Create / connect a Datadog account
This skill gets the user to a known-good state: a valid API key + application key, on the right region, validated against the Datadog API. It is the "step 0" that setup/instrumentation skills depend on — run it first, then hand off.
It is a standalone guided flow: detect what already exists, and when nothing usable is found, sign in with OAuth (browser, PKCE + state) or create a new account (in-terminal, with a generated password saved to .env), then turn that session into an API key. Everything runs as small inline bash + curl commands (OAuth also uses openssl) — no bundled scripts, no node; cross-platform (macOS, Linux, Windows via WSL/Git Bash).
This SKILL.md is the spine — it carries the short steps inline and routes to references/ for the heavy per-step machinery. Read a reference only when you reach the step that names it.
The flow at a glance
headless requested? ──yes──▶ Step H: env keys only (OAuth needs a browser), validate, done
│no (default — interactive)
▼
Step 1 Detect existing credentials (env)
│
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Step 2 Determine region / site (DD_SITE → validate; else IP-detect → confirm)
│
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Step 3 Authenticate — ask first (even if env keys were detected) → references/authenticate.md
│ └─ ASK: how to connect? ↴
│ ├─ A. Use the detected env key (only if one exists) → validate → Step 5
│ ├─ B. Sign in (I have an account) → OAuth (browser, PKCE + state) ──▶ Bearer token
│ └─ C. Create a new account → Path C: auto in-terminal signup, generated password ──▶ then OAuth
▼
Step 4 Turn the OAuth session into an API key → references/get-api-key.md
│ (identity + region via /current_user; OAuth→retrieve most-recent key, app-key→create → write straight to .env; else guide to UI key page)
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Step 5 Load creds from .env, validate, hand off
Golden rule: never guess or fabricate an API key, app key, token, or site. Read what's in the environment, validate it, and if it isn't there, authenticate — do not proceed on assumptions.
Display & wording conventions — read once before Step 1
Every step obeys the same rules for how it talks to the user and renders progress: the clean-status-line presentation contract, asking with the host's native selector (never letter-entry), and the live progress checklist with its marker discipline. These live in references/conventions.md — read it before Step 1 and apply it throughout. Each step below ends with a ↳ Checklist: cue telling you what to flip.
Step 0 — Preflight (readiness board)
Run this once, first, so the user sees the whole path before anything happens — which tools are present, what's already detected, and what the flow will do (including that it opens the browser once). It writes nothing and reveals no secret. Every invocation runs the full flow from Step 1 — there is no resume/skip-ahead; a prior run is not reused.
DDLOG="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/dd-onboard-$(id -u).log"; : >"$DDLOG" # fresh log for this run
mark(){ command -v "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo "✓" || echo "$2"; }
# python3 gates the auto browser-callback; fall back to python only if it's a real py3.
have_py3(){ command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1 && return 0; command -v python >/dev/null 2>&1 && python -c 'import sys;exit(0 if sys.version_info[0]==3 else 1)' 2>/dev/null; }
py3msg(){ have_py3 && echo '✓ (auto browser-callback)' || echo '⊘ (will paste the redirect URL)'; }
echo "Datadog account setup — preflight"
echo " deps (required): bash ✓ curl $(mark curl ✗) openssl $(mark openssl ✗)"
echo " deps (optional): python3 $(py3msg) browser-open $( { command -v open >/dev/null 2>&1 || command -v xdg-open >/dev/null 2>&1; } && echo ✓ || echo '⊘ (open URL manually)')"
# Canonical DD_* loader — this same block is repeated verbatim in later steps because each ```bash runs a fresh shell (not drift).
# Load DD_* with precedence: shell env > .env.local > .env. A real env var is never overwritten; surrounding quotes are stripped. *_SRC records where each came from (unset ⇒ from the shell env).
