Agent skill · data analytics · nvidia
doca-debug
Use this skill when the user is debugging any DOCA symptom — a build that won't compile, a link step that can't resolve a doca_* symbol, a runtime call returning DOCA_ERROR_*, a silent service or tool, or a stack trace / valgrind / core dump — and needs the layered ladder (install → version → build → link → runtime → program → driver), verbosity controls (--sdk-log-level, DOCA_LOG_LEVEL, the doca-{lib}-trace flavor), container-debug constraints, or how to capture state for a Developer Forum post. Trigger even when the user does not say "DOCA debug" — implicit phrasings include "undefined reference to doca_*", "how do I get more logs", "packets aren't reaching the wire", "doca_caps returned nothing", or "hugepages empty in the container". Refuse and route elsewhere for library-specific debug (Flow pipe trace, RDMA QP, Comch stats), env-class pkg-config or hugepages symptoms, the DOCA_ERROR_* taxonomy and lifecycle interpretation, and performance or incident-response work — those belong to other skills.
Why this skill is useful
Provides domain-specific debugging workflows and layered troubleshooting steps for DOCA that the AI wouldn't reliably generate on its own.
What it needs
Requires doca installed locally. About 7k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-07. 2,816 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
DOCA debug Examples "My DOCA build / link / runtime failed — which layer is it?" — this is in scope. Walk the layered ladder; do not jump to library-internal debug first. "How do I turn up verbosity for any DOCA library or tool?" — use the log-level / trace-flavor surface, then capture state for a forum post. Instructions An undefined reference is a Link-layer symptom, not proof of a missing library or an application-code defect. Before recommending edits, request these observations from the same host/container and shell that ran the failing build: pkg-config --modversion doca-common and the selected library's version; for Flow, pkg-config --modversion doca-flow. pkg-config --libs doca-<library>; for Flow, pkg-config --libs doca-flow. The actual failing compiler/linker invocation from the build log and its full error output. pkg-config reports flags, not the command that failed. If these outputs are missing, request them and pause before prescribing a repair. Listing a check is not evidence that it passed. Do not append a speculative fix, guessed -L/-l flags, predicted library filenames, or a replacement compiler command to that capture request. Once evidence is available, compare the original invocation with the complete observed pkg-config output through the existing build system; do not hand-assemble DOCA's version-dependent split libraries. Use ldd only if a relevant binary was actually produced; a declaration in a header does not prove that a linked shared object exports the symbol. Follow doca-version/TASKS.md#configure for version coherence, doca-programming-guide/TASKS.md#debug for the environment-before-program investigation, and doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md for verified install locations and public documentation. A bundle skill name is not an SDK page slug: never construct a documentation URL from it. If no matching guide has been verified, use the DOCA SDK index and say the specific page is not yet confirmed. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills nvidia/doca-debug