Official agent skill

Doca Setup

by NVIDIA in NVIDIA/skills

A skill your agent uses when the user is dealing with the DOCA environment around their workload — verifying an install is healthy, preparing the build env (pkg-config, headers, LDLIBRARYPATH…

OfficialApache-2.0Auto-check passedDevelopment

Install Doca Setup

skills CLI
$ npx skills add NVIDIA/skills --skill doca-setup -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install NVIDIA/skills doca-setup --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/NVIDIA/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/doca-setup .claude/skills/doca-setup && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
doca-setup
GitHub stars
3.5k
Token cost
~3.4k tokens
SKILL.md length
1,477 words
Files
7
Skills in repo
380
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

A skill your agent uses when the user is dealing with the DOCA environment around their workload — verifying an install is healthy, preparing the build env (pkg-config, headers, LDLIBRARYPATH…

  • Works in 6 steps: Read this SKILL.md and classify the… → For beginner orientation, show the → For deployment routing, walk → …
  • The user is dealing with the DOCA environment around their workload — verifying an install is healthy
  • SKILL.md covers Example questions this skill…, When to load this skill, What this skill provides and Loading order, plus 1 more section
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Doca Setup is an agent skill from NVIDIA/skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Use this skill when the user is dealing with the DOCA environment around their workload — verifying an install is healthy, preparing the build env (pkg-config, headers, LDLIBRARYPATH, hugepages, devlink, representors), debugging env-class failures, deciding container-vs-bare-metal deployment shape, or reaching a DOCA install from a host that doesn't have one yet via the NGC DOCA container Stage-1 fallback. Trigger even when the user does not explicitly mention "DOCA setup" — typical implicit phrasings include "I…

Its SKILL.md is about 3.4k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 7 other files (for example `BENCHMARK.md`, `CAPABILITIES.md` and `TASKS.md`). Compatibility notes: No DOCA install required to read this skill (it is an overlay loaded against any DOCA artifact skill); the validation steps within DO require a live DOCA…

It sits in Development, covering Deployment and Debugging. The repository describes itself as: Agent Skills for NVIDIA products — install into Claude Code, Codex, and other coding agents to run Physical AI, robotics, simulation, CUDA, and RAG workflows end to end. The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

  • The user is dealing with the DOCA environment around their workload — verifying an install is healthy
  • Preparing the build env (pkg-config
  • Debugging env-class failures
  • Deciding container-vs-bare-metal deployment shape

Example prompts

  • “DOCA setup”
  • “I just got a BlueField, what now”
  • “my code is built, how do I run it”
  • “/doca-setup”

Requirements

  • Docker
  • Compatibility (from SKILL.md): No DOCA install required to read this skill (it is an overlay loaded against any DOCA artifact skill); the validation steps within DO require a live DOCA install at /opt/mellanox/doca. The agent must have a target-host command channel or provide commands for the user to run and return their exact output; local shell access must not be assumed to reach the target.

Workflow steps

6 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Read this SKILL.md and classify the question as programming,
  2. For beginner orientation, show the
  3. For deployment routing, walk
  4. Before a change recommendation on an installed/hardware target,
  5. **For env workflows — configure, test, debug, and
  6. Once the env is healthy, hand off to the selected deployment skill,

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 0e0d506. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

  • Compatibility

    No DOCA install required to read this skill (it is an overlay loaded against any DOCA artifact skill); the validation steps within DO require a live DOCA install at /opt/mellanox/doca. The agent must have a target-host command channel or provide commands for the user to run and return their exact output; local shell access must not be assumed to reach the target.

    From compatibility in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

Context cost

Doca Setup loads about 3.4k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 243 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,477 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~243
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~3.4k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from NVIDIA/skills at commit 0e0d506, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© NVIDIA). 1,477 words, ~3,373 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/doca-setup/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 6 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
doca-setup
description
Use this skill when the user is dealing with the DOCA environment around their workload — verifying an install is healthy, preparing the build env (pkg-config, headers, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, hugepages, devlink, representors), debugging env-class failures, deciding container-vs-bare-metal deployment shape, or reaching a DOCA install from a host that doesn't have one yet via the NGC DOCA container Stage-1 fallback. Trigger even when the user does not explicitly mention "DOCA setup" — typical implicit phrasings include "I just got a BlueField, what now", "my code is built, how do I run it", "pkg-config can't find doca-flow", "no free 2048 kB hugepages", "representor X not found", "I'm on a Mac and want to learn DOCA". Refuse and route elsewhere for library API specifics (Flow pipes, RDMA queues), the modify-a-sample first-app workflow or DOCA_ERROR_* program-side debugging, and "where is X documented" knowledge-map questions — those belong to other skills.
compatibility
No DOCA install required to read this skill (it is an overlay loaded against any DOCA artifact skill); the validation steps within DO require a live DOCA install at /opt/mellanox/doca. The agent must have a target-host command channel or provide commands for the user to run and return their exact output; local shell access must not be assumed to reach the target.
license
Apache-2.0 AND CC-BY-4.0
metadata.kind
library

