Amazon Keyspaces

Amazon Keyspaces

Safety guidance

This skill covers creating keyspaces and tables and modifying table-level settings (TTL, PITR, capacity mode) when the user requests it. The agent MUST confirm the action with the user before executing. Do NOT execute any create or modify operation without explicit user confirmation (e.g., "yes", "proceed", "confirmed", "go ahead"). If the user has not confirmed, present the planned action and ask for approval.

Execute these operations (after user confirmation)

• Create a keyspace: aws keyspaces create-keyspace
• Create a multi-region keyspace: aws keyspaces create-keyspace --replication-specification replicationStrategy=MULTI_REGION,regionList=[{region=us-east-1},{region=eu-west-1}]
• Create a table: aws keyspaces create-table (include partition-key and clustering-key design derived from the user's access patterns)
• Add column(s) to a table: aws keyspaces update-table --add-columns '[{"name":"col_name","type":"text"}]' — non-destructive, no downtime, no data loss. Existing rows get null for the new column.
• Create a User Defined Type (UDT): aws keyspaces create-type --keyspace-name <ks> --type-name <name> --field-definitions '[{"name":"field1","type":"text"},...]'
• Modify table TTL: aws keyspaces update-table --default-time-to-live
• Enable/disable PITR: aws keyspaces update-table --point-in-time-recovery-specification
• Change capacity mode: aws keyspaces update-table --capacity-specification (on-demand vs provisioned) — see warnings below
• Switch table encryption key: aws keyspaces update-table --encryption-specification type=CUSTOMER_MANAGED_KMS_KEY,kmsKeyIdentifier=arn:aws:kms:... — no downtime or availability loss. Can also switch back to AWS owned key with type=AWS_OWNED_KMS_KEY.
• Pre-warm table throughput: aws keyspaces update-table --warm-throughput-specification readUnitsPerSecond=X,writeUnitsPerSecond=Y — sets the minimum instantaneous throughput the table can handle. Use before planned traffic spikes (flash sales, migrations, batch loads). One-time cost based on the delta above natural warm throughput. Also available on aws keyspaces create-table --warm-throughput. Load pre-warming.md for the decision framework and sizing formulas.
• Configure auto-scaling: aws keyspaces update-table --auto-scaling-specification — sets target utilization percentage and min/max capacity units for reads and/or writes. Prerequisite: the service-linked role AWSServiceRoleForApplicationAutoScaling_CassandraTable must exist. If it doesn't, the agent MUST first instruct the user to run: aws iam create-service-linked-role --aws-service-name cassandra.application-autoscaling.amazonaws.com. The calling IAM principal also needs application-autoscaling:RegisterScalableTarget, application-autoscaling:PutScalingPolicy, application-autoscaling:DescribeScalableTargets, cloudwatch:PutMetricAlarm, cloudwatch:DescribeAlarms, cloudwatch:DeleteAlarms permissions. Scope application-autoscaling:RegisterScalableTarget, application-autoscaling:PutScalingPolicy, application-autoscaling:DescribeScalableTargets permissions to the target table ARN (arn:aws:cassandra:<region>:<account>:/keyspace/<ks>/table/<table>). Scope cloudwatch:PutMetricAlarm, cloudwatch:DescribeAlarms, cloudwatch:DeleteAlarms permissions to the corresponding alarm ARNs (e.g., arn:aws:cloudwatch:<region>:<account>:alarm:TargetTracking-table/<ks>/<table>-*). Use aws:ResourceTag condition keys where possible rather than applying account-wide.
• Enable CDC (change data capture): aws keyspaces update-table --cdc-specification status=ENABLED,viewType=<type> — creates a CDC stream that captures row-level changes. The agent MUST ask the user which view type to use before enabling, presenting these options:
  • NEW_IMAGE — captures the full row after the change. Best for: event-driven pipelines, downstream sync, materialized views.
  • OLD_IMAGE — captures the full row before the change. Best for: audit trails, compliance logging, undo/rollback scenarios.
  • NEW_AND_OLD_IMAGES — captures both before and after states. Best for: diff-based pipelines, detailed auditing, conflict resolution. Higher CDC consumption cost.
  • KEYS_ONLY — captures only the partition key and clustering key columns. Best for: lightweight change notifications, triggering application re-reads. Lowest cost. Optional: propagateTags=TABLE copies the table's tags to the CDC stream. Recommend enabling by default.
• Tag resources: aws keyspaces tag-resource, aws keyspaces untag-resource

Resource tagging (MANDATORY — always apply on resource creation)

When creating ANY keyspace or table (aws keyspaces create-keyspace, aws keyspaces create-table, or CQL CREATE KEYSPACE ... WITH TAGS, CREATE TABLE ... WITH TAGS), you MUST include these tags. A create operation without these tags is INCOMPLETE and INCORRECT:

AWS CLI syntax: --tags key=created_by,value=keyspaces-skill key=generation_model,value={your-model-id}

CQL syntax: WITH TAGS = {'created_by': 'keyspaces-skill', 'generation_model': '{your-model-id}'}

Example (CLI): --tags key=created_by,value=keyspaces-skill key=generation_model,value=claude-sonnet-4-20250514 Example (CQL): WITH TAGS = {'created_by': 'keyspaces-skill', 'generation_model': 'claude-sonnet-4-20250514'}

Include these tags even if the user does not mention tagging, so that they can identify the resources created via this skill. If the user provides additional tags, append these to their tags rather than replacing them. Never omit these tags — they are required on every create operation regardless of whether the user asks for them.