for f in .env.local .env; do [ -f "$f" ] || continue; for k in DD_SITE DD_API_KEY DD_APP_KEY; do eval "[ -n \"\${$k:-}\" ]" && continue; v=$(grep -E "^$k=" "$f" | head -1 | cut -d= -f2- | sed 's/^["'\'']//;s/["'\'']$//'); [ -n "$v" ] && { export "$k=$v"; eval "${k}_SRC=$f"; }; done; done
echo " detected creds: DD_SITE=${DD_SITE:-<unset>}${DD_SITE_SRC:+ [$DD_SITE_SRC]} DD_API_KEY=$([ -n "$DD_API_KEY" ] && echo "set …${DD_API_KEY: -4}${DD_API_KEY_SRC:+ [$DD_API_KEY_SRC]}" || echo '<unset>') DD_APP_KEY=$([ -n "$DD_APP_KEY" ] && echo "set${DD_APP_KEY_SRC:+ [$DD_APP_KEY_SRC]}" || echo '<unset>')"
echo " what happens: confirm region → authenticate (opens your browser once) → get an API key → write it to .env → validate. ~2 min, one browser approval."
[ "$(mark curl ✗)" = ✗ ] || [ "$(mark openssl ✗)" = ✗ ] && echo " ✗ missing a required dep above — install it before continuing."
Read the board to the user as-is (it's already clean). If a required dep is missing, stop and say so. Then tick the checklist's step 1 and move on — always continue into Step 1; never skip ahead to a later step.
↳ Checklist: post the board, then the checklist; mark 1. Detect credentials ◔.
Step H — Headless / non-interactive (no browser, no prompts)
Decide this first, because the browser + signup paths are impossible without a human. Infer headless from the skill's invocation, not from the environment — the trigger is the user's request itself: they explicitly ask to run without a browser or without interactive prompts (e.g. "set up Datadog non-interactively", "I'm in CI, no browser").
Do not infer headless merely from a missing TTY — an ordinary terminal run always gets the interactive flow. Only an explicit request switches it off.
When you've inferred a headless request, run the block below — and only then. There's no browser
for OAuth and no human to answer the signup prompts, so the one way to a valid state is with keys
already provided. Require DD_API_KEY, DD_APP_KEY, and DD_SITE, and fail fast otherwise:
# Run this block ONLY when you inferred a non-interactive request. It enforces the one thing
# headless needs — keys already present — and fails fast when any are missing.
# Load DD_* (env > .env.local > .env), same precedence as Step 1 — CI keys often live in .env, not exported.
for f in .env.local .env; do [ -f "$f" ] || continue; for k in DD_SITE DD_API_KEY DD_APP_KEY; do eval "[ -n \"\${$k:-}\" ]" && continue; v=$(grep -E "^$k=" "$f" | head -1 | cut -d= -f2- | sed 's/^["'\'']//;s/["'\'']$//'); [ -n "$v" ] && export "$k=$v"; done; done
missing=""
[ -z "$DD_API_KEY" ] && missing="$missing DD_API_KEY"
[ -z "$DD_APP_KEY" ] && missing="$missing DD_APP_KEY"
[ -z "$DD_SITE" ] && missing="$missing DD_SITE"
[ -n "$missing" ] && { echo "Non-interactive mode requires:$missing — set them and re-run. Sign-in and trial signup need a browser."; exit 1; }
If all three are set, hand off to Step 5, which validates the key via /api/v1/validate (works with the DD-API-KEY header). Note: /api/v1/validate checks DD_API_KEY only — DD_APP_KEY is required but not independently verified here; a wrong/expired app key surfaces later at the first app-key-scoped call. There is no OAuth or signup fallback when headless — both need a browser — so fail with the message above and keep logs actionable.
↳ Checklist (headless): two items only — once validate passes, tick both and jump to Step 5.
Step 1 — Detect existing credentials
Read the environment and the project's .env / .env.local files. Do not read the values back to the user in full; mask them.
# Load DD_* with precedence: shell env > .env.local > .env (real env var wins; quotes stripped). *_SRC = file it came from (unset ⇒ shell env).
