q-chat-integration

name	q-chat-integration
description	Enable Claude Code to delegate specific tasks to Amazon Q CLI agents running in the background with full tool permissions. Use when bridging to Q's specialized integrations such as Quip, ticketing systems, or diagram generation that Claude doesn't have direct access to.
author	Claude Code
version	1.0.0
date	"2026-06-25T00:00:00.000Z"

Q Chat Integration Skill

Objective

Enable Claude Code to delegate specific tasks to Amazon Q CLI agents running in the background with full tool permissions. This skill acts as a bridge to leverage Q's specialized integrations (Quip, ticketing systems, diagram generation) that Claude doesn't have direct access to.

Prerequisites

Before using this skill, ensure:

1. Amazon Q CLI is installed and configured:

   q --version
   

2. Authentication is active:

   q auth status
   

3. Bash tool is available for command execution

4. Working directory context is available for providing full file paths

Trigger Phrases

This skill activates when the user says:

• "tell Q to..."
• "ask Q to..."
• "have Q..."
• "q chat..."
• "delegate to Q..."
• Any variation explicitly requesting Q Chat assistance

When to Use This Skill

✅ Use Q Chat For

• Quip operations: Updating, creating, or managing Quip documents (Q has QuipEditor tool)
• Ticket creation: Creating SIM tickets or other internal ticketing systems
• Diagram generation: Architecture diagrams, flow charts, visualizations
• AWS-specific tasks: Leveraging Q's AWS expertise for infrastructure tasks
• Documentation generation: When Q's specialized doc tools are beneficial
• Internal integrations: Any task requiring Amazon-specific tool integrations

❌ Don't Use Q Chat For

• File operations: Reading, editing, creating files (Claude can do this directly)
• Code search: Finding functions, patterns in code (use grep/glob)
• Git operations: Commits, branches, diffs (use git commands)
• Simple questions: General coding help, explanations (Claude can answer)
• Code analysis: Understanding existing code (Claude can analyze)

Core Functionality

Command Template

q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools "<USER_REQUEST>"

Parameter Details

Parameter	Value	Purpose
--model	claude-sonnet-4.5	Specify the Claude model for Q to use
--no-interactive	(flag)	Run without prompts (fire and forget)
--trust-all-tools	(flag)	Allow Q to execute all tools without approval
<USER_REQUEST>	string (in quotes)	The specific task for Q to perform

Execution Modes

For quick tasks (< 30 seconds):

q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools "task" &
# Use bash tool with mode: "sync", initial_wait: 30

For longer tasks (30 seconds - 2 minutes):

q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools "task" &
# Use bash tool with mode: "sync", initial_wait: 60-120

For long-running tasks (> 2 minutes):

q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools "task" &
# Use bash tool with mode: "async", then monitor with read_bash

Step-by-Step Workflow

Phase 1: Parse User Request

Identify the core task:

1. Extract the action Q should perform
2. Identify relevant files, URLs, or resources
3. Determine task type (Quip, ticket, diagram, etc.)
4. Check if Q is actually needed (could Claude do it directly?)

Examples:

User: "Tell Q to update the Quip doc at https://quip-amazon.com/ABC"
→ Action: Update Quip document
→ Resource: https://quip-amazon.com/ABC
→ Q needed: Yes (Claude doesn't have QuipEditor)

User: "Ask Q to read the README file"
→ Action: Read file
→ Q needed: No (Claude can read files directly)
→ Response: "I can read the README directly. Let me do that for you."

Phase 2: Gather Context

Prepare complete information:

1. Resolve file paths to absolute paths:

   # If user says "the config file", find and use full path
   /home/runner/work/project/project/config/settings.json
   

2. Extract relevant context:

   • For bug reports: error details, stack traces, reproduction steps
   • For documentation: current state, what needs updating
   • For tickets: component, severity, impact, proposed fix

3. Verify resources exist:

   • Check if files mentioned actually exist
   • Validate URLs are complete

Phase 3: Build Q Chat Command

Construct the command:

q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools "<DETAILED_REQUEST>"

Request formatting guidelines:

1. Be specific and complete:

   ❌ "Update the Quip doc"
   ✅ "Update the Quip document at https://quip-amazon.com/ABC123 with the contents of /home/runner/work/project/project/docs/api.md"
   

2. Include full context for complex tasks:

   "Create a SIM ticket for authentication bug. Details:
   - Component: UserService (src/services/user.ts)
   - Error: JWT validation fails for valid tokens
   - Impact: Users getting 401 errors intermittently
   - Root cause: Token expiry check using wrong timezone
   - Fix: Updated timezone handling in validateToken() method"
   

3. Escape quotes properly:

   # Use single quotes in the request string
   "Update doc with summary: 'Project completed successfully'"
   

Phase 4: Execute Command

Choose execution mode:

# For quick operations (Quip updates, simple queries)
bash(
  command: 'q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools "..."',
  mode: "sync",
  initial_wait: 30
)

# For medium operations (ticket creation, simple diagrams)
bash(
  command: 'q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools "..."',
  mode: "sync",
  initial_wait: 60
)

# For long operations (complex analysis, large docs)
bash(
  command: 'q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools "..."',
  mode: "async"
)
# Then use read_bash to monitor progress

Capture session information:

Session ID: bash_12345
Status: Running
Command: q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5...

Phase 5: Monitor Progress

For synchronous execution:

• Wait for command completion
• Capture output
• Report results to user

For asynchronous execution:

# Check status periodically
read_bash --session-id bash_12345 --delay 10

# Continue checking until complete
read_bash --session-id bash_12345 --delay 15

Phase 6: Report Results

Success response:

✓ Task delegated to Amazon Q successfully

Action: Updated Quip document
URL: https://quip-amazon.com/ABC123
Status: Completed
Duration: 15 seconds

Q has updated the document with the latest API documentation.

