Agent skill · software engineering · nvidia
doca-setup
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 "just got a BlueField, what now", "code is built, how to run it", "pkg-config can't find doca-flow", "no free 2048 kB hugepages", "representor X not found", "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.
Why this skill is useful
Provides specific commands and validation steps for verifying and preparing the DOCA environment that the AI wouldn't reliably generate on its own.
What it needs
Requires doca installed locally. About 9k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-07. 2,816 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
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/SKILL.md), the bare-metal hardware deployment path (doca-bare-metal-deployment/SKILL.md), 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. Do not use this skill for: Defining, validating or writing packet-steering rules (DOCA Flow pipes, matches, actions, entries), including when the user says the environment and versions are already verified. That belongs to doca-flow: name it and stop. Do not run ## recognize, environment checks or the verification contract for it. Other library API work (RDMA queues, Comch channels, ...): the matching library skill. First-app derivation from a sample, build structure, or what a DOCAERROR means: doca-programming-guide. "Where is X documented": doca-public-knowledge-map. Examples The CLASSES this skill is built to handle, each with one worked example. The skill must answer the class; the worked example is illustrative. Instructions Follow ## Loading order. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills nvidia/doca-setup