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:

Search Skills — Find Alibaba Cloud Agent Skills by keyword, category, or both
Browse Categories — Explore available skill categories and subcategories
View Skill Details — Get detailed information about specific skills
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

# Install the agentexplorer plugin
aliyun plugin install --names agentexplorer

# Verify installation
aliyun agentexplorer --help --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

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.

Obtain credentials from Alibaba Cloud Console

Configure credentials outside of this session (via aliyun configure in terminal or environment variables in shell profile)

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:

Read references/ram-policies.md to get the full list of permissions required by this SKILL

Use ram-permission-diagnose skill to guide the user through requesting the necessary permissions

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.

Parameter Name	Required/Optional	Description	Default Value
`keyword`	Optional	Search keyword (product name, feature name, or description)	None
`category-code`	Optional	Category code for filtering (e.g., "computing", "computing.ecs")	None
`max-results`	Optional	Maximum number of results per page (1-100)	20
`next-token`	Optional	Pagination token from previous response	None
`skip`	Optional	Number of items to skip	0
`skill-name`	Required (for get-skill-content)	Unique skill identifier	None

Core Workflow

Workflow 1: Search Skills by Keyword

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

# Step 1: Confirm search keyword with user
# Example: "ECS", "database backup", "OSS", "monitoring"

# Step 2: Execute search command
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --keyword "<user-confirmed-keyword>" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

# Step 3: Parse and display results to user
# Show: skillName, displayName, description, categoryName, installCount, likeCount

Workflow 2: Browse Skills by Category

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

# Step 1: List all available categories
aliyun agentexplorer list-categories \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

# Step 2: Confirm category selection with user
# Example: "computing", "database", "computing.ecs"

# Step 3: Search skills in selected category
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --category-code "<user-confirmed-category>" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

# Step 4: Display results to user

Workflow 3: Get Skill Details

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

# Step 1: Confirm skill name with user
# (Usually obtained from previous search results)

# Step 2: Retrieve skill content
aliyun agentexplorer get-skill-content \
  --skill-name "<user-confirmed-skill-name>" \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

# Step 3: Display skill details including:
# - Full description
# - Usage instructions
# - Prerequisites
# - Examples

Workflow 4: Install a Skill

Scenario: User wants to install a discovered skill.

# Step 1: Confirm skill name with user

# Step 2: Execute installation command
npx skills add aliyun/alibabacloud-aiops-skills \
  --skill <user-confirmed-skill-name>

# Step 3: Verify installation success
# Check that skill appears in available skills list

Workflow 5: Combined Search (Keyword + Category)

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

# Step 1: Confirm both keyword and category with user

# Step 2: Execute combined search
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --keyword "<user-confirmed-keyword>" \
  --category-code "<user-confirmed-category>" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

# Step 3: Display filtered results

Workflow 6: Paginated Search

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

# Step 1: Execute initial search
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --keyword "<keyword>" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

# Step 2: Extract nextToken from response

# Step 3: Fetch next page if user requests more results
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --keyword "<keyword>" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --next-token "<next-token-from-previous-response>" \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

Success Verification

After each operation, verify success by checking:

List Categories: Response contains categoryCode and categoryName fields
Search Skills: Response contains skills array with valid skill objects
Get Skill Content: Response contains complete skill markdown content
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, database.rds
Multiple categories: Separate with commas: computing,database

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

# Strategy 1: Try alternative keywords
# Instead of "云服务器" try "ECS" or "instance"

# Strategy 2: Remove filters
# Drop category filter, search by keyword only

# Strategy 3: Browse by category
aliyun agentexplorer list-categories --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills --category-code "computing" --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

# Strategy 4: Use broader terms
# Instead of "RDS backup automation" try just "RDS" or "database"

5. Display Results to Users

When presenting search results, format as table:

Found N skills:

| Skill Name | Display Name | Description | Category | Install Count |
|------------|--------------|-------------|----------|---------------|
| alibabacloud-ecs-batch | ECS Batch Operations | Batch manage ECS instances | Computing > ECS | 245 |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |

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

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

Common Use Cases & Examples

Example 1: Find ECS Management Skills

# User: "Find skills for managing ECS instances"

# Step 1: Search by keyword
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --keyword "ECS" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

# Step 2: Display results table
# Step 3: If user selects a skill, get details
aliyun agentexplorer get-skill-content \
  --skill-name "alibabacloud-ecs-batch-command" \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

Example 2: Browse Database Skills

# User: "What database skills are available?"

# Step 1: List categories to show database category
aliyun agentexplorer list-categories \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

# Step 2: Search database category
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --category-code "database" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

# Step 3: Display results grouped by subcategory

Example 3: Search with Chinese Keyword

# User: "搜索 OSS 相关的 skill"

# Step 1: Search using Chinese or English
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --keyword "OSS" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

# Step 2: Display results in user's preferred language

Example 4: Narrow Down Search

# User: "Find backup skills for RDS"

# Step 1: Combined search
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --keyword "backup" \
  --category-code "database.rds" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills

# Step 2: Display targeted results

Reference Documentation

Reference	Description
references/ram-policies.md	Detailed RAM permission requirements
references/related-commands.md	Complete CLI command reference
references/verification-method.md	Success verification steps for each workflow
references/cli-installation-guide.md	Alibaba Cloud CLI installation guide
references/acceptance-criteria.md	Testing acceptance criteria and patterns
references/category-examples.md	Common category codes and examples

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 aliyun plugin install --names aliyun-cli-agentexplorer

No Results Returned

Cause: Search criteria too specific or incorrect category code.

Solutions:

Try broader keywords
Remove category filter
Use list-categories to verify category codes
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

alibabacloud-find-skills