Publish Your First AI Skill
From zero to published in under 30 minutes. This guide covers everything: creating your skill, writing an MCP manifest, pricing strategies, and growing your creator revenue.
1. How to Publish a Skill
Create Your Account
Sign up at skillexchange.market/register with your email. Complete your creator profile with a display name, bio, and avatar. Enable Stripe Connect for payouts — this is required before you can receive payments.
✓ Stripe Connect onboarding complete
✓ Creator profile filled out
Define Your Skill
Navigate to Dashboard → Skills → New Skill. Fill in the essential fields:
Write Your MCP Manifest
Every skill needs an MCP (Model Context Protocol) manifest that describes its tools, input schemas, and capabilities. Here's a minimal example:
{
"schema_version": "1.0",
"name": "my-awesome-skill",
"description": "What this skill does",
"tools": [
{
"name": "execute",
"description": "Main execution function",
"inputSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"input": {
"type": "string",
"description": "Your input data"
},
"options": {
"type": "object",
"description": "Optional config"
}
},
"required": ["input"]
}
}
]
}Submit & Get Verified
Click Publishto submit your skill. Our automated security scanner checks your manifest, endpoint (if provided), and sandbox config. Most skills pass review within minutes. You'll receive a notification once your skill is live on the marketplace.
2. Pricing Best Practices
One-Time Purchase
Best for tools, templates, and standalone utilities. Buyers pay once and use forever.
Tip: Price at €29.99–€49.99 for specialized tools. Higher prices signal quality.
Subscription
Best for APIs, continuous services, and regularly updated skills. Recurring monthly revenue.
Tip: Start with a lower price and increase as you add features. Offer annual discounts.
Pay Per Use
Best for processing tasks where usage varies. Buyers pay per execution or per unit processed.
Tip: Set a fair per-unit price. Volume discounts encourage larger usage.
Freemium
Offer a free tier to attract users, then upsell premium features. Great for building an audience.
Tip: Make the free tier genuinely useful. Conversion rates average 2–5%.
💰 Revenue Split
SkillExchange takes a 20% platform fee on all transactions. You keep 80% of every sale. Payouts are processed via Stripe Connect on a weekly basis. No hidden fees, no minimums.
3. API & MCP Integration
Create a Skill via API
POST /api/skills
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer <your-api-key>
{
"name": "My AI Skill",
"description": "What it does in 2-4 sentences",
"category": "code-generation",
"tags": ["typescript", "codegen", "developer-tools"],
"pricingModel": "SUBSCRIPTION",
"priceCents": 0,
"subscriptionPriceCents": 999,
"mcpManifest": { ... },
"sandboxConfig": {
"runtime": "docker",
"memory": "512m",
"cpu": "0.5",
"timeout": 30000
}
}Skill Execution Endpoint
When a buyer executes your skill, SkillExchange routes the request to your registered endpoint or runs it in our sandbox:
POST /api/skills/{skillId}/execute
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer <buyer-token>
{
"tool": "execute",
"input": {
"input": "Your data here",
"options": { "format": "json" }
}
}
// Response:
{
"success": true,
"output": { ... },
"executionTimeMs": 234,
"tokensUsed": 1520
}Webhooks for Creators
Register webhook endpoints to receive real-time notifications for sales, reviews, and skill events:
POST /api/webhooks/register
{
"url": "https://your-server.com/webhook",
"events": ["skill.sold", "skill.reviewed", "skill.published"]
}
// Webhook payload (signed with your secret):
{
"event": "skill.sold",
"data": {
"skillId": "...",
"skillName": "...",
"amountCents": 999,
"buyerId": "..."
},
"timestamp": "2026-05-26T12:00:00Z"
}4. Your Opportunity
Join as a Founding Creator
SkillExchange is a new marketplace — and that's your advantage. As an early creator, you'll benefit from:
Priority Placement
Early skills get prominent visibility before the marketplace gets crowded
80/20 Revenue Split
You keep 80% of every sale — fair from day one
Shape the Platform
Your feedback directly influences features and direction
MCP & A2A Native
Build on open protocols — no vendor lock-in
We don't have thousands of creators yet — and we won't pretend we do. What we offer is a genuine opportunity to be first in a growing market. The best time to join is now.
5. Frequently Asked Questions
How long does skill review take?
Automated security scanning completes in under 5 minutes for most skills. Manual review (for PREMIUM certification) takes 1–2 business days.
What are the sandbox limits?
Sandboxed skills run in Docker containers with configurable resources: up to 2GB RAM, 2 CPU cores, and 60-second timeout. Custom limits available for verified creators.
When do I get paid?
Payouts are processed weekly via Stripe Connect. Funds typically arrive in your bank account within 2–3 business days after each payout cycle.
Can I update a published skill?
Yes! You can update descriptions, pricing, and manifests at any time. Major version changes trigger a re-scan. Existing subscribers keep their current pricing until their next renewal.
What protocols are supported?
SkillExchange natively supports MCP (Model Context Protocol) and A2A (Agent-to-Agent). Your skill can expose tools via MCP manifests and be discovered by other agents via A2A cards.
Is there a minimum price?
The minimum price for paid skills is €0.50 (50 cents). Freemium skills must have a usable free tier. There's no maximum price.