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. 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 >= 3.3.3 required

Run aliyun version to verify >= 3.3.3. If not installed or version too low, run curl -fsSL https://aliyuncli.alicdn.com/setup.sh | bash to install/update, or see references/cli-installation-guide.md for installation instructions.

[MUST] CLI User-Agent (API calls only) — Every actual API invocation (e.g., aliyun agentexplorer ...) must include: --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-skills

Note: This flag applies only to commands that hit the OpenAPI (such as aliyun agentexplorer ...). Local/management commands like aliyun configure ..., aliyun configure list, aliyun configure ai-mode ..., aliyun plugin ..., and aliyun version do not support the --user-agent flag — do not pass it to them.

[MUST] Region — Every aliyun agentexplorer ... invocation must include --region cn-hangzhou (or another supported region). Without --region, the call will fail.

Step 1: Authenticate

Complete authentication first (see the Authentication section below). The next steps require valid credentials.

Step 2: Enable Auto Plugin Install

Once aliyun configure list shows a valid profile, enable automatic plugin installation:

aliyun configure set --auto-plugin-install true

Step 3: Enable AI-Mode (Optional)

Aliyun CLI provides AI-Mode. When enabled, the CLI automatically attaches AI identity information, allowing the server to identify and optimize Agent call chains.

# Enable AI-Mode
aliyun configure ai-mode enable

# Set AI-Mode user-agent identifier
aliyun configure ai-mode set-user-agent --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-skills

# Disable AI-Mode
aliyun configure ai-mode disable

Step 4: Update / Install Plugins

# Refresh plugin index and update installed plugins
aliyun plugin update

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

# Verify installation (this is an API call — UA + region required)
aliyun agentexplorer --help

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

Check the output for a valid profile (AK, STS, or OAuth identity).

If no valid profile exists, STOP here.

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. 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.

Core Workflow

Step 1: Search Skills

Based on user intent, choose keyword search, category search, or both:

• Keyword search: Extract keywords from the user's request and execute search directly
• Category search: Call list-categories to get all available categories, select the best match, and search
• Combined search: Use both keyword and category to narrow results

# Keyword search
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --keyword "<keyword>" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --region cn-hangzhou \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-skills

# Get all categories
aliyun agentexplorer list-categories \
  --region cn-hangzhou \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-skills

# Category search
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --category-code "<category-code>" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --region cn-hangzhou \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-skills

# Combined search (keyword + category)
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --keyword "<keyword>" \
  --category-code "<category-code>" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --region cn-hangzhou \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-skills

Step 2: Iterate Until Found

If the target skill is not in the results, adjust search criteria and retry automatically:

1. Switch between Chinese and English keywords ("cloud server" → "ECS", "object storage" → "OSS")
2. Broaden keywords (drop qualifiers: "RDS backup automation" → "RDS")
3. Remove category filter, search by keyword only
4. Try synonyms or related terms ("instance" → "ECS", "bucket" → "OSS")
5. Browse the most relevant top-level category without keyword

Repeat until the target skill is found or confirmed not to exist. If all attempts fail, inform the user what was tried.

Step 3: View Skill Details (Optional)

Optionally retrieve skill content to verify it matches user intent before installation. This step can be skipped if the search results already provide sufficient information.

aliyun agentexplorer get-skill-content \
  --skill-name "<skill-name>" \
  --region cn-hangzhou \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-skills

Step 4: Install Skill

Execute the installation command for the target skill.

# Option A: Using npx skills add
npx skills add aliyun/alibabacloud-aiops-skills \
  --skill <skill-name>

# Option B: Using npx clawhub install (recommended for OpenClaw ecosystem)
npx clawhub install <skill-name>

Verify the skill appears in the available skills list after installation.

Command Reference

Parameters

Pagination

When search results span multiple pages, use next-token from the previous response to fetch the next page:

aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --keyword "<keyword>" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --next-token "<next-token-from-previous-response>" \
  --region cn-hangzhou \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-skills

Success Verification

After each operation, verify success by checking:

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, 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 --region cn-hangzhou --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-skills
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills --region cn-hangzhou --category-code "computing" --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-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

1. Always verify credentials first — Use aliyun configure list before any search operation
2. Iterate on search — Automatically adjust keywords and retry until the target skill is found or confirmed absent
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

# User: "Find skills for managing ECS instances"

# Step 1: Search by keyword
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --keyword "ECS" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --region cn-hangzhou \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-skills

# Step 2: Display results table and get details for the best match
aliyun agentexplorer get-skill-content \
  --skill-name "alibabacloud-ecs-batch-command" \
  --region cn-hangzhou \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-skills

Example 2: Browse Database Skills

# User: "What database skills are available?"

# Step 1: List categories to show database category
aliyun agentexplorer list-categories \
  --region cn-hangzhou \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-skills

# Step 2: Search database category
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --category-code "database" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --region cn-hangzhou \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-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 keyword
aliyun agentexplorer search-skills \
  --keyword "OSS" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --region cn-hangzhou \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-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 \
  --region cn-hangzhou \
  --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-find-skills

# Step 2: Display targeted results

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 aliyun plugin install --names aliyun-cli-agentexplorer

No Results Returned

Cause: Search criteria too specific or incorrect category code.

Solutions:

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