I Built a Marketplace for AI Agent Skills — ai, marketplace, nextjs, typescript, Here's the Full Stack Breakdown

## Why I Built SkillDepot

Every AI developer has the same problem: you build a great skill for your agent — maybe a data analysis pipeline, a code reviewer, or a content generator — and then it sits in your repo, unused by anyone else.

Meanwhile, another developer 3,000 miles away is building the exact same thing from scratch.

I built SkillDepot to fix this. It's an open marketplace where developers publish, discover, and sell AI agent skills.

## The Core Idea: Skills as .md Files

Here's the unconventional choice: skills on SkillDepot are `.md` files. Not Docker containers. Not compiled binaries. Not Python packages.

Why? Because AI agent skills are fundamentally **text instructions**. They're prompts, rules, and workflows that get injected into an agent's context. Making them simple markdown files means:

- **Zero deployment friction** — publish in seconds
- **Framework agnostic** — works with LangChain, CrewAI, AutoGen, Claude SDK
- **Human readable** — buyers can review exactly what they're getting
- **Version controlled** — standard git workflows apply

## The Stack

- **Frontend:** Next.js 16 (App Router), React 19, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS 4
- **Backend:** Supabase (PostgreSQL + Auth + Real-time + RLS on 16 tables)
- **Payments:** Stripe Connect (Checkout + payouts)
- **Hosting:** Vercel free tier
- **Search:** Full-text search with filters (category, framework, rating, trending)

Total monthly cost: ~$1 (just the domain).

## The Economics

This is where it gets interesting. Most marketplaces take 30-40% (Apple, Google, OpenAI GPT Store). SkillDepot takes 10%.

**Creators keep 90% of every sale.**

Why? Because the content is lightweight (.md files), infrastructure costs are near-zero, and the real value is in the network effect — more creators, more skills, more buyers, more creators.

## MCP Integration with Claude

We recently shipped an MCP Connector and submitted it to Anthropic's Connectors Directory. This means SkillDepot skills can be discovered and installed directly from Claude.

The connector exposes 8 tools: search, browse, install, rate, and more — all through OAuth 2.0 with PKCE.

If approved, every Claude user gets access to the full SkillDepot catalog without leaving their workflow.

## What's Next

- **Python SDK** — `pip install skilldepot && skilldepot publish my-skill.md`
- **Visual Builder** — create skills without writing markdown
- **Enterprise tier** — team management, private skills, SSO

We're onboarding the first 50 developers for early access to these features.

## Try It

The platform is live at [skilldepot.dev](https://skilldepot.dev). Browse 3,800+ skills across 20 categories, or publish your own in under 10 minutes.

If you're building AI agents and want to monetize your expertise — or just find production-ready skills faster — check it out. Creators keep 90%.

Questions? Happy to discuss the technical decisions in the comments.