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Guide · Agent skill

How to use the mTLS Configuration Guide agent skill

Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data

The mtls-configuration skill gives an AI agent a structured playbook for mutual TLS, the setup where both services in a connection prove their identity with certificates before any data is exchanged. It is aimed at platform and DevOps engineers, and at anyone debugging TLS handshake failures between internal services. After this guide you will know what the skill does, how to install it, how to ask for it in plain language, and what to check before you apply anything it produces.

mTLS Configuration Guidewshobson/agents · MIT

Quick start

  1. 1Download the ZIP. Get the mtls-configuration skill ZIP from this page.
  2. 2Unzip into your skills folder. Unzip into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project.
  3. 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the ZIP.
  4. 4Describe a zero-trust task. Ask in plain terms about mTLS, certificate management or securing internal service communication.
  5. 5Give context about your setup. Name your mesh, CA and cluster layout so the agent can adapt the guidance.
  6. 6Review the output. Check any generated configuration against your environment before it reaches production.

What is an agent skill and what does this one do?

An agent skill is a folder of instructions that an AI agent loads when a task matches the skill's description. This one is defined in a file called SKILL.md and covers mutual TLS (mTLS) for zero-trust service-to-service communication.

Once loaded, the agent works from a structured guide rather than general memory. It explains the mTLS handshake: each service's proxy presents a certificate, both certificates are verified, and only then does an encrypted channel open. It also describes how a certificate hierarchy should be organised, with a root CA, intermediate CAs at cluster level and for multi-cluster traffic, and workload certificates for each service.

  • Explains the handshake flow between two service proxies (sidecars).
  • Describes the certificate hierarchy: root CA, intermediate CAs, workload certificates.
  • Recommends practices such as starting in PERMISSIVE mode, using short-lived workload certificates (24h or less), rotating the CA, monitoring expiry and logging TLS errors.
  • Points to references/details.md for templates and worked examples, such as Istio PeerAuthentication and DestinationRule YAML.

How do you install the mtls-configuration skill?

Download the skill ZIP from this page. Then choose one of two routes depending on how you use your agent.

For Claude Code, unzip the download into ~/.claude/skills/ to make it available in all your projects, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder to limit it to that project. For the Claude apps, upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

  • Personal install: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
  • Project install: unzip into .claude/skills/ inside your project
  • Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the ZIP

How do you trigger the skill with a natural request?

You do not need a special command. The skill's description tells the agent when to use it: implementing zero-trust networking, certificate management, or securing internal service communication. Describe your task in those terms and the agent can pick the skill up.

Name the outcome you want and the system involved. Mention your mesh or CA setup if you have one, because the guidance is generic and the agent needs that context to adapt it.

  • "Set up mTLS between our payment and orders services, starting in permissive mode."
  • "Explain how a root CA, intermediate CAs and workload certs should be organised for three clusters."
  • "Our service-to-service calls fail with a TLS handshake error after enabling strict mode. Help me work out why."
  • "Give me a plan for rotating our internal CA without downtime."

What do the templates in the reference file look like?

When you need concrete configuration, the skill directs the agent to references/details.md. That file contains templates and worked examples. The examples shown there use Istio: a mesh-wide PeerAuthentication set to STRICT, a namespace-level override set to PERMISSIVE for migration, and a workload-specific policy with a port that has mTLS disabled for metrics.

Ask for the template you need by name, for example the Istio DestinationRule for mTLS or the strict-mode mesh policy. The agent should base its answer on that file rather than inventing new fields.

apiVersion: security.istio.io/v1beta1 kind: PeerAuthentication metadata: name: default namespace: istio-system spec: mtls: mode: STRICT

What does the skill need, and what are the safety notes?

The skill lists no required tools or packages. It does not run scripts and does not use the network. It is a set of instructions and reference material, so it cannot deploy anything to your cluster by itself.

The real risk is applying output without review. The guidance is generic and must be adapted to your actual mesh, CA and cluster setup. Treat generated configs as drafts. Also note the skill's own rules: do not disable mTLS for convenience in production, and do not skip verification of the full chain.

  • Requires: nothing listed.
  • Runs scripts: no. Uses network: no.
  • Review every generated config against your mesh, CA and cluster before applying it to production.
  • Do not use self-signed certificates in place of a proper CA hierarchy.

What tips help you get the most from it?

Start with your goal and your current state. If you are migrating, say so, because the skill recommends moving from PERMISSIVE to STRICT gradually. If you are debugging, paste the exact error message so the agent can reason about the handshake step where it failed.

Use the skill as a checklist. Ask the agent to review your plan against its practices: certificate expiry monitoring, automated rotation, TLS error logging and CA rotation planning.

  • Say whether you are rolling out, auditing or debugging.
  • Include the error text from failed handshakes.
  • Ask for a checklist against the Do's and Don'ts in SKILL.md.
  • Ask for the relevant template from references/details.md rather than a full configuration from scratch.

What people use it for

  • Planning a rollout of mTLS between microservices, starting in PERMISSIVE mode and moving to STRICT.
  • Designing a certificate hierarchy with a root CA, cluster-level intermediate CAs and workload certificates.
  • Diagnosing TLS handshake failures between services after a policy change.
  • Preparing internal traffic encryption evidence for a PCI-DSS or HIPAA compliance review.
  • Drafting Istio PeerAuthentication or DestinationRule examples from the reference templates for review.

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the mtls-configuration agent skill?

Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

Does the mtls-configuration skill require anything else to run?

The skill lists no requirements. It runs no scripts and uses no network access, so it works as instructions and reference material only.

Is the mtls-configuration skill free?

The skill is published under the MIT licence, as stated on this page. Check the licence file in the source repository for the full terms.

What is mutual TLS and how is it different from normal TLS?

In normal TLS only the server presents a certificate. In mutual TLS, both sides present certificates and verify each other before data flows, which is the basis of zero-trust service-to-service communication.

Can I use this skill to fix TLS handshake errors?

Yes, debugging handshake failures is one of its listed uses. Give the agent the exact error text and describe what changed, such as enabling strict mode, so it can reason about which step failed.

Is this skill a replacement for a security review?

No. The guidance is generic and must be adapted to your actual mesh, CA and cluster setup, so generated configs should be reviewed before production use.

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Our verdict

This skill suits platform and DevOps engineers rolling out mTLS between internal services, teams preparing compliance evidence for encrypted internal traffic, and engineers debugging handshake failures. It is less useful for a simple single-service app with no internal traffic, where mTLS adds complexity without benefit. Anyone who plans to apply its output to production without review should pick a more specific, environment-tailored resource instead.

Download the skill