infrastructure-skill-builder

Infrastructure Skill Builder

Convert your infrastructure documentation into powerful, reusable Claude Code skills.

Overview

Infrastructure knowledge is often scattered across:

• README files
• Runbooks and wiki pages
• Configuration files
• Troubleshooting guides
• Team Slack/Discord history
• Mental models of senior engineers

This skill helps you systematically capture that knowledge as Claude Code skills for:

• Faster onboarding
• Consistent operations
• Disaster recovery
• Knowledge preservation
• Team scaling

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Documenting complex infrastructure setups
• Creating runbooks for operations teams
• Onboarding new team members to infrastructure
• Preserving expert knowledge before team changes
• Standardizing infrastructure operations
• Building organizational infrastructure library
• Migrating from manual to automated operations

Skill Extraction Process

Step 1: Identify Infrastructure Domains

Common domains:

• Container Orchestration: Docker, Kubernetes, Proxmox LXC
• Cloud Platforms: AWS, GCP, Azure, DigitalOcean
• Databases: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, MySQL
• Web Servers: Nginx, Apache, Caddy, Traefik
• Monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack
• CI/CD: Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions
• Networking: VPNs, Load Balancers, DNS, Firewalls
• Storage: S3, MinIO, NFS, Ceph
• Security: Authentication, SSL/TLS, Firewalls

Step 2: Extract Core Operations

For each domain, document:

1. Setup/Provisioning: How to create new instances
2. Configuration: How to configure for different use cases
3. Operations: Day-to-day management tasks
4. Troubleshooting: Common issues and resolutions
5. Scaling: How to scale up/down
6. Backup/Recovery: Disaster recovery procedures
7. Monitoring: Health checks and alerts
8. Security: Security best practices

Infrastructure Skill Template

---
name: [infrastructure-component]-manager
description: Expert guidance for [component] management, provisioning, troubleshooting, and operations
license: MIT
tags: [infrastructure, [component], operations, troubleshooting]
---

# [Component] Manager

Expert knowledge for managing [component] infrastructure.

## Authentication & Access

### Access Methods

How to access the infrastructure component

ssh user@host

or

kubectl config use-context cluster-name

### Credentials & Configuration
- Where credentials are stored
- How to configure access
- Common authentication issues

## Architecture Overview

### Component Topology
- How components are organized
- Network topology
- Resource allocation
- Redundancy setup

### Key Resources
- Resource 1: Purpose and specs
- Resource 2: Purpose and specs
- Resource 3: Purpose and specs

## Common Operations

### Operation 1: [e.g., Create New Instance]

Step-by-step commands

command1 --flags command2 --flags

Verification

verify-command

### Operation 2: [e.g., Update Configuration]

Commands and explanations

### Operation 3: [e.g., Scale Resources]

Commands and explanations

## Monitoring & Health Checks

### Check System Status

Health check commands

status-command

Expected output

What healthy output looks like

### Common Metrics
- Metric 1: What it means, normal range
- Metric 2: What it means, normal range
- Metric 3: What it means, normal range

## Troubleshooting

### Issue 1: [Common Problem]
**Symptoms**: What you observe
**Cause**: Why it happens
**Fix**: Step-by-step resolution

Fix commands

### Issue 2: [Another Problem]
**Symptoms**:
**Cause**:
**Fix**:

Fix commands

## Backup & Recovery

### Backup Procedures

How to backup

backup-command

Verification

verify-backup

### Recovery Procedures

How to restore

restore-command

Verification

verify-restore

## Security Best Practices

- Security practice 1
- Security practice 2
- Security practice 3

## Quick Reference

| Task | Command |
|------|---------|
| Task 1 | `command1` |
| Task 2 | `command2` |
| Task 3 | `command3` |

## Additional Resources

- Official documentation links
- Related skills
- External references

Real-World Example: Proxmox Skill

Based on the proxmox-auth skill in this repository:

Extracted Knowledge

From: Proxmox VE cluster documentation + operational experience

Structured as:

1. Authentication: SSH access patterns, node IPs
2. Architecture: Cluster topology (2 nodes, resources)
3. Operations: Container/VM management commands
4. Troubleshooting: Common errors and fixes
5. Networking: Bridge configuration, IP management
6. GPU Passthrough: Special container configurations