In-progress response:

⏳ Task running in Amazon Q

Action: Creating SIM ticket
Session: bash_12345
Status: Running (30 seconds elapsed)

You can check progress by asking me to monitor the session.

Error response:

❌ Q Chat task failed

Error: Authentication expired
Command: q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools "..."

Suggested fix: Run 'q auth login' to reauthenticate.

Common Task Patterns

Pattern 1: Quip Document Update

Trigger:

"Tell Q to update the Quip doc at [URL] with [content]"

Implementation:

q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools \
  "Update the Quip document at [URL] with the contents of [ABSOLUTE_PATH]"

Agent: Uses default agent (has QuipEditor tool)

Pattern 2: Ticket Creation

Trigger:

"Ask Q to create a SIM/ticket for [issue]"

Implementation:

q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools \
  "Create a SIM ticket with the following details: [DETAILED_CONTEXT]"

Agent: Uses default agent

Pattern 3: Architecture Diagram

Trigger:

"Tell Q to create an architecture diagram for [system]"

Implementation:

q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools \
  "Create an architecture diagram for [system]. Include [specific components]."

Agent: Can use amzn-architecture agent for complex designs

Pattern 4: AWS Infrastructure

Trigger:

"Have Q review/create/update [AWS resource]"

Implementation:

q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools \
  "Review the CDK stack for AWS best practices. Focus on [specific areas]."

Agent: Uses aws-expert agent for AWS tasks

Pattern 5: Documentation Generation

Trigger:

"Ask Q to generate documentation for [component]"

Implementation:

q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools \
  "Generate comprehensive documentation for [component]. Include examples and usage."

Agent: Uses amzn-docs agent for documentation tasks

Agent Selection (Reference)

Q Chat can leverage specialized agents for different task types. While the basic command remains the same, Q will internally route to the appropriate agent based on the task description.

Agent	Purpose	Keywords to Trigger
default	General + Quip operations	quip, document, general
aws-expert	AWS infrastructure & services	aws, cdk, cloudformation, lambda
amzn-docs	Documentation specialist	documentation, readme, docs, api-docs
amzn-architecture	Architecture & design	architecture, design, security, patterns
amzn-quality	Code quality & standards	quality, linting, standards, best-practices

Note: You don't need to explicitly specify the agent in the command. Q will automatically route based on the task description keywords.

Error Handling

Common Errors and Solutions

1. Q CLI Not Found:

Error: q: command not found
Solution: Install Amazon Q CLI: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/

2. Authentication Expired:

Error: Authentication required
Solution: Run 'q auth login' to reauthenticate

3. Invalid Model:

Error: Model 'claude-sonnet-4.5' not found
Solution: Verify model name or use available model

4. Tool Execution Denied:

Error: Tool execution not allowed
Solution: Ensure --trust-all-tools flag is included

5. Task Timeout:

Error: Task exceeded timeout
Solution: Use async mode for long-running tasks

Retry Strategy

If a Q task fails:

1. Check the error output:

   read_bash --session-id bash_xxxxx --delay 5
   

2. Analyze the error:

   • Authentication issue? → Re-authenticate
   • Missing context? → Add more details to request
   • Q CLI issue? → Check Q installation

3. Retry with improvements:

   q chat --model claude-sonnet-4.5 --no-interactive --trust-all-tools \
     "Previous attempt failed due to [reason]. Retry with additional context: ..."
   

Important Notes

Best Practices

1. Always use absolute file paths

   • ❌ "Update with file.md"
   • ✅ "Update with /home/runner/work/project/project/file.md"

2. Provide complete context for tickets and reports

   • Include component names, error details, impact, reproduction steps

3. Choose appropriate execution mode

   • Quick tasks: sync with short wait
   • Long tasks: async with monitoring

4. Monitor important operations

   • Capture session IDs
   • Check status for critical tasks
   • Verify completion before proceeding

5. Don't over-delegate

   • Only use Q for tasks requiring its specialized tools
   • Claude can handle most file, git, and code operations directly

Security Considerations

1. --trust-all-tools flag allows Q to execute tools without prompts

   • Only use for trusted, well-defined tasks
   • Review Q's capabilities before delegating sensitive operations

2. API keys and credentials should not be included in Q chat requests

   • Q will use configured credentials automatically
   • Don't pass secrets in command line arguments

3. File permissions are inherited from the current user

   • Q can only access files the user can access
   • Verify file permissions before delegating file operations

Examples

For detailed usage examples, see:

• examples/usage-examples.md - Comprehensive examples with before/after
• config/agents.json - Available Q agents and their capabilities

Success Criteria

A successful Q Chat delegation should:

• ✓ Execute without requiring user input (non-interactive)
• ✓ Complete the specific task requested
• ✓ Provide clear status updates (running, completed, failed)
• ✓ Use appropriate execution mode for task duration
• ✓ Include full context and absolute paths
• ✓ Report meaningful results back to the user

Limitations

1. Q CLI dependency: Requires Amazon Q CLI to be installed and configured
2. Authentication: Requires valid Q authentication (may expire)
3. Tool availability: Can only use tools available to Q CLI
4. Amazon internal: Some integrations may be Amazon-internal only
5. Async monitoring: Long-running tasks require manual status checks
6. No direct output parsing: Q's output is returned as-is to the user

Related Skills

• GitHub Issue Grooming: For repository organization (Claude can do directly)
• AI Writing Humanizer: For text improvement (Claude can do directly)
• Software Effort Estimation: For codebase analysis (Claude can do directly)

Version

1.0.0 - Initial release with basic delegation, monitoring, and agent awareness