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CRMStrengthen customer relationshipsPopularE-CommerceBoost online revenueBooking System24/7 appointment bookingProject ManagementCoordinate teamsInvoicingGet paid fasterAnalyticsData-driven decisions· by Michael Kerkhoff
How enterprises do context engineering for Claude in 2026: AGENTS.md, Agent Skills, MCP servers, Projects, Memory, Plugins and Subagents — with sources.
The foundation of context engineering: a repository-level manifest that gives every Claude session a persistent identity, conventions, and guardrails. Version it in git so the "system prompt" of your AI is reviewable and consistent across the whole team.
Reusable, filesystem-based packages of domain expertise — workflows, context and best practices that load on demand via progressive disclosure. Skills turn a general agent into a specialist without bloating the context window, and they are portable across Claude apps, Claude Code and the Agent SDK.
The Model Context Protocol is the open standard that connects Claude to enterprise data silos and tools (Jira, GitHub, SQL, internal APIs). MCP gives agents a least-privilege, typed integration layer — solving the "last mile" of getting proprietary context into the model.
Persistent workspaces that bundle custom instructions with an uploaded knowledge base for a team or initiative. Projects turn static internal documentation into an "institutional memory" agent that every team member shares, ideal for onboarding and repeatable workflows.
Durable, cross-session memory so agents retain context without re-onboarding. Combined with context-management/compaction, the Memory tool lets long-running enterprise agents accumulate knowledge over time instead of starting cold every session.
Packaged bundles of Skills, slash commands, MCP servers and hooks distributed through marketplaces. Plugins are how an enterprise ships a curated, versioned context setup to every developer in one step — the distribution mechanism for everything below.
Reusable, parameterized prompts and multi-step routines for repeatable workflows — release checklists, code review, incident triage. Stored as markdown in the repo, they standardize "how we ask" across the team and pair with hooks for deterministic automation.
Isolated sub-agents that offload narrow tasks (research, search, review) and protect the main context window from overflow. Subagents are the orchestration primitive for context engineering — each runs with its own scoped tools and fresh context.
| Name | What It Solves | Format / Mechanism | Scope / Level | Cost / Availability | Anthropic-Native |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (01) AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md | Repo-level system prompt — persistent identity, conventions and guardrails for every session | Markdown manifest at repo root (AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md), git-versioned | Project / repo | Free — open convention | – No |
| (02) Agent Skills | On-demand domain expertise — workflows and best practices loaded only when relevant | Filesystem folder: SKILL.md + scripts/resources, progressive disclosure | User / project / org | Included in Claude / Claude Code | ✓ Yes |
| (03) MCP Servers | Standardized connection to enterprise data and tools (Jira, GitHub, SQL, internal APIs) | MCP servers over stdio / Streamable HTTP; TypeScript & Python SDKs | Org / infrastructure | Free — open protocol (Linux Foundation) | – No |
| (04) Claude Projects | Persistent workspace bundling instructions + a knowledge base for a team or initiative | Claude (Pro/Team/Enterprise) Projects: custom instructions + knowledge base | Team / workspace | Claude Pro / Team / Enterprise plans | ✓ Yes |
| (05) Memory Tool | Durable cross-session memory so agents retain context without re-onboarding | Memory tool + context management API; file-based memory directory | Agent / session-spanning | API feature (token-metered) | ✓ Yes |
| (06) Plugins | Packaged bundles of Skills, commands, MCP servers and hooks for one-step distribution | Claude Code plugins via marketplaces (.claude-plugin manifest) | Team / org | Included in Claude Code | ✓ Yes |
| (07) Slash Commands & Routines | Reusable parameterized prompts and multi-step routines for repeatable workflows | Markdown slash commands (.claude/commands) + hooks for automation | User / project | Free / included | ✓ Yes |
| (08) Subagents | Isolated sub-agents that offload narrow tasks and protect the main context window | Subagent definitions (.claude/agents) with scoped tools and own context | Task / orchestration | Included in Claude Code | ✓ Yes |
← Scroll horizontally to see all columns
Start with AGENTS.md before anything else: a single repo-level manifest with your conventions, guardrails and identity is the cheapest, highest-leverage context-engineering move. Version it in git so it is reviewable.
Use Skills for "how we do X", MCP for "where the data lives". Skills package repeatable expertise and load on demand; MCP servers give Claude least-privilege, typed access to enterprise systems. Most rollouts need both.
Choose the right scope: AGENTS.md, slash commands and Skills live in the repo (per-project); Projects and the Memory tool persist across sessions for teams; Plugins distribute a curated setup org-wide in one step.
Manage the context window deliberately: prefer Subagents and on-demand Skills over stuffing everything into one long prompt. Engineer high-signal context bundles to cut token cost and reduce drift.
Treat context as code: version, review and audit your AGENTS.md, Skills and MCP configs. For the enterprise, governance, least-privilege MCP access and an audit trail matter as much as raw capability.
Book a free 30-minute consultation to discuss your requirements and find the right approach.