DOCA setup

Where to start: If the user's question is deployment-shaped ("how do I deploy", "how do I run my DOCA workload", "I just got a BlueField, what now", "my code is built, what next"), walk TASKS.md ## recognize first. It is the bundle's front-door: it detects the system shape (host x86 / BlueField Arm bare-metal / DPU-only / fresh laptop), asks the developer the minimal set of questions needed to disambiguate, and routes to the correct downstream skill — the container deployment path (doca-container-deployment), the bare-metal hardware deployment path (doca-bare-metal-deployment), or the no-hardware fallback (TASKS.md ## no-install). The wrong failure mode is to silently steer every developer onto containers because the agent loaded that skill first; ## recognize exists to prevent that.

If the user does not have DOCA installed yet and the request is not deployment-shaped, jump straight to TASKS.md ## no-install for the NGC container path. Deployment-shaped requests still enter ## recognize first, which routes fresh-laptop cases to ## no-install. Otherwise read ## When to load this skill to confirm the question is env-class, then route to the section below that matches the user's intent.

Example questions this skill answers well

The CLASSES this skill is built to handle, each with one worked example. The skill must answer the class; the worked example is illustrative.

  • "I want to deploy a DOCA workload — what is the right path?" — worked example: "I just got a BlueField; my code is built; what now?" Resolved by the front-door decision tree in TASKS.md ## recognize, which detects the system shape, asks the minimum residual question, and routes to either the container or the bare-metal deployment skill.
  • "Verify DOCA is installed and healthy." — worked example: "Is DOCA Flow actually available on this box?" Resolved by the install-health snapshot in TASKS.md ## test plus the version-detection rules in CAPABILITIES.md ## Capabilities and modes.
  • "I do not have DOCA installed — what now?" — worked example: "I'm on macOS and want to learn DOCA before I get a BlueField." Resolved by TASKS.md ## no-install (NGC DOCA container as universal Stage-1).
  • "Prepare the build environment for any DOCA library." — worked example: "pkg-config --cflags doca-flow returns nothing — what's missing?" Resolved by the build-prep workflow in TASKS.md ## configure and the build-class error taxonomy in CAPABILITIES.md ## Error taxonomy.
  • "Prepare the runtime preconditions on a real DPU box." — worked example: "hugepages / representors / devlink — what's the minimum set before I run my first DOCA Flow program?" Resolved by TASKS.md ## configure and the runtime observability rules in CAPABILITIES.md ## Observability.
  • "Diagnose an env-class failure (install / build / runtime)." — worked example: "My DOCA Flow program built fine but says pkg-config cannot find it at runtime." Resolved by the layered env-class debug workflow in TASKS.md ## debug.
  • "Change something about the environment safely." — worked example: "I want to switch eswitch mode from legacy to switchdev." Resolved by the safety constraints in CAPABILITIES.md ## Safety policy.

If the question is library-API-shaped (Flow pipe construction, RDMA queue setup, …) or program-shaped (how to build, modify a sample, debug the program itself), route to doca-programming-guide or the matching library skill instead — env-class only lives here.

When to load this skill

Load this skill when the user is dealing with the environment around DOCA — installing it, verifying the install is healthy, preparing the build / runtime preconditions, debugging env-class failures, figuring out how to reach an install from a host that doesn't have one yet, or asking a deployment-shaped question that hasn't yet been routed (containers vs. bare-metal) — the front-door routing decision lives here. Concretely:

  • The deployment-shape routing front door: "I just got a BlueField, what now?", "my code is built, how do I run it?", "how do I deploy this?" All of these load ## recognize first so the agent does not silently push the user onto the wrong path.
  • Verifying that the DOCA install is healthy and that the build environment can find it (pkg-config, headers, library paths).
  • Preparing the runtime: hugepages, devlink device visibility, representor enumeration, kernel-module prerequisites.
  • Diagnosing common setup-class failures: missing *.pc file, hugepages not mounted, representor not visible, header-vs-runtime version mismatch.
  • The I have no install yet path: the user is on macOS, Windows, or a Linux box without DOCA, and needs to reach an environment where DOCA is actually installed. The canonical Stage-1 answer is the public NGC DOCA container at nvcr.io/nvidia/doca/doca (works on any OS that runs Docker; no NVIDIA hardware required for the build / read / learn loop). See TASKS.md ## no-install.

