cluster-onboarding

name	cluster-onboarding
description	Guide users from zero to a working Elastic cluster — Cloud or on-prem, connection config, first queries, and next steps.

Cluster Onboarding

Help users go from nothing to a fully connected Elastic cluster in under 5 minutes.

Trigger

Use when the user asks to:

• "Set up Elasticsearch"
• "Connect to my cluster"
• "Get started with Elastic"
• "Configure my connection"
• "First time using Elastic"

Also activates on keywords: "onboarding", "getting started", "new cluster", "connect to Elastic"

Do NOT use when:

• User already has a connected cluster and wants to query data (→ use tools directly)
• User wants to set up observability (→ o11y-full-setup)
• User wants to set up security (→ security-full-setup)

Tools Used

• get_deployment_guide — Cloud vs on-prem setup instructions
• get_connection_config — Language-specific connection snippets
• cloud_api — Elastic Cloud project management
• elasticsearch_api — Verify cluster connectivity
• esql_query — First-query validation
• get_cluster_context — Cluster orientation after connection

Workflow

Step 0: Determine Deployment Preference

Ask once: "Do you prefer Cloud (managed, no servers) or on-prem (Docker)?"

Step 1: Cloud Path

1. Call get_deployment_guide with preference: "cloud"
2. Help the user create a project via cloud_api with POST /api/v1/serverless/projects/elasticsearch
3. Generate an API key via cloud_api
4. Call get_connection_config for their preferred language

Step 1 (alt): On-Prem Path

1. Call get_deployment_guide with preference: "on_prem"
2. Guide through docker compose up -d from the provided template
3. Call get_connection_config with http://localhost:9200

Step 2: Verify Connection

Call elasticsearch_api with GET / to confirm the cluster is reachable.

Step 3: First Query

Run esql_query with SHOW INFO to display cluster version and validate everything works.

Step 4: Cluster Orientation

Call get_cluster_context to understand what's already in the cluster.

Step 5: Next Steps

Based on the user's use case, suggest:

• Search: Index design, mappings, vector search
• Observability: o11y-full-setup skill
• Security: security-full-setup skill
• Data exploration: discover_data tool

Output Format

• Present setup as numbered steps with copy-paste code blocks
• Include connection config in the user's preferred language
• Show the cluster response as confirmation
• End with 3-4 recommended next steps

Prerequisites

• Internet access (for Cloud path) or Docker installed (for on-prem path)
• No existing Elastic configuration required — this is the zero-to-connected workflow

Interactive Dashboard

Interactive Dashboard: When using Claude Desktop or other ext-apps hosts, cluster_overview renders an interactive cluster health dashboard with node topology, shard allocation, and real-time metrics. In Cursor/CLI, it returns markdown.

Related Skills

• o11y-full-setup — After onboarding, set up monitoring
• security-full-setup — After onboarding, set up security
• agent-builder-skill-builder — Build custom tools on top of the cluster