for f in .env.local .env; do [ -f "$f" ] || continue; for k in DD_SITE DD_API_KEY DD_APP_KEY; do eval "[ -n \"\${$k:-}\" ]" && continue; v=$(grep -E "^$k=" "$f" | head -1 | cut -d= -f2- | sed 's/^["'\'']//;s/["'\'']$//'); [ -n "$v" ] && { export "$k=$v"; eval "${k}_SRC=$f"; }; done; done
echo "DD_SITE = ${DD_SITE:-<unset>}${DD_SITE_SRC:+ (from $DD_SITE_SRC)}"
echo "DD_API_KEY= $( [ -n "$DD_API_KEY" ] && echo "set (…${DD_API_KEY: -4})${DD_API_KEY_SRC:+ (from $DD_API_KEY_SRC)}" || echo "<unset>" )"
echo "DD_APP_KEY= $( [ -n "$DD_APP_KEY" ] && echo "set (…${DD_APP_KEY: -4})${DD_APP_KEY_SRC:+ (from $DD_APP_KEY_SRC)}" || echo "<unset>" )"
- A
DD_API_KEYis present (env or.env/.env.local) → go to Step 2 (pin the site), then Step 3 and ask (choice A = use the detected key, or B/C to authenticate / create a different account). The detected key is an option the user confirms in Step 3, not a default to use silently — they may want a different org or account. - No
DD_API_KEYanywhere → the user has nothing usable yet. Still do Step 2 (so signup lands them on the right region), then go to Step 3, where you'll ask how to connect.
An app key without an api key is not enough; treat it as "no key." Because the shell doesn't persist between blocks, every later block that consumes $DD_API_KEY re-runs this same loader at its top — that's why it reappears in Path A, Step 4, and Step 5.
↳ Checklist: post the list now — tick 1. Detect credentials, mark 2. Confirm region ◔.
Step 2 — Determine region / site
The site drives every URL downstream (signup, API host, key pages), so pin it before validating.
The region table and the country→region IP mapping live in references/regions.md.
-
If
DD_SITEis set (env or.env): validate it against the allowed-site list inreferences/regions.md. If it is not in that list, stop and show a clear error:DD_SITE="<value>"isn't a recognized Datadog site. Pick one of the regions inreferences/regions.mdand setDD_SITEaccordingly. -
If
DD_SITEis unset: auto-detect the region from the user's location, then confirm — never silently commit a region.country=$(curl -s --max-time 2 https://ipinfo.io/json \ | grep -o '"country"[^,]*' | grep -o '"[A-Z][A-Z]"' | tr -d '"') echo "Detected country: ${country:-unknown}"Map the country to a region using the Country → region mapping table in
references/regions.md. On timeout, error, or no match, default to US1 (datadoghq.com) — and say so. Then tell the user, e.g.:You look like you're in DE → suggesting EU1 (Frankfurt),
datadoghq.eu. Use this, or pick another region below?Wait for confirmation. Region cannot be changed after an account is created, so this choice matters.
The API host is uniformly https://api.${DD_SITE}.
↳ Checklist: after the user confirms the region, tick 2. Confirm region, mark 3. Authenticate ◔.
Step 3 — Authenticate
Ask how to connect first — even when Step 1 detected env credentials — then run the path the user picks. Present "The choice" before touching any credential: an ambient DD_API_KEY may belong to a different org or account than the user intends, and region/IP can't reveal which, so let the user decide rather than inferring it. (Headless/Step H is exempt — no TTY to ask, env keys only.)
The full detail — "The choice" native-selector wording plus all three paths — lives in references/authenticate.md:
| The user picks | Path | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Use my existing credentials (only offered if Step 1 detected a key) | A | Validate the detected key (also catches a wrong-region key → back to Step 2). |
| Sign in — I already have an account | B | OAuth in the browser (PKCE + state), Bearer token to a 0600 file. |
| Create a new account (default) | C | Automated in-terminal signup with a generated password → then Path B. |
Read references/authenticate.md, present the choice via the host's native selector, and run the matching path. Re-offer the choice whenever a path dead-ends (OAuth finds no account → C; a wrong-region key sent the user back to Step 2 first).
↳ Checklist: keep 3. Authenticate ◔ until a token or key is actually in hand (see the per-path cues in
references/authenticate.md).
Step 4 — Turn the OAuth session into an API key
The OAuth token authenticates the user, but downstream instrumentation needs a DD_API_KEY. Use the Bearer token to confirm identity, then obtain a key — retrieve the org's most-recent key on an OAuth session (OAuth tokens cannot create keys), or create one when authenticating with an app key; else guide the user to the UI key page.
The full branch (identity check, retrieve-vs-create, the HTTP-code-tagged block, and the outcome table for EMPTY_ORG / LIST_DENIED / SECRET_DENIED / CREATE_DENIED / TRANSPORT_ERROR) lives in references/get-api-key.md — follow it. The secret is written straight to .env, never echoed.