Do not load this skill for:

  • "What is DOCA?", "where is the developer guide?", "where is the install layout documented?" — those are routing questions; use doca-public-knowledge-map.
  • "How do I derive a custom first application from a sample?", "how do I structure a DOCA build?", "what does DOCA_ERROR_BAD_STATE mean?" — those are programming-class questions and live in doca-programming-guide, which owns the universal ## modify (first-app derivation), the canonical ## build pattern, the universal lifecycle, and the cross-library DOCA_ERROR_* taxonomy.
  • Library-internal API questions (Flow pipe construction, RDMA queue setup, etc.) — those belong in the matching library skill (e.g. doca-flow). This skill stops at "the install is healthy and the env is ready"; it does not own program semantics.
Show full SKILL.md (647 more words)Show less

What this skill provides

This is a thin loader. The body keeps only the orientation needed to pick the right next file. The substantive env material lives in two companion files:

  • CAPABILITIES.md — what the install / build / runtime environment surface looks like: install profiles (doca-all, doca-ofed, doca-networking), where the build flavors (release vs trace) live on disk and how to point LD_LIBRARY_PATH at them, the env-side version-detection rules, the env-class error taxonomy (pkg-config not finding doca-flow, hugepages not reserved, representors not visible), what a healthy install looks like under observation, and the safety constraints on environment changes (hugepages global, mlxconfig reset, eswitch mode change).
  • TASKS.md — env workflows: recognize (the front-door system-shape detect + dev-Q decision tree that routes deployment-shaped questions to either container or bare-metal), configure (env prep), test (install health snapshot), debug (env-class layered diagnosis), and no-install (the I have no install yet procedure with the NGC container as Path 0). Three other anchors (build, modify, run) exist for lint compliance and route to doca-programming-guide, which owns those verbs after the env / program split.

This skill assumes nothing about whether DOCA is installed — the ## no-install workflow exists precisely for the fresh laptop case.

Loading order

  1. Read this SKILL.md and classify the question as programming, knowledge-map, beginner orientation, deployment routing, or environment work. Programming and knowledge-map questions route to their owning skill and stop here.
  2. For beginner orientation, show the TASKS.md ## no-install Stage 1 vs Stage 2 roadmap before any command. Then route Stage 1/container learning to ## no-install Path 0 and Stage 2/hardware runtime to ## no-install Paths A/C, followed by ## recognize before selecting container versus bare-metal. Ask one clarifying question when the stage is unknown; if it remains unknown or no reply is available in unattended execution, stop with confirmation_required and both paths explained rather than guessing.
  3. For deployment routing, walk TASKS.md ## recognize first only when the container-versus-bare-metal path is not already established. If it is established, proceed directly to the matching env workflow.
  4. Before a change recommendation on an installed/hardware target, load the mandatory Universal verification contract and walk all applicable steps through an auditable green signal. Hardware-touching answers also load the hardware binding-layer command stanza. The Stage-1 no-hardware path instead uses its own container install/smoke green signal; never fabricate unavailable PCIe, representor, or hardware evidence.
  5. For env workflows — configure, test, debug, and no-install — see TASKS.md. The build, modify, and run anchors route to doca-programming-guide.
  6. Once the env is healthy, hand off to the selected deployment skill, then doca-programming-guide, then the matching library skill.

Both companion files cross-link to each other and to doca-public-knowledge-map whenever the right answer is "look it up in the public docs or the installed package layout" rather than "setup-specific guidance".

