dlthub-router

name

dlthub-router

description

The entry point for building anything with dlthub. Use this skill to route the user to the right workflow toolkit and install it on demand. MUST use when the user asks 'what can you do', 'what can I build', 'what are toolkits', 'how do I build a pipeline', 'I want to pull data from a REST API', 'ingest from a SQL database', 'load CSVs from S3', 'make reports / dashboards', 'transform / model my data', 'add data quality checks', 'how do I deploy / schedule a pipeline', 'I'm new to dlthub', 'where do I start', or seems unsure what to do next after setup. Also use whenever the user expresses a data-engineering goal but no matching workflow toolkit is installed yet — this skill installs it on demand. Do NOT use when the toolkit matching the user's intent is already installed — go straight to its entry skill instead; only route/install when the matching toolkit is missing. Do NOT use when a specific task is already in progress (debugging a pipeline, validating data, adding endpoints) and its toolkit is installed. Do NOT use when the user explicitly wants a guided end-to-end demo — use **quick-start** for that.

dlthub-router

Route the user to the right toolkit and skill, then install it. Fast path first — the always-loaded toolkit index (in your project rules / AGENTS.md) already maps intent → toolkit → install command → entry skill, so you usually do not need any discovery round-trip.

Router vs handovers. This skill handles cold start — picking and installing a toolkit when none relevant is installed. Once inside a workflow, a toolkit's workflow.md handover sections take over: they carry context forward (pipeline name, dataset, destination) and route to a specific skill. Do not use this skill mid-workflow when the relevant toolkit is already installed. But when a handover names a toolkit that isn't installed yet, that's your cue — install it via the index below, then follow the handover's entry point + context.

Step 1: Route from the always-loaded index (fast path)

The # toolkits index is already in your context. Match the user's intent to a row, then:

1. Install it: dlthub --non-interactive ai toolkit install <name>
2. Confirm (Step 3) and hand over to that toolkit's entry skill (Step 4).

This needs no MCP call — the index is authoritative for the shipped toolkits and is the fast path. Use it whenever the intent matches a row.

Step 2: Live discovery (fallback only)

Use this only when the index has no matching row (an unfamiliar need, or you suspect a newer toolkit exists):

• Prefer MCP — list_toolkits from dlt-workspace-mcp for the live catalog, then toolkit_info <name> for skill details.
• CLI fallback (MCP not connected): dlthub --non-interactive ai toolkit list, then dlthub --non-interactive ai toolkit info <name>.

Match intent to the best toolkit, then install as in Step 1. Toolkits marked (installed: <version>) are already available.

Step 3: Verify install (only when needed)

Skip this step when the install output already confirms success and the new toolkit's entry skill is available in this session — that is all the confirmation you need. (MCP health was already checked at session start via dlthub ai status.)

Run uv run dlthub ai status only if:

• the install output was ambiguous or reported an error,
• the entry skill doesn't appear to be available, or
• the dlt-workspace-mcp server hasn't been verified this session (no session-start status check and no successful MCP call yet).

If status shows a WARNING about the MCP server (e.g. cannot be started), fix it using the error message before handing over.

Step 4: Handover (no restart needed)

The dlt-workspace-mcp server is already running (installed with init) and toolkits reuse it — installing one adds no new MCP server, so continue in this session. Do not ask the user to restart; that would lose the conversation context.

1. Load the new toolkit inline — prefer toolkit_info <name> (MCP), which is agent-agnostic and returns the entry skill + workflow rule. If MCP is unavailable, read the installed files directly; the install path depends on the agent (.claude/, .cursor/, or .agents/) — e.g. <agent-dir>/skills/<entry-skill>/SKILL.md and the toolkit's workflow rule.
2. Follow that workflow rule and start at the entry skill, continuing the user's task with the context you already have. Do not start unrelated workflows on your own.
3. The new skills become natively registered (/-invocable, always-loaded workflow rule) on the next natural session start — no need to restart now.

Exception: if a future toolkit ever ships its own MCP server (none do today), that server only starts on restart — suggest a restart only in that case, and use CLI fallbacks until then.