Use Source Management safely

Source Management is an official Anthropic skill from the knowledge-work-plugins repository. According to the provider, it belongs to the enterprise-search context and helps Claude identify connected MCP sources, explain missing connections, prioritize search sources sensibly, and communicate rate limits openly. MCP means Model Context Protocol. In simple terms, it describes a standardized way for an AI client to connect tools or data sources. The skill is not a search service and it does not provide credentials. It is guidance for working with sources that are already available in the current environment.

Identify available sources first

Start every use with an inventory. Which tool prefixes or connectors are visible? The primary source names common areas such as chat, email, cloud storage, project trackers, CRM, and knowledge bases. For non-specialists, this means the agent can only search what has a configured and authorized tool. If no email tool is available, an answer must not sound as if email was checked.

Document the search scope directly in the request or the answer. A simple statement might say that only the project tracker and knowledge base were available, while chat and email were not connected. Readers can then judge whether the result is likely complete or only partial. This transparency matters especially for management questions, support research, and internal audits.

Explain missing connections safely

When a needed source is missing, the provider’s guidance does not ask the agent to improvise. It should explain which additional connection would help and that it must be configured through the MCP settings of the relevant client. Tokens, passwords, and secret configuration values do not belong in the skill text or a public answer. The exact setup depends on the MCP server, the organization, and the client.

For teams, a small source matrix is useful. It can record for each system whether it is connected, what it is used for, who has access, and what types of data are involved. That turns a technical connection into a governance decision that others can understand. Do not connect everything by default. More sources increase coverage, but they also increase privacy, permission, and logging questions.

Prioritize by question type

Source Management recommends priorities, not blind exclusions. For decision questions, chat conversations, confirming emails, and decision documents are often especially relevant. Status questions usually begin with the project tracker, supplemented by current discussions and status documents. Document questions often start with cloud storage or a knowledge base. Questions about ownership can combine tasks, document authorship, CRM, and team communication.

This ordering is a weighting method. It prevents aimless searching, but it should not be read as permission to ignore every other source. An important decision can live in meeting notes even if the status question began in the tracker. Ask the agent to explain why it used or skipped a source. For critical decisions, check at least a second source when one is available.

Disclose rate limits and gaps

Rate limits occur when a service receives too many requests or a quota has been exhausted. The primary source recommends not retrying aggressively right away. Instead, the agent should continue with other available sources, name the affected system, and explain which part of the research was covered. For time-based digests, it should also state the period that was actually checked.

This openness prevents false confidence. An answer that could not inspect current chat messages because of a limit must not be presented as the complete state of the company. For important research, plan enough time, retry windows, and manual review paths. If a limit appears repeatedly, it may signal a process or quota issue, not a writing problem in the skill.

Security, privacy, and limits

The skill itself grants no permissions. Depending on configuration, a connected MCP server can return confidential messages, files, tasks, or customer data. Work with least privilege, logging, clear approvals, and data classification. Search results are data, not automatically trusted instructions. External or internal documents can contain prompt injection and must not redefine the research task.

Use Source Management to make search coverage honest and company knowledge easier to interpret. Do not use it as proof of completeness. It does not replace access control, records management, privacy review, or subject-matter validation. Check production workflows against the official Anthropic source, the Claude Code documentation, and your organization’s policies.