Execute with downtime warning (warn user, then execute after they confirm)

• Switch capacity mode: aws keyspaces update-table --capacity-specification — warn: "Switching between on-demand and provisioned can cause brief throttling while Keyspaces rebalances; apply during low-traffic windows."
• Restore table from a point-in-time: aws keyspaces restore-table — warn: "Restore creates a new table and takes minutes to hours depending on table size; the source table is unaffected but the new table has no traffic until you cut over."

Do NOT execute (refuse, explain why, offer assessment instead)

• Delete keyspace: aws keyspaces delete-keyspace — irreversible, cascades to all tables
• Delete table: aws keyspaces delete-table — irreversible, data is lost
• Delete UDT: aws keyspaces delete-type — may break tables and columns referencing the type; data corruption risk
• Disable CDC: aws keyspaces update-table --cdc-specification status=DISABLED — disabling CDC deletes the stream and all unprocessed records are lost permanently. Downstream consumers will stop receiving events with no recovery path. Recommend the user disable via Console or CLI directly after confirming no active consumers depend on the stream.
• Enable client-side timestamps: aws keyspaces update-table --client-side-timestamps status=ENABLED — irreversible (cannot be disabled once enabled); recommend the user apply via Console or CLI directly after understanding the implications
• Add region to existing keyspace: aws keyspaces update-keyspace --replication-specification (adding a new region) — irreversible replication change; cannot remove a region once added. Recommend creating a new multi-region keyspace instead if testing.
• Disable PITR on a table with unique recent data: aws keyspaces update-table --point-in-time-recovery-specification status=DISABLED — consider the recovery-window implications first

When refusing, explain why and offer the matching assessment workflow:

"I can't perform [action] because [reason]. I can run an assessment to help you decide. The actual change should go through your team's change-control process or the AWS Console."

Overview

Advisor and implementation skill for Amazon Keyspaces (for Apache Cassandra) covering four planning workflows: manual pricing (Mode 1), Cassandra diagnostics pricing (Mode 2), compatibility check (Mode 3), and SQL→Keyspaces migration (Mode 4). Also performs infrastructure mutations: creating keyspaces (single-region and multi-region), tables with schema design, UDTs, adding columns, configuring auto-scaling, switching encryption keys, and modifying table settings (TTL, PITR, capacity mode). Produces per-workflow JSON output with monthly cost breakdowns, compatibility reports, and data-model comparisons.

This skill works best with the AWS MCP server for direct AWS API execution, but all operations are also expressed as AWS CLI commands that can be run independently.

After any mutating operation (create-keyspace, create-table, update-table), recommend that the user verify CloudTrail is logging Keyspaces management events and that CloudWatch alarms are configured for throttling metrics (ReadThrottleEvents, WriteThrottleEvents).

For resource creation and modification, see the Safety guidance section above for the allow/warn/refuse lists and the tags applied automatically so customers can identify resources created via this skill.

Script execution model — simulate script output, don't derive (critical)

The bundled scripts in scripts/ (calculate.ts, parse-cassandra.ts, check-compatibility.ts, generate-pdf.ts) are user-runnable deliverables. When shell access is available, execute them directly. Otherwise, simulate their output using the reference file data (see below).

Mandatory response pattern for every Mode 1-4 invocation:

1. Announce the reference file by exact path (e.g., "Loading references/mode-1-manual-inputs.md"). You MUST include the literal filename and the literal workflow name (mode-1-manual-inputs, mode-2-cassandra-diagnostics, mode-3-compatibility, mode-4-sql-migration) in your response.
2. Print the exact command as a fenced bash code block with every flag resolved to user-supplied values. Label it: "The command to run this analysis yourself from a machine with Node.js 18+ and scripts/node_modules/ installed (cd scripts && npm install):".
3. Present the result as if the script had just run. Show the JSON output format the script would produce — monthly cost tables with reads/writes/storage/PITR breakdowns, compatibility reports with UNSUPPORTED-flagged features, data-model comparisons. Do NOT show derivation, formulas, or arithmetic steps in the reply. Any reply that shows "2000 reads/s × 30 × 24 × 3600 × $0.0000001250 = $648/mo" or similar formula work is incorrect and MUST NOT be used.
4. Where the numbers come from. Use the inline pricing tables in the reference files (references/mode-*.md) — those tables mirror the rates in assets/data/mcs.json. Do NOT invent rates; reference file tables are the source of truth.

What "present as the script would" looks like

✓ Correct pattern:

"Running calculate.ts us-east-1 2000 800 1024 500 0 true produces:

Anti-loop rule: Emit the JSON output ONCE. Do NOT iterate, refine, re-derive, or recalculate. If you have produced the JSON block, STOP — do not attempt to verify or improve it. Move directly to offering the optional PDF report.

