Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Cloud Network Insights Setup agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The cloud-network-insights skill is a set of instructions and reference files that lets an AI agent set up and operate Google Cloud Network Insights, a synthetic monitoring service built with Broadcom AppNeta. It is written for cloud and network engineers who want an agent to enable the service, check provider state and list monitoring paths. After this guide you will know what an agent skill is, how to install this one, and how to phrase requests so the agent uses it.
Cloud Network Insights Setupgoogle/skills · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Get the Google Cloud SDK ready. Install the gcloud CLI with the network-management component and confirm you can reach your project.
- 2Download the skill ZIP. Download the cloud-network-insights ZIP from this page.
- 3Unzip into the skills folder. Unzip the folder into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into .claude/skills/ in a project.
- 4Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, open Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the ZIP.
- 5Make a natural request. Ask the agent to enable Cloud Network Insights for your PROJECT_ID and check the provider state.
- 6Verify the provider. Confirm the state is ACTIVE, or wait while it shows ACTIVATING.
- 7List paths and points. Ask for the network paths, web paths or monitoring points for your provider.
What is an agent skill and what does this one do?
An agent skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file and optional reference documents that an AI agent reads when a task matches the skill's description. This skill is not a standalone tool; it gives the agent procedures and commands to follow.
Once installed, the agent can enable the networkmanagement API, create and check the monitoring provider, guide deployment of Monitoring Points, configure Network and Web monitoring policies, and list the resulting network paths, web paths and monitoring points using gcloud commands.
- Enable the Google Cloud API and create or delete a monitoring provider
- Check that the provider state is ACTIVE
- Guide Monitoring Point deployment for container, helm, gce-vm, aws-ec2, azure-vm, vmware or kvm
- Create or check AppNeta Network and Web monitoring policies
- Create or delete Cloud Monitoring alert policies from a file
- List network paths, web paths and monitoring points
Install the skill from the ZIP
Download the ZIP for the skill from this page and unzip it. To make the skill available to Claude Code for your user account, place the unzipped folder inside ~/.claude/skills/. To limit it to one project, place it inside that project's .claude/skills/ folder.
In the Claude apps, you can instead upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: .claude/skills/ inside your project folder
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the ZIP
Check the requirements before you start
The skill runs commands, so you need the tools and access listed below. Without a Google Cloud project where you can enable APIs and create providers, the commands will fail.
- Google Cloud SDK (gcloud CLI) with the network-management component
- A Google Cloud project with permission to enable APIs and create providers
- Accepted Google Cloud Terms of Service for Cloud Network Insights
- AppNeta/Broadcom account and API credentials for monitoring policy REST calls; the monitoring policies reference file covers token generation
Trigger the skill with a natural request
You do not need to type the skill name. Describe the task in plain language that matches the skill's scope, such as enabling Cloud Network Insights, deploying Monitoring Points, configuring a monitoring policy, or verifying paths. The agent will read the skill when the request fits.
- Enable Cloud Network Insights in my project my-project and tell me when the provider is ACTIVE
- Help me deploy Monitoring Points on AWS EC2. Ask me for anything you need first
- List the network paths and monitoring points for provider external in my project
- Check whether an AppNeta monitoring policy named branch-latency already exists before creating one
Example: enable the service and verify the provider
The skill's first procedure enables the API, creates a provider and checks its state. The commands below are taken from the skill. Replace PROJECT_ID with your project ID and PROVIDER_ID with your provider name.
Check that the state field is ACTIVE. ACTIVATING means the backend is still provisioning AppNeta resources.
gcloud services enable networkmanagement.googleapis.com --project=PROJECT_ID
gcloud network-management network-monitoring-providers create PROVIDER_ID \
--provider-type=EXTERNAL \
--location=global \
--project=PROJECT_ID
gcloud network-management network-monitoring-providers \
describe PROVIDER_ID \
--location=global \
--project=PROJECT_ID \
--format=jsonSafety notes on scripts and network access
This skill runs scripts and uses the network. Review the commands the agent proposes before it runs them, especially anything that creates or deletes resources. The skill's own cleanup commands, such as deleting a provider or an alert policy, are destructive.
The skill tags gcloud commands with a usage attribution variable set inline on each command, and it says not to use gcloud config set for this. Alarm rules cannot be created through the REST API and must be set in the AppNeta web UI. The skill also tells the agent to check for an existing monitoring policy before creating a new one to avoid duplicates.
- Review proposed create and delete commands before approving them
- Alarm rules must be configured in the AppNeta web UI (Alarms > Alarm Rules)
- Terms of Service that are not accepted will cause the provider command to fail; the skill points you to the Google Cloud console onboarding page
Tips and what the skill does not cover
Ask the agent for a status check first, so you can see the current provider state before making changes. The skill excludes general network troubleshooting and VPC Flow Logs analysis, and it says it does not cover Cloud NAT or VPC firewall debugging. Ask for those topics elsewhere.
- Start with a read-only request such as listing providers or monitoring points
- Name your PROJECT_ID and PROVIDER_ID in the request to avoid guesses
- Do not use this skill for VPC Flow Logs, Cloud NAT or VPC firewall questions
What people use it for
- Enabling Cloud Network Insights and confirming the provider reaches ACTIVE
- Planning Monitoring Point deployment for Google Cloud, on-premises, AWS, Azure, VMware or KVM
- Checking whether an AppNeta monitoring policy already exists before creating it
- Listing network and web paths to confirm monitoring is provisioned
- Creating or cleaning up Cloud Monitoring alert policies from a JSON or YAML file
Frequently asked questions
Is the cloud-network-insights skill free?
The skill is licensed under Apache-2.0, as listed on this page. The Google Cloud and AppNeta services it operates have their own terms and may have costs, which this skill does not describe.
What do I need to install the cloud network insights skill?
Install the ZIP into ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder, or upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills in the Claude apps. You also need the gcloud CLI with the network-management component.
Why does my provider show ACTIVATING instead of ACTIVE?
The skill says ACTIVATING means the backend is still provisioning AppNeta resources. Wait and check the state again with the describe command, and look for ACTIVE before continuing.
Why does the provider create command fail?
A common cause is unaccepted Google Cloud Terms of Service for Cloud Network Insights. The skill directs you to the Google Cloud console onboarding page for your project to accept them.
Can the skill create alarm rules for me?
No. The skill states that alarm rules are configured in the AppNeta web UI under Alarms > Alarm Rules and are not supported through the REST API v4.
How does this compare with VPC Flow Logs or general network troubleshooting?
This skill is limited to Cloud Network Insights setup and synthetic monitoring operations. The skill explicitly excludes generic network observability, VPC Flow Logs analysis, Cloud NAT and VPC firewall debugging, so use other tools for those.
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Our verdict
Use this skill if you run or are setting up Cloud Network Insights in a Google Cloud project and want an agent to enable the service, check provider state and list monitoring paths. Pick something else if you need general network troubleshooting, VPC Flow Logs analysis, or Cloud NAT and firewall debugging, or if you do not yet have a Google Cloud project with the right permissions.
Download the skill