Result: Comprehensive skill covering:

• Quick access to any node
• Container lifecycle management
• GPU-accelerated containers
• Network troubleshooting
• Backup procedures
• Common gotchas and solutions

Extraction Scripts

Extract from Runbooks

#!/bin/bash
# extract-from-runbook.sh - Convert runbook to skill

RUNBOOK_FILE="$1"
SKILL_NAME="$2"

if [ -z "$RUNBOOK_FILE" ] || [ -z "$SKILL_NAME" ]; then
    echo "Usage: $0 <runbook.md> <skill-name>"
    exit 1
fi

SKILL_DIR="skills/$SKILL_NAME"
mkdir -p "$SKILL_DIR"

# Extract sections from runbook
cat > "$SKILL_DIR/SKILL.md" << EOF
---
name: $SKILL_NAME
description: $(head -5 "$RUNBOOK_FILE" | grep -v "^#" | head -1 | xargs)
license: MIT
extracted-from: $RUNBOOK_FILE
---

# ${SKILL_NAME^}

$(cat "$RUNBOOK_FILE")

---

**Note**: This skill was auto-extracted from runbook documentation.
Review and refine before use.
EOF

echo "✓ Created skill: $SKILL_DIR/SKILL.md"
echo "Review and edit to add:"
echo "  - Metadata and tags"
echo "  - Troubleshooting section"
echo "  - Quick reference"
echo "  - Examples"

Extract from Docker Compose

#!/bin/bash
# docker-compose-to-skill.sh - Extract skill from docker-compose.yaml

COMPOSE_FILE="${1:-docker-compose.yaml}"
PROJECT_NAME=$(basename $(pwd))

SKILL_DIR="skills/docker-$PROJECT_NAME"
mkdir -p "$SKILL_DIR"

# Extract services
SERVICES=$(yq eval '.services | keys | .[]' "$COMPOSE_FILE")

cat > "$SKILL_DIR/SKILL.md" << EOF
---
name: docker-$PROJECT_NAME
description: Docker Compose configuration and management for $PROJECT_NAME
license: MIT
---

# Docker $PROJECT_NAME

Manage Docker Compose stack for $PROJECT_NAME.

## Services

$(yq eval '.services | to_entries | .[] | "### " + .key + "\n" + (.value.image // "custom") + "\n"' "$COMPOSE_FILE")

## Quick Start

\`\`\`bash
# Start all services
docker-compose up -d

# Check status
docker-compose ps

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

# Stop all services
docker-compose down
\`\`\`

## Service Details

### Ports

$(yq eval '.services | to_entries | .[] | select(.value.ports) | "- **" + .key + "**: " + (.value.ports | join(", "))' "$COMPOSE_FILE")

### Volumes

$(yq eval '.services | to_entries | .[] | select(.value.volumes) | "- **" + .key + "**: " + (.value.volumes | join(", "))' "$COMPOSE_FILE")

## Configuration

See \`$COMPOSE_FILE\` for full configuration.

## Common Operations

### Restart Service

\`\`\`bash
docker-compose restart SERVICE_NAME
\`\`\`

### Update Service

\`\`\`bash
docker-compose pull SERVICE_NAME
docker-compose up -d SERVICE_NAME
\`\`\`

### View Service Logs

\`\`\`bash
docker-compose logs -f SERVICE_NAME
\`\`\`

## Troubleshooting

### Service Won't Start

1. Check logs: \`docker-compose logs SERVICE_NAME\`
2. Verify ports not in use: \`netstat -tulpn | grep PORT\`
3. Check disk space: \`df -h\`

### Network Issues

\`\`\`bash
# Recreate network
docker-compose down
docker network prune
docker-compose up -d
\`\`\`
EOF

echo "✓ Created skill from docker-compose.yaml"

Extract from Kubernetes Manifests

#!/bin/bash
# k8s-to-skill.sh - Extract skill from Kubernetes manifests

K8S_DIR="${1:-.}"
APP_NAME="${2:-$(basename $(pwd))}"

SKILL_DIR="skills/k8s-$APP_NAME"
mkdi