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Customize HAPTIC with an AI agent

Install the HAPTIC skill to give your coding agent instructions for Scriggo templates, Helm customization, resource watches, and validation. It includes runnable examples and links to HAPTIC's documentation.

The skill uses the open Agent Skills format. You can use the same files with Codex, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot in VS Code, and other clients that support this format. Installation and invocation depend on the client.

Install in your project

Run this from the repository where you keep your HAPTIC configuration. You need Node.js with npx for this installation method:

npx skills add https://haproxy-haptic.org --skill haptic

The Skills CLI lets you select your agents and installs at project scope by default. Review and commit the generated skill files and skills-lock.json if you want your team to share them.

To install for all your projects instead:

npx skills add https://haproxy-haptic.org --skill haptic --global

These commands install the skill published from HAPTIC's main branch. Give the agent your deployed HAPTIC and HAProxy versions so it can check the matching documentation. For a skill snapshot from the documentation version you're reading, use the download below. Older releases may predate the skill.

You can also install from the source repository. This method additionally requires Git:

npx skills add https://gitlab.com/haproxy-haptic/haptic --skill haptic

Download the skill

Download haptic.zip. It contains SKILL.md, reference files, YAML examples, and the license. Keep these files together. You can inspect the skill instructions before installing; a SHA-256 checksum is also available.

From your configuration repository, extract the downloaded archive into your agent's project skills directory. These commands assume haptic.zip is in the current directory:

mkdir -p .agents/skills/haptic
unzip haptic.zip -d .agents/skills/haptic
mkdir -p .claude/skills/haptic
unzip haptic.zip -d .claude/skills/haptic
mkdir -p .github/skills/haptic
unzip haptic.zip -d .github/skills/haptic

If your client accepts skill ZIP uploads, upload the archive through its skill settings instead. For other clients, use their documented skill directory.

Use the skill

Open your configuration project in the agent. In Codex, select $haptic; in Claude Code, use /haptic; in VS Code, select /haptic in agent chat. The client can also select the skill when your request matches its description. If it isn't listed, start a new session and check that haptic/SKILL.md is under the chosen skills directory.

Start with a concrete request and point to your files:

Use the haptic skill. Read our values.yaml and add an annotation that lets
each Ingress choose a request-ID header for its own backends. Preserve our
existing routing. Add tests for an annotated Ingress, an unannotated Ingress,
and an invalid header name, then validate the resulting configuration.

For a custom resource:

Use the haptic skill. Our MaintenancePolicy CRD is in schemas/ and sample
objects are in fixtures/. Make HAPTIC return 503 when the apps/public policy
is enabled. Use typed Scriggo access and test enabled, disabled, absent,
and other-namespace policies.

The skill provides instructions. Your agent still needs access to your files and the tools required for the task. Native validation needs haptic and a matching haproxy binary; chart preflight also needs the chart and schemas. Follow validation tests and validate before deploying to set those up.

Review the generated changes and validation results before deploying. Installing the skill doesn't connect to a cluster or change a HAPTIC installation.

Update or remove it

For a project installation made with the Skills CLI:

npx skills update haptic --project

For a global installation:

npx skills update haptic --global

To remove a project installation:

npx skills remove haptic

To remove a global installation:

npx skills remove haptic --global

For a manual installation, replace the haptic/ folder with a newly downloaded copy, or delete that folder to remove the skill. Review updates before committing them to your project.

Agents without skill support

Give the agent the HAPTIC skill instructions and ask it to read the linked references for your task. This supplies context for that conversation; it doesn't enable automatic skill discovery.

HAPTIC also publishes a documentation index at llms.txt, a combined manual at llms-full.txt, and each page as Markdown at its URL plus index.md. Start with the index for your version, for example the development documentation index, and load the pages your task needs.

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