loreto-mcp
Turn any YouTube video, article, PDF, or image into a reusable Claude Code skill — without leaving your editor.
What it does
Loreto analyzes a content source and extracts structured skill packages that Claude Code can apply to future tasks. Each skill contains:
SKILL.md— Principles, failure modes, implementation steps, and architectural patternsREADME.md— Overview and usage context- Reference files — Supporting patterns and data structures
- Test script — Runnable validation for the skill's core concepts
Save skills to .claude/skills/ and Claude picks them up automatically on relevant tasks — reducing hallucinations, token usage, and re-explaining the same concepts over and over.
Sample skills
Every skill Loreto generates ships as its own standalone, installable repo. These nine were generated from a single technical video on hybrid AI architecture — clone any of them directly:
| Skill | What it teaches |
|---|---|
designing-hybrid-context-layers |
Architect hybrid retrieval systems that combine vector search, graph traversal, and structured data |
temporal-reasoning-sleuth |
Enable agents to trace decision chains and reconstruct causal sequences across long time horizons |
synthesizing-institutional-knowledge |
Capture and query organizational knowledge in a way AI agents can reliably reason over |
diagnosing-rag-failure-modes |
Classify the four structural RAG failure patterns and prescribe the right fix |
routing-work-across-ai-harnesses |
Dynamically route tasks to the right AI harness based on task type and context |
evaluating-ai-harness-dimensions |
Score and compare AI harness options across the five structural dimensions |
detecting-harness-lockin |
Spot vendor lock-in signals early and price the switching cost |
benchmarking-ai-agents-beyond-models |
Measure agent performance at the system level, not just model level |
auditing-intelligence-context-fit |
Audit whether the model's reasoning tier matches the context complexity |
Each repo has a human-facing README plus the skill itself in a same-named subfolder — cp -r <repo>/<skill> ~/.claude/skills/ and Claude picks it up automatically.
Anatomy of a generated skill
You don't have to clone anything to see what Loreto produces. Every generationis a ready-to-run package — a SKILL.md (principles, failure modes,implementation steps, Mermaid diagrams), supporting references/, and arunnable tests/ script. The standalone repos wrap each one with a humanREADME and the skill in a same-named subfolder:
designing-hybrid-context-layers/ ← public repo
├── README.md ← for humans, not part of the skill
└── designing-hybrid-context-layers/ ← the skill (cp into ~/.claude/skills/)
├── SKILL.md
└── references/
├── architecture-patterns.md
└── retrieval-decision-matrix.md
A trimmed look at the SKILL.md Loreto generated for that skill:
---
name: designing-hybrid-context-layers
description: >
Designs hybrid AI context architectures that combine RAG, knowledge graphs,
episodic memory, and long-context synthesis appropriately. Use when ...
---
# Designing Hybrid Context Layers
## The Three-Layer Context Model
### Layer 1: Factual Store (Vector RAG)
### Layer 2: Relational Store (Knowledge Graph)
### Layer 3: Temporal/Episodic Store (Timeline Index)
```mermaid
flowchart TD
Q[Incoming Query] --> R{Query Router}
R -->|single fact| L1[Layer 1 — Vector RAG]
R -->|relationships| L2[Layer 2 — Knowledge Graph]
R -->|sequence / causation| L3[Layer 3 — Timeline Index]
```
## Anti-Pattern: The RAG-for-Everything Trap
## Implementation Roadmap
Prefer not to leave your editor at all? The free list_skills and get_skillMCP tools return the same structured records, and verify_artifacts proves anypast generation by generation_id — discover, inspect, and verify before youever clone.
Billing — two paths, pick one
Loreto runs on two parallel billing paths. The right one depends on whether you're a human signing up or an AI agent paying per task.
API key (lor_...) |
x402 pay-per-call (USDC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Humans, recurring use, teams | Agents, one-off jobs, anonymous use |
| Signup | Yes — loreto.io | None |
| Pricing | Free: 2 calls/mo · Pro: $29/mo for 100 | Flat $0.75 per call, no monthly cap |
| Wallet needed | No | Yes — USDC on Base mainnet |
| MCP support | This package, out of the box | Direct REST + the x402 Python SDK |
| Endpoint | POST /api/v1/skills/generate |
POST /api/v1/skills/x402/generate |
| Docs | docs-authentication | docs-x402 |
Path A — API key (this MCP package)
Get your key at loreto.io, set LORETO_API_KEY in your MCP config (see below), and you're done. Free tier ships immediately; upgrade to Pro when you need more.
