Connector, Extension, Plugin or Skill?
Distinguish the interface, the connection, the editor addition and the reusable working guidance.
Look around. Try a small click.
This lesson works as a written guide with interactive examples. You can explore here before opening the real application or provider dashboard. A recorded video has not been added yet.
What will make more sense
- Distinguish the interface, the connection, the editor addition and the reusable working guidance.
- A skill can guide available tools but cannot create missing access.
- The target application and offered capability explain the plugin’s practical role.
One idea to keep
Distinguish the interface, the connection, the editor addition and the reusable working guidance.
The short lesson
Read the explanation at your pace
The word connector is often used for the complete bridge between applications. That bridge can contain several different pieces. An API, an MCP server, an editor extension and an agent plugin may all appear in one setup, yet each has its own role. Knowing those roles makes a proposal easier to understand and prevents buying or installing the wrong piece.
An API is the service's defined software interface. An MCP server can present supported capabilities to a compatible AI application and may use that API underneath. A VS Code extension adds functionality to the editor. An agent plugin can package skills, connections or other supported additions for a particular system. The packaging details vary, so the provider's documentation remains important.
A skill is written guidance about how to do a repeatable task. It can tell an assistant to gather an approved booking, check a missing date and prepare a summary. That guidance does not create a missing calendar connection. The tool supplies the capability; the skill describes a useful way to use available capabilities. We cover those reusable instructions in their own course.
Willow Catering's prepared connection-pieces.md shows a fictional booking-summary workflow. The owner talks to an assistant in an editor. A supported connection offers a booking lookup. A small written procedure explains which booking details belong in the summary. The assistant combines the available information with the requested outcome. Nothing about this example requires every piece to come from the same vendor.
Ask practical questions when evaluating a real setup. Which application receives the addition? Which service holds the records? Which account will be used? What actions are exposed? Is the feature available in this session? These questions are more useful than trying to classify a product only from its marketing name. A company may use familiar words in a slightly different way.
Choose the activity answer that separates guidance from capability. A detailed instruction file cannot grant access to a CRM that is not connected. Equally, a working connector does not automatically understand your preferred report format. A useful arrangement combines the right source, supported tools and clear instructions, each doing the job it is meant to do.
Try it here
Choose the next small step
Follow the prepared example, then select a response to see why it fits. Nothing is connected or changed.
This is a local learning example with prepared responses. It does not run VS Code or contact an AI service.
Can a detailed skill file create a missing calendar connection?
A prompt you can keep
These are example words to copy into your own AI chat when you want to try them. Copying does not send a request.
Read the prepared example for this lesson. Explain the proposed action, its target and the expected result. Keep this as an explanation; do not change files or connect accounts.A tiny next step, if you want one
Optional: try 2 small actions at your own pace
You can finish this lesson by exploring the example above. These real-app actions are optional, and there is nothing to submit.
- Optional: open connection-pieces.md.
- Optional: ask your assistant to explain these four roles using only the prepared example and without adding a connection.
A quick confidence check
These checkmarks are a personal reminder. Choose what feels familiar, and come back whenever you want.
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Try a short question
Choose an answer to see why it fits. You can try again or explore every explanation.
Can a detailed skill file create a missing calendar connection?
What is the useful question about an unfamiliar plugin?
If something looks different
My assistant or VS Code uses a different label.
Use the official help for your selected assistant and version. The course teaches the decision; the exact menu or capability can differ.
I do not have the account or feature used in the example.
Use the prepared browser example and downloaded notes. No account connection or paid service is required to complete this course.
Sources and further help
Read the official product guidance and related learning resources when you need them. You do not need to read every reference now.