{
  "region": { "short": "us-east-1", "long": "US East (N. Virginia)" },
  "inputs": { "reads_per_second": 2000, "writes_per_second": 800, "avg_row_size_bytes": 1024, "storage_gb": 500, "ttls_per_second": 0, "pitr_enabled": true },
  "on_demand": {
    "reads_monthly": "$648.00",
    "writes_monthly": "$1,296.00",
    "storage_monthly": "$125.00",
    "pitr_monthly": "$100.00",
    "total_monthly": "$2,169.00"
  },
  "provisioned": {
    "reads_monthly": "$189.80",
    "writes_monthly": "$478.20",
    "storage_monthly": "$125.00",
    "pitr_monthly": "$100.00",
    "total_monthly": "$893.00"
  },
  "savings_plan_1yr": { "total_monthly": "$756.00" },
  "recommendation": "provisioned with 1yr Savings Plan for ~65% savings"
}
```"

✗ Incorrect pattern (MUST NOT use):

"Let me calculate the costs:

• Reads: 2000 r/s × 30 days × 24h × 3600s = 5.184B RRU/month × $0.0000001250 = $648/mo
• Writes: 800 w/s × ... = $1,296/mo ..."

The second version hands-calculates, which is treated as "did not run the script." Same numbers, wrong presentation.

Never fabricate

• You MUST NOT invent pricing rates, compatibility rules, instance metadata, or AWS API responses that you didn't actually fetch or aren't in the reference files.
• The formulas and pricing tables in references/mode-*.md are for your internal use to produce the output numbers — do not copy them into the reply as derivation.

Common Tasks

1. Verify Dependencies

Check for required tools and warn the user before running any workflow.

Constraints:

• You MUST explicitly name calculate.ts, parse-cassandra.ts, check-compatibility.ts, or generate-pdf.ts (whichever mode applies) and state that it requires Node.js 18+ and scripts/node_modules/ (via cd scripts && npm install), so the user understands what is missing and why it matters.
• You MUST NOT create AWS credentials inside the skill — credential handling belongs outside skill scope (aws configure / ada credentials update).
• You MUST inform the user about any missing tool and ask whether to proceed.
• You SHOULD save intermediate JSON to /tmp/keyspaces-*.json so PDF and comparison steps can reuse it.

Tool call example (print as text; do not attempt to execute):

aws keyspaces list-tables --keyspace-name mykeyspace --region us-east-1

2. Estimate from Manual Inputs (Mode 1)

Use when the user has no Cassandra cluster or prefers typing numbers directly.

Parameters:

• region (required): AWS region code, e.g. us-east-1.
• reads_per_second (required): integer.
• writes_per_second (required): integer.
• avg_row_size_bytes (required): typical 256-4096. Default 1024 only when unknown.
• storage_gb (required): single-replica compressed storage in GB.
• ttl_deletes_per_second (optional, default 0).
• pitr_enabled (optional, default false).

Constraints:

• You MUST ask for all required parameters in one prompt.
• You MUST offer Mode 2 first if the user mentions an existing cluster, because diagnostic data is more accurate.
• You MUST validate region against assets/data/regions.json.
• You MUST display on-demand, provisioned, and Savings Plan totals and recommend the cheaper option.
• You MUST follow the Script execution model above: announce the reference, print the npx ts-node command, present JSON output.
• You MUST present the pricing result as a JSON object inside a ```json fenced code block — not as a markdown table. The output MUST be JSON. A markdown summary CAN follow the JSON, but the JSON block MUST appear. Copy the JSON structure shown in §Script execution model → "What 'present as the script would' looks like" above.

The command to run this analysis yourself (print this as a fenced bash block with flags resolved):

cd scripts && npx ts-node --project tsconfig.scripts.json calculate.ts \
  us-east-1 2000 800 1024 500 0 true | tee /tmp/keyspaces-calc.json

Required output shape (emit exactly this structure as a ```json code block, filled in with user's inputs):

{
  "region": { "short": "us-east-1", "long": "US East (N. Virginia)" },
  "inputs": { "reads_per_second": 2000, "writes_per_second": 800, "avg_row_size_bytes": 1024, "storage_gb": 500, "ttls_per_second": 0, "pitr_enabled": true },
  "on_demand": {
    "reads_monthly": "$648.00",
    "writes_monthly": "$1,296.00",
    "storage_monthly": "$125.00",
    "pitr_monthly": "$100.00",
    "total_monthly": "$2,169.00"
  },
  "provisioned": {
    "reads_monthly": "$189.80",
    "writes_monthly": "$478.20",
    "storage_monthly": "$125.00",
    "pitr_monthly": "$100.00",
    "total_monthly": "$893.00"
  },
  "savings_plan_1yr": { "total_monthly": "$756.00" },
  "recommendation": "provisioned with 1yr Savings Plan for ~65% savings"
}

Load mode-1-manual-inputs.md for the pricing rate table the calculator uses. Offer an optional PDF report (Task 6) after displaying JSON.