aws-observability

About aws-observability

AWS Observability provides domain expertise for building, configuring, debugging, and optimizing observability on AWS across metrics, logs, and traces. It covers CloudWatch platform capabilities — Logs Insights, Metrics, Alarms, Dashboards, and EMF — along with X-Ray tracing, CloudTrail operational auditing, and the AWS Distro for OpenTelemetry (ADOT) collector. Specific areas include Log Insights query syntax (fields, filter, stats, parse, pattern, join, subqueries), alarm configuration (metric, composite, anomaly detection, missing-data treatment), dashboard design, custom metrics via PutMetricData, EMF, and metric filters, plus X-Ray sampling rules and the distinction between annotations and metadata.

Use this skill when a task mentions CloudWatch, Log Insights, alarms, INSUFFICIENT_DATA, dashboards, custom metrics, EMF, X-Ray, traces, sampling, CloudTrail, "who deleted," ADOT, OpenTelemetry, observability, monitoring, synthetics, canaries, or troubleshooting alarm behavior. It explicitly does not cover application logging setup, container log drivers, or security threat detection. It works best alongside the AWS MCP server, which lets the agent run CLI commands, query CloudWatch, and validate configurations directly, though all guidance also applies with standard AWS CLI access.

The skill is organized as a routing table that maps each user need to a specific reference file: log-insights.md for queries, alarms.md for alarm configuration and defaults, metrics.md for custom metrics and EMF, tracing.md for X-Ray and ADOT, dashboards.md for widget design and cross-account/region sharing, troubleshooting.md (which opens with the five most common fixes), synthetics.md for canary constraints and common failures, and cloudtrail.md for operational auditing with S3 and Athena. Two ready-to-use assets are included: alarm-template.ts, a best-practice CDK template for Lambda monitoring with alarms and a dashboard, and otel-config.yaml, an ADOT collector configuration for X-Ray traces plus CloudWatch EMF metrics. Because reference files contain runtime versions, quota values, and feature matrices that change, the skill advises confirming precision-sensitive values against current AWS documentation before relying on them in production.

FAQ

Which AWS services does this skill cover?

It covers CloudWatch (Logs Insights, Metrics, Alarms, Dashboards, EMF), X-Ray tracing, CloudTrail operational auditing, and the ADOT (OpenTelemetry) collector across metrics, logs, and traces.

When should I not use this skill?

Do not use it for application logging setup, container log drivers, or security threat detection. Those areas are explicitly out of scope.

Do I need the AWS MCP server to use it?

No. It works best with the AWS MCP server, which allows running CLI commands and validating configurations directly, but all guidance also works with standard AWS CLI access.

Where do I look to debug an alarm stuck in INSUFFICIENT_DATA?

Start with troubleshooting.md, which begins with the five most common fixes, and consult alarms.md for configuration details including missing-data treatment for metric, composite, and anomaly detection alarms.

Are there ready-made templates included?

Yes. It provides alarm-template.ts, a best-practice CDK template for Lambda monitoring with alarms and a dashboard, and otel-config.yaml, an ADOT collector config for X-Ray traces plus CloudWatch EMF metrics.

All Files