCP_UUID] has been filled in correctly in the morning brief and account performance skill files.

  • API errors — check that your API token in evox-store-config is valid and hasn't expired. Regenerate it in EvoX Admin → Development → API Keys following the steps above, then update evox-store-config/SKILL.md with the new token. See the EvoX API Keys documentation for guidance on replacing keys safely.

  • MCP not connecting — check your authorisation hasn't expired in Claude Settings → Connectors and reconnect if needed.

  • Still stuck — contact your admin or reach out to EvoX API support at api@evolution-support.com.

Tips for getting the most out of Skills and MCP

  • Be specific. The more detail you give Claude, the more accurately it picks the right skill. "Show me account performance for Acme Corp" works better than "how's Acme doing".

  • Use natural language. You don't need to name skills or tools — just describe what you want and Claude figures out which skill applies.

  • Ask before bulk changes. Claude will always confirm before updating multiple records, but it helps to tell Claude upfront how many records are involved.

  • Ask Claude what it can do. At any point, ask "What can you help me with on my EvoX store?" and Claude will give you an overview of available skills.

If you have questions or run into any issues, reach out to your admin or contact support.

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