Path B — x402 pay-per-call (no signup)
If you're an autonomous agent, an AI workflow without persistent credentials, or a developer who just wants to try one generation, x402 is faster than signing up. The MCP package itself uses Path A — but every catalog call (list_skills, get_skill, verify_artifacts, estimate_cost) is free regardless of which path you generate skills under.
To run a generation under x402:
# Pseudocode — see https://loreto.io/docs-x402 for the full handshake
curl -X POST https://api.loreto.io/api/v1/skills/x402/generate \
-H "X-PAYMENT: <eip-3009 signed authorization>" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"source": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...", "source_type": "youtube"}'
The X-PAYMENT header is signed by your wallet against an EIP-3009 USDC transfer authorization for $0.75. The Loreto server only burns the authorization on a successful 2xx response — failed pipeline runs don't consume your USDC. Use the x402 Python SDK to handle the signing.
Verify any generation by id. Both paths return a generation_id (uuid4). Pass it to the MCP's verify_artifacts tool — or hit GET /api/v1/skills/manifest/{generation_id} directly — to fetch the source URL, theme plan, quality scores, artifact byte counts, and bundle sha256. The endpoint is public, no auth required: the id is the capability.
Setup
1. Get an API key (Path A)
Sign up at loreto.io. Skip this step if you're using x402 — see the billing section above.
2. Install
pip install loreto-mcp
Or run directly without installing (requires uv):
uvx loreto-mcp
3. Configure Claude Code
User-scoped (works across all your projects) — add to ~/.claude/mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"loreto": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["loreto-mcp"],
"env": {
"LORETO_API_KEY": "lor_..."
}
}
}
}
Project-scoped (shared with your team) — add to .mcp.json at your project root:
{
"mcpServers": {
"loreto": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["loreto-mcp"],
"env": {
"LORETO_API_KEY": "${LORETO_API_KEY}"
}
}
}
}
4. Verify
Restart Claude Code and run /mcp — you should see loreto listed with six tools: generate_skills, get_quota, list_skills, get_skill, verify_artifacts, estimate_cost.
Usage
Once connected, just ask Claude Code naturally:
Use Loreto to extract skills from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYcidOS9ozU
Extract skills from this article and save them to .claude/skills/
Check my Loreto quota before we start.
Claude calls generate_skills, receives the full skill package, and can write the files directly to your project.
Available tools
| Tool | Auth | Description |
|---|---|---|
generate_skills |
API key | Extract ranked skill packages from a URL. Returns full file contents ready to save. For x402 pay-per-call generations, see the billing section above. |
get_quota |
API key | Check calls used, monthly limit, and plan for your API key. (Not relevant on x402 — there is no quota; you pay $0.75 per call.) |
list_skills |
None | List all published Loreto catalog skills with their structured artifact and safety claims. Free for everyone. |
get_skill |
None | Fetch the full structured record for one catalog skill — artifacts, mcp, safety, governance, references, FAQ. Free for everyone. |
verify_artifacts |
None | Fetch the provenance manifest for a past generation by generation_id — works for both API-key and x402 generations. Free for everyone. |
estimate_cost |
None | Heuristic token + USD cost estimate by source kind, before running the pipeline. Free for everyone. |
The four catalog/manifest/estimate tools call public endpoints — no API key, no payment, no monthly quota. Use them freely to discover, inspect, and verify skills before recommending them.
generate_skills parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
source |
str |
required | URL to analyze — YouTube, article, public PDF, or image |
source_type |
str |
"auto" |
"auto" | "youtube" | "article" | "pdf" | "image" |
test_language |
str |
"python" |
"python" | "typescript" | "javascript" |
include_visuals |
bool |
true |
Embed Mermaid diagrams in SKILL.md |
context |
str |
null |
1–3 sentence hint to guide extraction (max 500 chars) |
themes_to_process |
list[str] |
null |
Follow-up call: skill names from a previous response's queued themes |
Supported sources
| Source | Notes |
|---|---|
| YouTube videos | Up to 60 minutes |
| Web articles | Any publicly accessible URL |
| PDFs | Up to 100 pages |
| Images | Diagrams, whiteboards, slides (up to 20 MB) |
Configuration
| Environment variable | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
LORETO_API_KEY |
Yes | — | Your Loreto API key (lor_...) |
LORETO_BASE_URL |
No | https://api.loreto.io |
Override for local development |
Plans
Free, Pro, and Enterprise tiers under Path A — see loreto.io/pricing for current limits. Path B (x402) has no tiers: $0.75 per generation, billed per call in USDC. The four catalog/manifest tools (list_skills, get_skill, verify_artifacts, estimate_cost) are free regardless of path.
License
MIT