aws-cloud-operations

name	aws_cloud_operations
description	Expertise in AWS cloud operations including infrastructure management, troubleshooting, documentation search, API execution, and operational procedures. Use for querying AWS resources, investigating incidents, following SOPs, searching documentation, checking service availability, and executing AWS API calls via the AWS MCP Server.

AWS Cloud Operations Skill

You have access to the AWS MCP Server tools for managing, querying, and troubleshooting AWS infrastructure and services.

Available Tools

Tool	Purpose
aws___retrieve_agent_sop	Search and retrieve Agent SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for guided multi-step AWS tasks
aws___search_documentation	Search across all AWS documentation, API references, and best practices
aws___read_documentation	Fetch a specific AWS documentation page as markdown with headings and code blocks
aws___recommend	Get content recommendations for related AWS documentation pages
aws___list_regions	List all AWS regions and their identifiers
aws___get_regional_availability	Check which AWS services and features are available in a specific region
aws___call_aws	Execute authenticated AWS API calls with SigV4 signing and automatic validation
aws___suggest_aws_commands	Get syntax help and parameter details for AWS API operations

Workflow

General Investigation

1. Understand the request — Determine which AWS services and resources are involved
2. Search documentation — Use aws___search_documentation to find relevant guides and API references
3. Check SOPs — Use aws___retrieve_agent_sop to find pre-built procedures for the task
4. Execute actions — Use aws___call_aws to query or modify AWS resources
5. Analyze results — Summarize findings with actionable recommendations

Incident Troubleshooting

1. Identify the scope — Determine affected services, regions, and resources
2. Check SOPs — Search for relevant troubleshooting SOPs with aws___retrieve_agent_sop
3. Gather data — Use aws___call_aws to query CloudWatch metrics, CloudTrail events, and resource status
4. Search documentation — Use aws___search_documentation for error codes, known issues, and resolution steps
5. Check regional availability — Use aws___get_regional_availability to verify service health in the affected region
6. Execute remediation — Follow the SOP or apply fixes with aws___call_aws
7. Verify recovery — Confirm metrics and resource status return to normal

Infrastructure Provisioning

1. Find the SOP — Use aws___retrieve_agent_sop (e.g., "set up production VPC", "deploy serverless app")
2. Review documentation — Use aws___read_documentation for detailed configuration options
3. Check availability — Use aws___get_regional_availability to verify the target region supports required services
4. Follow SOP steps — Execute each step with aws___call_aws, validating results between steps
5. Verify deployment — Confirm all resources are healthy and accessible

Agent SOPs

Agent SOPs are pre-built, step-by-step procedures that follow AWS Well-Architected best practices. Always check for an applicable SOP before manually constructing a workflow.

Common SOP categories:

• VPC and networking setup
• Serverless application deployment
• Monitoring and alerting configuration
• Database provisioning (RDS, DynamoDB)
• Cost optimization and billing alerts
• Security and compliance audits
• CI/CD pipeline setup

To use SOPs:

1. Call aws___retrieve_agent_sop without arguments to list all available SOPs
2. Call aws___retrieve_agent_sop with a specific SOP name for step-by-step instructions
3. Follow each step sequentially, using aws___call_aws to execute the actions

Common AWS API Patterns

EC2 Operations

# Describe instances in a region
aws___call_aws: ec2 DescribeInstances

# Check instance status
aws___call_aws: ec2 DescribeInstanceStatus --InstanceIds i-1234567890abcdef0

# Get CloudWatch metrics for an instance
aws___call_aws: cloudwatch GetMetricData --MetricDataQueries [...]

CloudWatch Log Investigation

# Search log groups
aws___call_aws: logs DescribeLogGroups --logGroupNamePrefix /aws/lambda/

# Query logs with CloudWatch Logs Insights
aws___call_aws: logs StartQuery --logGroupName /aws/lambda/my-function --queryString "fields @timestamp, @message | filter @message like /ERROR/"

CloudTrail Event Analysis

# Look up recent events
aws___call_aws: cloudtrail LookupEvents --LookupAttributes [{AttributeKey:EventName,AttributeValue:StopInstances}]

# Check for unauthorized API calls
aws___call_aws: cloudtrail LookupEvents --LookupAttributes [{AttributeKey:EventName,AttributeValue:ConsoleLogin}]

S3 Operations

# List buckets
aws___call_aws: s3api ListBuckets

# Check bucket policy
aws___call_aws: s3api GetBucketPolicy --Bucket my-bucket

# Get object metadata
aws___call_aws: s3api HeadObject --Bucket my-bucket --Key my-key

Best Practices

• Start with SOPs — Always check for an applicable Agent SOP before building a manual workflow
• Use documentation search — Verify API parameters and service limits before executing calls
• Specify regions explicitly — AWS resources are regional; always confirm the target region
• Use read-only first — Query resource state before making changes
• Validate incrementally — For multi-step procedures, verify each step's output before proceeding
• Check permissions — If an API call fails with 403, verify the IAM policy grants the required action
• Use aws___suggest_aws_commands — Get correct API syntax before calling unfamiliar operations

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
401/403 errors	Verify IAM credentials are correct and have aws-mcp:InvokeMcp permission
Access Denied on API call	Add the specific service permission (e.g., ec2:DescribeInstances) to the IAM policy
Resource not found	Verify the correct region; resources are region-specific
Throttling errors	Reduce request frequency; use pagination for large result sets
SOP not found	Try broader search terms; list all SOPs first to see what's available
Documentation search returns nothing	Use simpler search terms; try service name only
API parameter errors	Use aws___suggest_aws_commands to verify correct parameter names and formats
Timeout on API call	Some operations (e.g., CloudFormation stack creation) are async; poll for status instead