  • doca-container-deployment — the container deployment runtime (kubelet standalone + YAML pod-spec drop) for any DOCA service container on BlueField. ## recognize here routes to this skill when the developer's workload + system shape land on the container path.
  • doca-bare-metal-deployment — the bare-metal hardware deployment runtime (host x86 OR BlueField Arm direct launch — systemd / tmux / direct invocation, hardware-resource binding, per-tenant isolation, restart discipline) for a DOCA-linked binary. ## recognize here routes to this skill when the developer's workload + system shape land on the bare-metal path.
  • doca-public-knowledge-map — public DOCA documentation routing and the on-disk layout of an installed DOCA package. This skill defers all "where is X documented", "where on disk is Y", and "how do I check the installed version" questions to the knowledge-map.
  • doca-programming-guide — general DOCA programming patterns once the env is healthy: the canonical pkg-config doca-<library> build pattern, the universal derive a custom first app from a sample workflow (with C / C++ + non-C tracks), the universal lifecycle, and the cross-library DOCA_ERROR_* taxonomy. Anything beyond "is the install healthy and the env ready" lives there.
  • doca-flow — DOCA Flow on BlueField. Builds on this skill for env preparation and on doca-programming-guide for the universal first-app derivation, then layers Flow-specific overrides on top.

© NVIDIA, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 6 other files in skills/doca-setup of NVIDIA/skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • BENCHMARK.md
  • CAPABILITIES.md
  • TASKS.md
  • evals/evals.json
  • skill-card.md
  • skill.oms.sig

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 0e0d506

Compare with similar skills

Doca Setup next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Doca Setup compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Doca Setup this skillNVIDIA/skills3.5k—~3.4kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Causal Inferencesundial-org/awesome-openclaw-skills663—~1.9kAutomated safety check: PassNone
Aspiremicrosoft/aspire.dev1964 repos~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Intrinsic Core Debuggingintrinsic-ai/intrinsic-core552—~3.8kAutomated safety check: NotesApache-2.0
Build Deploy TroubleshootParesh-Maheshwari/morphe-ai172—~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassGPL-3.0
Medusa Cloud Local Buildmedusajs/medusa-agent-skills225—~1kAutomated safety check: NotesNone

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Questions about Doca Setup

What does Doca Setup do?

A skill your agent uses when the user is dealing with the DOCA environment around their workload — verifying an install is healthy, preparing the build env (pkg-config, headers, LDLIBRARYPATH…. Doca Setup is an agent skill from NVIDIA/skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Use this skill when the user is dealing with the DOCA environment around their workload — verifying an install is healthy, preparing the build env (pkg-config, headers, LDLIBRARYPATH, hugepages, devlink, representors), debugging env-class failures, deciding container-vs-bare-metal deployment shape, or reaching a DOCA install from a host that doesn't have one yet via the NGC DOCA container Stage-1 fallback.

When should I use Doca Setup?

Doca Setup fits situations like: the user is dealing with the DOCA environment around their workload — verifying an install is healthy; preparing the build env (pkg-config; debugging env-class failures; deciding container-vs-bare-metal deployment shape.

How do I install Doca Setup in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add NVIDIA/skills --skill doca-setup -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/doca-setup in NVIDIA/skills) into .claude/skills/doca-setup in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Doca Setup in Codex?

Run `npx skills add NVIDIA/skills --skill doca-setup -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/doca-setup in NVIDIA/skills) into .agents/skills/doca-setup in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Doca Setup in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add NVIDIA/skills --skill doca-setup -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/doca-setup, .gemini/skills/doca-setup, .github/skills/doca-setup and .opencode/skills/doca-setup in your project.

What does Doca Setup need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Doca Setup is instructions for the agent only. Our summary lists: Docker. Compatibility (from SKILL.md): No DOCA install required to read this skill (it is an overlay loaded against any DOCA artifact skill); the validation steps within DO require a live DOCA install at /opt/mellanox/doca. The agent must have a target-host command channel or provide commands for the user to run and return their exact output; local shell access must not be assumed to reach the target. .

Does Doca Setup access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Doca Setup safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Doca Setup use?

Doca Setup is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Doca Setup use?

About 3.4k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 13k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Doca Setup?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Doca Setup: Causal Inference (sundial-org/awesome-openclaw-skills, 663 stars), Aspire (microsoft/aspire.dev, 196 stars), Intrinsic Core Debugging (intrinsic-ai/intrinsic-core, 552 stars) and Build Deploy Troubleshoot (Paresh-Maheshwari/morphe-ai, 172 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Doca Setup?

NVIDIA (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in NVIDIA/skills, which has 3,534 GitHub stars. The repository holds 380 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.

Source: NVIDIA/skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.