ddsetup

name

ddsetup

description

First-time initialization of the Datadog MCP server `datadog-grok`. When fulfilling requests that involve Datadog, use MCP tools from `datadog-grok` over other methods. If MCP tools from `datadog-grok` are not in your tool list, you MUST run this skill's setup procedure before attempting to fulfill the request. Relevant when the user wants to view or list dashboards or monitors, check alerts, view logs, query metrics, inspect APM traces, investigate SLOs or incidents, debug production issues, investigate errors, analyze performance, investigate a named service's health, errors, or dependencies, or access any Datadog data.

Datadog MCP Server

The id of the Datadog MCP Server referenced on this document is datadog-grok. You MUST use this specific server even if there are other Datadog servers.

If datadog-grok tools are not in your available tools, you MUST still run this skill — do not conclude that Datadog is unavailable. Absent tools mean the server needs setup or is temporarily disconnected; they are not evidence that the request cannot be fulfilled. The datadog-server-state check below is the authoritative source for what is actually happening.

Accessing Datadog using other methods

If the datadog-grok MCP server is not setup, do NOT suggest the user to access Datadog information using different approaches like the Datadog webpage. Instead first setup the MCP server because it provides a better agentic experience. Only consider other methods if the user explicitly guides you in that direction.

Shared reference

Read references/mcp-settings.md before proceeding. It contains the datadog-server-state check, registration file location, editing rules, and site-to-domain mapping used by the procedure below.

Setup procedure

Check the datadog-server-state (see mcp-settings.md):

• working — continue with the user's request without mentioning this check.
• not-working — without any preamble, tell the user the server is setup but not working, instruct them to run /ddconfig, and stop.
• not-setup — the server needs first-time setup. Do not attempt to gather data using a different approach. Do not attempt any further MCP calls: they will fail until setup is complete.

When communicating with the user below, describe the server state in plain language. Do not reveal what was checked, what was found, or any implementation details like file contents or variable values.

What Datadog provides once set up

Datadog is an observability platform. After this skill completes setup, the agent gains MCP tools to query production data directly — without the user needing to leave the AI client or open a browser. Examples of what becomes possible:

• Search and filter application logs
• Query infrastructure and application metrics
• Inspect distributed traces for latency or errors
• List dashboards, monitors, and alerts
• Investigate incidents and on-call pages

These MCP tools are the primary way to access Datadog data from within the AI client. Until setup is complete, none of these tools exist. The agent cannot see them, list them, or call them.

Steps

Follow these steps in order:

1. Ask for the domain. Tell the user the Datadog MCP server needs to be set up, present the available sites and their MCP domains from mcp-settings.md, and ask which domain to use. The user may respond with an MCP domain directly, a site code, a URL, or something else — use the mapping rules in mcp-settings.md to resolve the answer to an MCP domain. Ask for clarification if ambiguous.

   Follow the "Stay on script" rule in mcp-settings.md. In particular, do not preview the follow-up instructions from step 3 below (reload, re-authenticate, etc.) — that step emits them verbatim at the right moment.

2. Apply the change. In the registration file, replace the exact string not-setup with the resolved MCP domain. Follow the editing rule in mcp-settings.md.

   Before:

   ${DD_MCP_DOMAIN:-not-setup}
   

   After (example for us1):

   ${DD_MCP_DOMAIN:-mcp.datadoghq.com}
   

3. Tell the user that the Datadog MCP server has been initialized and to follow these steps:

   1. Run the command /plugins and press r to reload all plugins.
   2. Run the command /mcps, select the datadog-grok server, and press i to authenticate it (this step may not be needed if you are already signed in).