↳ Checklist: once a validated key is in hand, tick 4. Get & validate an API key, mark 5 ◔.
Step 5 — Confirm and hand off
The key is already in .env. Load it and validate (a fresh shell each call — always load .env first by parsing it, never source it, so a crafted .env can't execute; never inline the literal key):
DDLOG="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/dd-onboard-$(id -u).log"; tf="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/dd-oauth-$(id -u).token"
# Load DD_* (env > .env.local > .env) — parse, don't source, so a crafted .env can't execute. Covers a Path-A key that lives only in the shell env or .env.local.
for f in .env.local .env; do [ -f "$f" ] || continue; for k in DD_SITE DD_API_KEY DD_APP_KEY; do eval "[ -n \"\${$k:-}\" ]" && continue; v=$(grep -E "^$k=" "$f" | head -1 | cut -d= -f2- | sed 's/^["'\'']//;s/["'\'']$//'); [ -n "$v" ] && export "$k=$v"; done; done
vcode=$(curl -sg -o "$DDLOG" -w '%{http_code}' -H "DD-API-KEY: $DD_API_KEY" "https://api.${DD_SITE}/api/v1/validate")
# re-derive org/email for the card (fresh shell — Step 4 vars don't persist); only if a token is still around
who=""; [ -s "$tf" ] && who=$(curl -sg -H "Authorization: Bearer $(cat "$tf")" "https://api.${DD_SITE}/api/v2/current_user" 2>>"$DDLOG" | grep -oE '"email"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"[^"]*"' | head -1 | cut -d'"' -f4)
cmk="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/dd-signup-$(id -u).created"; spw="" # marker exists only if THIS run created the account (Path C, C3) — no stale password from an earlier run
[ -f "$cmk" ] && spw=$(grep -E '^DD_SIGNUP_PASSWORD=' .env 2>/dev/null | tail -1 | cut -d= -f2-) # newest .env entry = the password this run generated (C2 appends to .env)
# consistent 🔑 credential card — the one place credential state is summarized; secret shown only as last4
echo "🔑 Datadog credential"
[ -n "$who" ] && echo " org: $who"
echo " region: ${DD_SITE}"
echo " api key: …${DD_API_KEY: -4} (in .env — never printed in full)"
[ -n "$spw" ] && echo " password: in .env as DD_SIGNUP_PASSWORD (ends …${spw: -4}) — you need it to sign in to Datadog"
echo " status: $([ "$vcode" = 200 ] && echo '✓ validated (HTTP 200)' || echo "✗ validate HTTP $vcode — see: tail -n 30 \"$DDLOG\"")"
- The card above is the canonical summary — don't also dump the raw validate response. On a non-200, surface
tail -n 30 "$DDLOG"and treat it per the outcome table (a403here is usually wrong region → Step 2). - Report the authenticated org/email from the identity call.
- Credentials all live in
.env(DD_SITE,DD_API_KEY, andDD_SIGNUP_PASSWORDif the account was created via Path C) — written there directly, never echoed. Clean up the signup temp files and the OAuth state + callback files:rm -f "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/dd-signup-$(id -u).* "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/dd-oauth-$(id -u).state "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/dd-oauth-$(id -u).cb. - Downstream handoff — keep the OAuth token. Leave
${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/dd-oauth-$(id -u).token(0600) in place. Downstream instrumentation reuses this Bearer token to provision resources a plain API key can't create — notably a RUM application. It is short-lived and scoped; the onboarding caller (e.g. the orchestrator) removes it once setup finishes (rm -f "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/dd-oauth-$(id -u).token). Running instrumentation standalone? Delete it yourself when done. - Hand back: "Account is ready. You can now run the setup / instrumentation step." (e.g.
studio-setup,browser-rum-setup,llm-observability-setup, or any other*-setupskill).
↳ Checklist: tick 5. Ready — hand off — show the fully completed list so the user sees the flow is done.
Troubleshooting & reference
When a step fails, see references/troubleshooting.md — the symptom→fix table (wrong region, OAuth state mismatch, headless exit, Path-C signup errors, …) plus the design-decision and temp-state notes.