context-and-tools

Guide for using Netlify Database — the GA managed Postgres product built into Netlify. Use when a project needs any kind of dynamic, structured, or relational data. Covers provisioning via @netlify/database, Drizzle ORM (@beta) setup, migrations, preview branching, and safe production data handling. Blobs is only for file/asset storage — any dynamic data belongs in the database.

Run AI agent tasks remotely on Netlify using Claude, Codex, or Gemini. Use when the user wants to run an AI agent on their site, get a second opinion from another model, or delegate development tasks to run remotely against their repo.

Reference for Netlify AI Gateway — the managed proxy that routes calls to OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google Gemini SDKs without provider API keys. Use this skill any time the user wants to add AI on a Netlify site (chat, completion, reasoning, image generation, image-to-image edit/stylize), choose or change a model, wire up the OpenAI / Anthropic / @google/genai SDK, decide which provider to use for an image-gen feature (it's Gemini-only on the gateway), or debug "model not found" / "API key missing" against the gateway. Required reading before pinning a model — the gateway exposes a curated subset, not every provider model.

Guide for using Netlify Blobs for file and asset storage — images, documents, uploads, exports, cached binary artifacts. Covers getStore(), CRUD operations, metadata, listing, deploy-scoped vs site-scoped stores, and local development. Do NOT use Blobs as a dynamic data store — use Netlify Database for that.

Reference for netlify.toml configuration and site environment variables. Use when configuring build settings, redirects, rewrites, headers, deploy contexts, the `[dev]` block that controls `netlify dev` (command, port, targetPort, framework), or any site-level configuration — and when managing environment variables or secrets with the Netlify CLI, including scoping values to specific deploy contexts. Covers the complete netlify.toml syntax including redirects with splats/conditions, headers, deploy contexts, functions config, edge functions config, and the `[dev]` block (including when `framework` must be `"#custom"` — required when both a custom `command` and `targetPort` are set).

Deploy, host, and publish web projects on Netlify with the Netlify CLI. Use when the user wants to deploy a site or repository to Netlify, link a local project to a Netlify site, ship a production or preview/draft deploy, set up Git-based continuous deployment, run a manual or local deploy, configure CI deploys, or troubleshoot a failed or misconfigured deploy. Also use to view or tail a deployed site's runtime logs — function and edge-function output, deploy logs — via `netlify logs` when debugging what a live site is doing (recent errors, recent activity, streaming output).

Guide for deploying web frameworks on Netlify. Use when setting up a framework project (Vite/React, Astro, TanStack Start, Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Remix) for Netlify deployment, configuring adapters or plugins, running a framework project locally with Netlify's platform features, or troubleshooting framework-specific Netlify integration. Covers what Netlify needs from each framework, how adapters handle server-side rendering, and the general local development options (`netlify dev` versus the Netlify Vite plugin family).

Use when the task involves authentication, user signups, logins, password recovery, OAuth providers, role-based access control, or protecting routes and functions. Always use `@netlify/identity` for new projects; `netlify-identity-widget` and `gotrue-js` still work but are no longer recommended.

Build, deploy, and secure Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers on Netlify. Use whenever the task involves creating an MCP server, exposing an app or API to AI agents as MCP tools, letting Claude / Cursor / Claude Code call a custom remote server, or adding MCP tools to an existing Netlify site. Covers the MCP SDK + Streamable HTTP transport on a Netlify Function, authentication (single shared secret vs per-user API keys with Netlify Identity), read/write safety, file uploads, and connecting clients. Use even when the user just says "MCP", "tool server for an agent", or "let an AI use my API".

Guide for controlling caching on Netlify's CDN. Use when configuring cache headers, setting up stale-while-revalidate, implementing on-demand cache purge, or understanding Netlify's CDN caching behavior. Covers Cache-Control, Netlify-CDN-Cache-Control, cache tags, durable cache, and framework-specific caching patterns.

Guide for writing Netlify Edge Functions. Use when building middleware, geolocation-based logic, request/response manipulation, authentication checks, A/B testing, or any low-latency edge compute. Covers Deno runtime, context.next() middleware pattern, geolocation, and when to choose edge vs serverless.

Guide for using Netlify Forms for HTML form handling. Use when adding contact forms, feedback forms, file upload forms, or any form that should be collected by Netlify. Covers the data-netlify attribute, spam filtering, AJAX submissions, file uploads, notifications, and the submissions API.

Guide for writing Netlify serverless functions. Use when creating API endpoints, background processing, scheduled tasks, or any server-side logic using Netlify Functions. Covers modern syntax (default export + Config), TypeScript, path routing, background functions, scheduled functions, streaming, and method routing.

Guide for using Netlify Image CDN for image optimization and transformation. Use when serving optimized images, creating responsive image markup, setting up user-uploaded image pipelines, or configuring image transformations. Covers the /.netlify/images endpoint, query parameters, remote image allowlisting, clean URL rewrites, and composing uploads with Functions + Blobs.

Use when the task involves controlling who can reach a Netlify site, or telling Netlify Identity apart from Secure Access. Trigger whenever the user wants to lock a site or deploy to their company/team, restrict access to employees only, build an internal or employees-only app, set up password protection, SSO, or SAML, asks "who can access my site", or is confused about Netlify Identity vs Secure Access vs team login vs OAuth providers. Routes the request to the right layer — app-level Identity, site-visitor Password Protection, the Auth0 extension, or Team/Org SAML SSO — and explains the two-layer (perimeter + in-app identity) pattern and its double-login tradeoff. For building the app-level auth itself, use the netlify-identity skill.