Alibaba Cloud Agent Skills Search & Discovery

This skill helps users search, discover, and install Alibaba Cloud official Agent Skills through the agentexplorer CLI plugin.

Scenario Description

This skill enables users to:

1. 1. Search Skills — Find Alibaba Cloud Agent Skills by keyword, category, or both
2. Browse Categories — Explore available skill categories and subcategories
3. View Skill Details — Get detailed information about specific skills
4. Install Skills — Guide users through skill installation process

Architecture: Alibaba Cloud CLI + agentexplorer Plugin → Skills Repository

Use Cases

• - "Find a skill for managing ECS instances"
• "What Alibaba Cloud skills are available for databases?"
• "阿里云有哪些 OSS 相关的 skill?"
• "Browse all available alicloud skills"
• "Install a skill for RDS management"

Installation

Pre-check: Aliyun CLI >= 3.3.1 required
Run aliyun version to verify >= 3.3.1. If not installed or version too low,
see references/cli-installation-guide.md for installation instructions.
Then [MUST] run aliyun configure set --auto-plugin-install true to enable automatic plugin installation.

Install agentexplorer Plugin

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Authentication

Pre-check: Alibaba Cloud Credentials Required
Security Rules:

• - NEVER read, echo, or print AK/SK values (e.g., echo $ALIBABA_CLOUD_ACCESS_KEY_ID is FORBIDDEN)
• NEVER ask the user to input AK/SK directly in the conversation or command line
• NEVER use aliyun configure set with literal credential values
• ONLY use aliyun configure list to check credential status

> aliyun configure list --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills
> 

Check the output for a valid profile (AK, STS, or OAuth identity).
If no valid profile exists, STOP here.

1. 1. Obtain credentials from Alibaba Cloud Console
2. Configure credentials outside of this session (via aliyun configure in terminal or environment variables in shell profile)
3. Return and re-run after aliyun configure list shows a valid profile

RAM Policy

This skill uses read-only APIs from the AgentExplorer service. Required permissions: agentexplorer:ListCategories, agentexplorer:SearchSkills, agentexplorer:GetSkillContent. For the full RAM policy JSON, see references/ram-policies.md.

[MUST] Permission Failure Handling: When any command or API call fails due to permission errors at any point during execution, follow this process:

1. 1. Read references/ram-policies.md to get the full list of permissions required by this SKILL
2. Use ram-permission-diagnose skill to guide the user through requesting the necessary permissions
3. Pause and wait until the user confirms that the required permissions have been granted

For detailed permission information, see references/ram-policies.md.

Parameter Confirmation

IMPORTANT: Parameter Confirmation — Before executing any command or API call,
ALL user-customizable parameters (e.g., keyword, category-code, skill-name, max-results, etc.)
MUST be confirmed with the user. Do NOT assume or use default values without explicit user approval.

Core Workflow

Workflow 1: Search Skills by Keyword

Scenario: User wants to find skills related to a specific product or feature.

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Workflow 2: Browse Skills by Category

Scenario: User wants to explore skills in a specific category.

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Workflow 3: Get Skill Details

Scenario: User wants to see detailed information about a specific skill.

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Workflow 4: Install a Skill

Scenario: User wants to install a discovered skill.

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Workflow 5: Combined Search (Keyword + Category)

Scenario: User wants to narrow down search results using both keyword and category.

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Workflow 6: Paginated Search

Scenario: User wants to browse through multiple pages of search results.

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Success Verification

After each operation, verify success by checking:

1. 1. List Categories: Response contains categoryCode and categoryName fields
2. Search Skills: Response contains skills array with valid skill objects
3. Get Skill Content: Response contains complete skill markdown content
4. Install Skill: Skill appears in Claude Code skills list

For detailed verification steps, see references/verification-method.md.

Search Strategies & Best Practices

1. Keyword Selection

• - Use product codes: ecs, rds, oss, slb, vpc (English abbreviations work best)
• Chinese names: Also supported, e.g., "云服务器", "数据库", "对象存储"
• Feature terms: "backup", "monitoring", "batch operation", "deployment"
• Generic terms: When unsure, use broader terms like "compute", "storage", "network"

2. Category Filtering

• - Browse first: Use list-categories to understand available categories
• Top-level categories: computing, database, storage, networking, security, etc.
• Subcategories: Use dot notation like computing.ecs, INLINECODE31
• Multiple categories: Separate with commas: INLINECODE32

3. Result Optimization

• - Start broad: Begin with keyword-only search, then add category filters
• Adjust page size: Use --max-results based on display needs (20-50 typical)
• Check install counts: Popular skills usually have higher install counts
• Read descriptions: Match skill description to your specific use case

4. When No Results Found

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5. Display Results to Users

When presenting search results, format as table:

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Include:

• - skillName: For installation and detailed queries
• displayName: User-friendly name
• description: Brief overview
• categoryName + subCategoryName: Classification
• installCount: Popularity indicator

Cleanup

This skill does not create any resources. No cleanup is required.

Best Practices

1. 1. Always verify credentials first — Use aliyun configure list before any search operation
2. Confirm parameters with user — Never assume keyword or category without asking
3. Start with broad searches — Narrow down with filters if too many results
4. Show category structure — Help users understand available categories before filtering
5. Display results clearly — Use tables to make skill comparison easy
6. Provide skill names — Always show skillName field for installation
7. Handle pagination — Offer to load more results if nextToken is present
8. Check install counts — Guide users toward popular, well-tested skills
9. Show full details — Use get-skill-content before installation recommendation
10. Test after install — Verify skill is available after installation

Common Use Cases & Examples

Example 1: Find ECS Management Skills

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Example 2: Browse Database Skills

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Example 3: Search with Chinese Keyword

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Example 4: Narrow Down Search

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Reference Documentation

Troubleshooting

Error: "failed to load configuration"

Cause: Alibaba Cloud CLI not configured with credentials.

Solution: Follow authentication section above to configure credentials.

Error: "Plugin not found"

Cause: agentexplorer plugin not installed.

Solution: Run INLINECODE38

No Results Returned

Cause: Search criteria too specific or incorrect category code.

Solutions:

1. 1. Try broader keywords
2. Remove category filter
3. Use list-categories to verify category codes
4. Try English product codes instead of Chinese names

Pagination Issues

Cause: Incorrect nextToken or skip value.

Solution: Use exact nextToken value from previous response, don't modify it.

Notes

• - Read-only operations: This skill only performs queries, no resources are created
• No credentials required for browsing: Some operations may work without full credentials
• Multi-language support: Keywords support both English and Chinese
• Regular updates: Skills catalog is regularly updated with new skills
• Community skills: Some skills may be community-contributed, check descriptions carefully