Guide for Alibaba Cloud CLI (aliyun) command syntax, plugin system, parameter naming, and best practices. Use this skill to generate correct CLI commands, understand plugin vs built-in command differences, structured parameter syntax, output filtering, pagination, and error troubleshooting. This skill is a CLI knowledge reference — when MCP tools (AlibabaCloud___CallCLI, etc.) are available, always prefer MCP tools for execution rather than running aliyun commands locally in the shell.
Instrucciones de origen · Vista previa de solo lectura
name
alibabacloud-cli-guidance
description
Guide for Alibaba Cloud CLI (aliyun) command syntax, plugin system, parameter naming, and best practices. Use this skill to generate correct CLI commands, understand plugin vs built-in command differences, structured parameter syntax, output filtering, pagination, and error troubleshooting. This skill is a CLI knowledge reference — when MCP tools (AlibabaCloud___CallCLI, etc.) are available, always prefer MCP tools for execution rather than running aliyun commands locally in the shell.
Guide for managing Alibaba Cloud resources using the aliyun command-line tool.
MCP Tools vs Local CLI Execution
IMPORTANT: This skill provides CLI command knowledge and syntax guidance. It does
NOT mean you should always run aliyun commands locally in the shell.
Execution priority:
MCP tools (highest priority) — When AlibabaCloud___CallCLI and other MCP tools
are available, always use them for API execution. MCP tools handle authentication,
cross-account access (x_assume_account_id), and output filtering (x_output_jmespath_filter)
without requiring local CLI installation or configuration.
Local CLI (fallback) — Only use local aliyun commands in the Bash tool when:
MCP tools are not available or not configured
The operation requires local file system access (e.g., aliyun oss cp, aliyun ossutil sync)
The user explicitly asks for a local CLI command to copy/paste or use in scripts
The user needs to install/configure the CLI itself
Use this skill's knowledge for:
Understanding correct command syntax when calling AlibabaCloud___CallCLI
Generating CLI commands via AlibabaCloud___GenerateCLICommand
Knowing the difference between plugin-style and built-in-style commands
Troubleshooting CLI errors returned by MCP or local execution
Guiding users who want to run commands locally in their own terminals
Pivot to alibabacloud-find-skills when: the user's request reads as a
solution pattern (batch ops, audits, rotations, scheduled cleanup, runbooks)
or targets a product not covered by any in-plugin skill — a packaged official
skill usually beats hand-rolled CLI sequences. See mcp-core-best-practices
→ Skill Discovery for the full trigger list.
Agent Execution: AI-mode and User-Agent
Only applicable when running aliyun commands locally (not via MCP tools).
Use exactly one way to attach this skill to requests. Do not combine AI-mode
(configure ai-mode + set-user-agent) with ALIBABA_CLOUD_USER_AGENT or a per-command
env prefix for the same skill token — the CLI stacks those sources, and
User-Agent / attribution will duplicate (bad for telemetry).
[MUST]aliyun configure ai-mode disable before the final response on every exit (success, failure, error, cancel, session end). Do notexport ALIBABA_CLOUD_USER_AGENT to the same value while AI-mode is on.
B — Environment or one-shot
One-off commands, scripts without configure, or no AI-mode
export ALIBABA_CLOUD_USER_AGENT=AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-cli-guidance for the session, or prefix each API call: ALIBABA_CLOUD_USER_AGENT=AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-cli-guidance aliyun ...
If you used export, run unset ALIBABA_CLOUD_USER_AGENT when done so other skills are not mis-attributed. Inline prefix needs no unset. Do not enable AI-mode on path B for the same skill string.
Pre-check: Aliyun CLI >= 3.3.3 required — Run aliyun version. If too low:
curl -fsSL https://aliyuncli.alicdn.com/setup.sh | bash or see references/installation-guide.md.
Baseline for product plugins and flows in this skill.
>= 3.3.5
aliyun upgrade — update the CLI from the binary itself.
>= 3.3.8
aliyun plugin show --name <plugin> — details for an installed plugin.
Instructions
1. Install and Configure the CLI
If the user hasn't installed or configured the CLI, guide them through setup.
See ./references/installation-guide.md for full details. Quick path:
# Install or update (macOS / Linux — one command)
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 120 https://aliyuncli.alicdn.com/setup.sh)"
After the CLI is at 3.3.5 or newer, routine self-updates can use aliyun upgrade.
OAuth (browser login)
When a browser can be opened on the same machine, prefer OAuth over storing
AccessKey pairs. Requires CLI 3.0.299 or later. Not suitable for headless environments.
Note for MCP tools: AlibabaCloud___CallCLI uses OpenAPI-style (PascalCase) commands.
The plugin-style commands are for local CLI execution. When generating commands for MCP
execution, use PascalCase subcommands (e.g., aliyun ecs DescribeInstances).
Aspect
Plugin (CLI Native)
Built-in (OpenAPI)
Subcommand
describe-instances
DescribeInstances
Parameters
kebab-case (consistent)
Mixed (inconsistent)
ROA Body
Expanded to individual params
Single --body JSON
Header params
Visible in help, usable directly
Hidden, manual --header only
Help
Comprehensive with structure
Basic
5. Understand Global vs Business Parameter Naming
The CLI plugin system reserves certain global parameters:
--region-id / --region — controls which API endpoint the request is sent to.
Other globals: --profile, --api-version, --output, etc.
Many APIs also define their own RegionId parameter. The plugin resolves this with: