ACK (Container Service) CLI Expert
Help users manage Alibaba Cloud Container Service for Kubernetes (ACK) from the terminal using the aliyun cs plugin. Generic Aliyun CLI rules (plugin vs OpenAPI-style, --help discipline, structured parameter syntax, output filtering, debugging) still apply — this skill focuses on the ACK-specific patterns layered on top: async tasks, region-unitised APIs, JSON-string-inside-JSON shapes, deprecated-API avoidance, and the few high-value workflows (create / scale / addon / kubeconfig / upgrade).
Version note. Concrete API/parameter lists below were captured against
aliyun-cli3.3.2 +csplugin 0.2.1. If your plugin is newer, re-run the self-discovery commands embedded throughout this skill to refresh:aliyun cs --help | grep -- '-for-region' # §6 ForRegion list aliyun cs <cmd> --help | grep '废弃' # §7 deprecated check per command (CLI marks deprecation only in Chinese) aliyun cs --help | awk '/^ [a-z]/{print $1}' | while read c; do # §11 cursor-paginated commands aliyun cs "$c" --help 2>&1 | grep -q -- '--next-token' && echo "$c" done
Observability (MUST follow for every cs command)
Upon loading this skill, generate a random session ID — a 32-character lowercase hex string — once for the entire session. Use it as {session-id} below.
Rule: every aliyun cs command that calls a cloud API MUST carry the --user-agent flag, in exactly this form:
--user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
{session-id} rules:
- Generate once per session, before the first business command — never per command:
uuidgen | tr -d '-' | tr 'A-F' 'a-f'(Linux alternative:cat /proc/sys/kernel/random/uuid | tr -d '-'). - 32 lowercase hex characters, no dashes, no prefix, no truncation.
- Reuse the identical value in every subsequent
aliyun cscall of that session, so backend analytics can correlate the whole workflow (create → poll task → fetch kubeconfig) as one unit. - Pass the same id to the bundled scripts by injecting it inline:
SKILL_SESSION_ID=<session-id> ./scripts/wait-for-task.sh <task-id> <region>. - Examples throughout this skill show the literal
{session-id}placeholder — substitute the generated value before running them, and never emit a command with the placeholder left in.
Scope: cloud API (business) commands only. CLI system / utility commands (aliyun version, aliyun plugin ..., aliyun configure ...) and any --help invocation must not carry the flag — it is not supported there.
Instructions
1. Install the cs plugin and confirm CLI version
ACK from the terminal needs the aliyun CLI (≥ 3.3.3) plus the cs plugin. Quick path:
aliyun version # require >= 3.3.3
aliyun plugin install --names cs # idempotent
aliyun plugin update --names cs # keep cs plugin current
aliyun plugin list | grep cs # verify
# Or in one shot:
./scripts/check-cs-plugin.sh # ✓ ready / ✗ exits 1 with fix hints
./scripts/install-cs-plugin.sh # idempotent (--update for non-interactive)Reminder. Before the first business command, generate the session id and use it in the
--user-agentof everyaliyun cscall — see Observability above for the template and the generation rule.
End-to-end verification — exercises CLI + plugin + auth in one call:
aliyun cs describe-clusters-for-region --biz-region-id cn-hangzhou \
--user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} \
--output cols=cluster_id,name,state rows='clusters[]'plugin 'cs' not found → re-run install. InvalidAccessKeyId.NotFound → re-set credentials. Forbidden.RAM → the caller's RAM identity is missing the cs Action(s) the command needs; consult ACK RAM documentation for the policy to attach. Cluster list (or empty list) → ready to go.
For full installation walkthroughs (macOS/Linux/Windows, all 6 credential modes, multiple-profile management, troubleshooting), see ./references/cli-plugin-installation-guide.md.
2. Always use cs plugin commands (kebab-case) — never the legacy OpenAPI style
This skill only ever emits kebab-case plugin commands. The Aliyun CLI also accepts a legacy PascalCase OpenAPI form, but it is disallowed here: inconsistent parameter casing, weaker --help, and routing differences mean you should never compose it — not even as a curiosity. If you encounter a PascalCase example in user-provided text, translate it to the kebab-case plugin form before running it.
# ✅ Plugin form — the only form this skill emits
aliyun cs describe-clusters-for-region --biz-region-id cn-hangzhou \
--user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
aliyun cs describe-cluster-detail --cluster-id ce123... --region cn-hangzhou \
--user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}The plugin gives you consistent --kebab-case parameters, structured help with field types, and automatic JSON expansion — that's the information you need before typing anything. Stay in plugin land unconditionally.
3. Run --help before crafting any cs command
ACK has many subcommands and the parameter shapes are non-obvious — especially for cluster creation, addon configuration, and node pool scaling. Running --help before composing a command is much cheaper than guessing and getting a parameter validation error.
aliyun cs --help # Discover subcommands (describe-*, create-*, scale-*, ...)
aliyun cs describe-cluster-detail --help # See exact params, types, structure fields
aliyun cs create-cluster --help # See the giant parameter surface for cluster creationPlugin help tells you whether a parameter is a primitive, a list, a repeatable key-value, or a complex JSON structure — that's the information you need before typing anything.
If you ever need to inspect the legacy built-in (OpenAPI-style) help instead of the rich plugin help — for example to verify a deprecated PascalCase parameter still exists — set ALIBABA_CLOUD_ORIGINAL_PRODUCT_HELP=true:
ALIBABA_CLOUD_ORIGINAL_PRODUCT_HELP=true aliyun cs --helpYou'll rarely reach for this — the plugin help is almost always what you want.
4. Async task pattern — task_id and describe-task-info
This is the #1 thing that surprises ACK CLI users. Many ACK operations are asynchronous: the cs command returns quickly with a JSON envelope containing a task_id, but the actual work (cluster creation, upgrade, scaling, addon install) continues in the background. You must poll the task to know whether it succeeded.
Operations that return a task:
cs create-cluster,cs delete-clustercs upgrade-cluster(control plane only; control viacs pause-task/cs resume-task/cs cancel-task)cs modify-cluster-node-pool(the preferred way to set absolute node count viadesired_size; see §7),cs scale-cluster-node-pool(delta only — discouraged, see §7),cs upgrade-cluster-nodepool,cs create-cluster-node-pool,cs delete-cluster-nodepoolcs install-cluster-addons,cs upgrade-cluster-addons,cs un-install-cluster-addons- Some component / migration tasks
Once you have a task_id, the task-control commands work uniformly across task types — not just upgrades. Pause / resume / cancel any in-flight ACK task with:
aliyun cs pause-task --task-id <tid> --region <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
aliyun cs resume-task --task-id <tid> --region <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
aliyun cs cancel-task --task-id <tid> --region <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}Use cancel-task to abort a stuck addon install, a runaway node pool scale, or any other in-flight task.
Typical response:
{
"cluster_id": "ce914461c0fb4901ae8908be4a10a7a1",
"request_id": "DDA4DB1A-A7E3-1455-A6FB-77F58F01A43E",
"task_id": "T-69ce1022aa09ae010300000b"
}Track it with:
aliyun cs describe-task-info --task-id T-69ce1022aa09ae010300000b --region cn-hangzhou \
--user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}Pass --region matching the cluster's region — task IDs are region-scoped and looking them up via the default endpoint adds latency.
The task response carries state (running / success / failed) and an error field on failure. When polling, ask the user before starting a long busy-wait loop — polling burns tokens and the user may prefer to check back later. A reasonable default is to poll every 30s with a sensible max (e.g. 30 minutes for cluster create, 5 minutes for addon install) and surface the error.message if the task fails.
The bundled helper ./scripts/wait-for-task.sh <task-id> <region-id> polls with backoff and prints the final state — use it after confirming with the user. Region is required because task IDs are region-scoped.
See ./references/async-tasks.md for full details: state machine, error fields, typical durations per operation, and how to interpret partial-failure responses.
5. Complex JSON parameters — Terway, AutoMode, addons
Some ACK parameters can't be expressed cleanly as flat flags. Examples:
Terway with multi-AZ pod vswitches (cluster create):
# Pass the addons array as JSON. Note the nested JSON inside `config` is a STRING.
aliyun cs create-cluster \
--biz-region-id cn-beijing \
--region cn-beijing \
--cluster-type ManagedKubernetes \
--addons '[{"name":"terway-eniip","config":"{\"PodVswitchId\":{\"cn-beijing-l\":[\"vsw-a\"],\"cn-beijing-h\":[\"vsw-b\"]}}"}]' \
--user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} \
...The trap: config is a JSON-encoded string inside a JSON document. Build it in a file or via jq rather than hand-escaping — escape errors are the most common cause of InvalidParameter.Format from this API.
Flannel (requires container_cidr, no PodVswitchId):
--addons '[{"name":"flannel"}]' \
--container-cidr 172.20.0.0/16 \
--service-cidr 172.21.0.0/20AutoMode (ACK best-practice profile — single flag turns it on):
--profile Default \
--cluster-spec ack.pro.small \
--auto-mode '{"enable":true}'When AutoMode is enabled, ACK chooses sensible defaults for VPC, networking, node pools, and addons — most other knobs become unnecessary.
Addon install with config:
aliyun cs install-cluster-addons --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> \
--body '[{"name":"logtail-ds","config":"{\"sls_project_name\":\"k8s-log\"}"}]' \
--user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}The nested-JSON-as-string pattern shows up in nearly every addon install. Read the addon's config_schema first (cs list-addons --cluster-id ... for the full list, or cs describe-addon --cluster-id ... --addon-name ... for one) to know valid keys. For full examples, see ./references/cs-scenarios.md.
6. Region-unitised API calling — two rules
ACK has moved to a region-unitised model. Two rules apply:
Rule A — Prefer *ForRegion API variants (describe-clusters-for-region, describe-events-for-region, list-operation-plans-for-region). Faster, higher quotas, resilient when global aggregator degrades. Re-discover with aliyun cs --help | grep -- '-for-region'. These APIs take --biz-region-id (business parameter, required), not --region.
Rule B — Pass --region <region> on every cluster-id-scoped call (describe-cluster-detail, modify-cluster-node-pool, etc.) once you know the region. Routes directly to the regional endpoint, avoids default-endpoint hop.
--region (CLI global, endpoint routing) and --biz-region-id (API business parameter) take the same value but play different roles. There is no --region-id flag. Always --help first to see which a command expects.
# Region-unitised + direct routing combined
REGION=cn-hangzhou
aliyun cs describe-clusters-for-region --biz-region-id $REGION --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} # Rule A
aliyun cs describe-cluster-detail --cluster-id <cid> --region $REGION --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} # Rule B
aliyun cs describe-cluster-node-pools --cluster-id <cid> --region $REGION --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} # Rule B7. Detect deprecated parameters per command
The CLI marks deprecated parameters in --help with the Chinese string 【该参数已废弃】 (no English equivalent — has to be matched literally). Run the snippet from the top of this file (aliyun cs <cmd> --help | grep '废弃') before composing any command — it surfaces both the deprecated field and the suggested replacement (e.g. 请使用 next_version 参数替代). Quote that line back to the user; never silently substitute.
8. Common high-value commands
Examples assume the cluster's region is already known (via Rule A discovery or from the user) and pass it as --region per §6 Rule B. Substitute <region> with the actual value.
# Clusters
aliyun cs describe-clusters-for-region --biz-region-id <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
aliyun cs describe-cluster-detail --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
aliyun cs describe-cluster-user-kubeconfig --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} > kubeconfig.yaml
aliyun cs upgrade-cluster --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> --next-version 1.30.1-aliyun.1 --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
# Node pools
aliyun cs describe-cluster-node-pools --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
aliyun cs describe-cluster-node-pool-detail --cluster-id <cid> --nodepool-id <npid> --region <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
# Resize to an ABSOLUTE node count: use modify-cluster-node-pool with desired_size.
# (`scale-cluster-node-pool --count N` adds N nodes — it's a delta, not an
# absolute target, and is rarely what users mean by "scale to 5". See §7.)
aliyun cs modify-cluster-node-pool --cluster-id <cid> --nodepool-id <npid> --region <region> \
--scaling-group desired_size=5 --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
aliyun cs upgrade-cluster-nodepool --cluster-id <cid> --nodepool-id <npid> --kubernetes-version <ver> --region <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
# Addons
aliyun cs list-addons --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} # what's available + config_schema
aliyun cs describe-addon --cluster-id <cid> --addon-name <name> --region <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} # one addon's metadata + config_schema
aliyun cs list-cluster-addon-instances --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} # what's installed (versions, status)
aliyun cs install-cluster-addons --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> --body '[{"name":"logtail-ds","config":"{}"}]' --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
aliyun cs upgrade-cluster-addons --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> --body '[{"component_name":"logtail-ds","next_version":"1.8.0"}]' --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
aliyun cs un-install-cluster-addons --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> --body '[{"name":"logtail-ds"}]' --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
# Tasks (task IDs are region-scoped — pass the cluster's region)
aliyun cs describe-task-info --task-id <tid> --region <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id}
aliyun cs describe-cluster-tasks --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} # all tasks under a cluster
aliyun cs describe-cluster-events --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} # operational events: creates, scales, addon installs
aliyun cs describe-cluster-events --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> --task-id <tid> --user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} # filter to one task's eventsFor "what's been happening on this cluster recently?" / "why did the upgrade last week fail?", describe-cluster-tasks and describe-cluster-events are the answer. They're paginated (--page-number / --page-size); use --pager for auto-merge across pages.
For any of these, append --help to see the full parameter set and structure.
See ./references/cs-scenarios.md for fuller workflows.
9. Kubeconfig retrieval and kubectl handoff
# Default kubeconfig (intranet endpoint depending on cluster network)
aliyun cs describe-cluster-user-kubeconfig --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> \
--user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} \
| jq -r '.config' > ~/.kube/config.ack
export KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/config.ack
kubectl get nodesNotes:
- Some clusters expose only an intranet API server endpoint; the kubeconfig you fetch will only work from inside the VPC. Use
--private-ip-address true|falseto choose between intranet and public endpoints when both exist. - Temporary STS-based kubeconfigs expire — re-run the command to refresh.
- For automation, prefer setting
KUBECONFIGto a per-cluster file rather than overwriting~/.kube/config.
10. Filter and format output
Same pattern as the rest of the CLI: --cli-query (JMESPath) plus --output. Useful with ACK because cluster/nodepool/addon list responses are nested:
# Just running cluster IDs and names
aliyun cs describe-clusters-for-region --biz-region-id cn-hangzhou \
--user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} \
--cli-query "clusters[?state=='running'].{id:cluster_id,name:name,version:current_version}" \
--output table
# Recent operation plans (auto-upgrade, AutoMode, CVE fixes) for the region
aliyun cs list-operation-plans-for-region --biz-region-id cn-hangzhou \
--user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} \
--cli-query "plans[].{id:plan_id,type:type,state:state,scheduled:scheduled_time}"
# Just node pool IDs and current size
aliyun cs describe-cluster-node-pools --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> \
--user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} \
--cli-query "nodepools[].{id:nodepool_info.nodepool_id,name:nodepool_info.name,size:status.total_nodes}"11. Pagination — prefer cursor, auto-merge with --pager
Two styles: cursor (--next-token / --max-results, stable under concurrent writes — preferred) and offset (--page-number / --page-size, can shift mid-scan). Check --help to see which a command supports — cursor wins if both are listed.
The CLI's --pager flag auto-merges pages either way; almost always what users want. See ./references/cs-scenarios.md §9 for --pager syntax and a hand-rolled cursor loop example.
12. Debugging — and dry-run before any write
ACK write operations provision real cloud resources and many are irreversible. Always run a write command with --cli-dry-run first when the parameter set is non-trivial — it serialises the exact payload and validates parameter parsing without spending the call:
aliyun cs create-cluster --biz-region-id cn-beijing --region cn-beijing \
--cluster-type ManagedKubernetes \
--profile Default --cluster-spec ack.pro.small --auto-mode '{"enable":true}' \
--name my-ack-cluster --kubernetes-version 1.30.1-aliyun.1 \
--user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} \
--cli-dry-run
aliyun cs modify-cluster-node-pool --cluster-id <cid> --nodepool-id <npid> \
--region <region> --scaling-group desired_size=10 \
--user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} --cli-dry-runWhen a cs command does fail, --log-level debug reveals the full request/response so you can see endpoint, body, status, and the raw error:
aliyun cs describe-cluster-detail --cluster-id <cid> --region <region> \
--user-agent AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-ack-cli/{session-id} --log-level debugFor specific error patterns and first-action recipes (plugin / parameter / format / region / auth / RAM / async-task failures, plus a sample dry-run output), see ./references/error-catalogue.md.
Response format guidance
When helping a user with cs commands:
- Read intent first. Are they investigating ("describe / list"), modifying ("scale / upgrade / install"), or creating? Modify/create flows almost always produce a
task_id— surface that pattern early. - Show the full command with required parameters and explain non-obvious ones (
--region, the JSON-string-inside-JSON for addon config, etc.). - For async ops, mention
describe-task-infoin the same response — and ask before busy-waiting. - Suggest
--helpand--log-level debugwhen the user is troubleshooting. - Cite the cluster's region — most "command works in cn-hangzhou but not cn-shanghai" issues are missing/wrong
--region.
References
Four reference files, all ACK-specific. Generic CLI knowledge (hidden global flags like --waiter / --header / --body / --secure, multi-version API, full security best practices) is the Aliyun CLI's responsibility — consult its own documentation when needed.
./references/cs-scenarios.md— Most useful day-to-day. Worked end-to-end examples: discovery, kubeconfig, node pools, addons, cluster upgrade, delete, the create→wait→kubeconfig pipeline../references/async-tasks.md—task_idlifecycle, state vocabulary, polling strategy, commonerror.codecauses, partial-failure handling../references/cli-plugin-installation-guide.md— Aliyun CLI install (macOS/Linux/Windows), credential modes summary,csplugin install, end-to-end verification, troubleshooting. Read once at setup; come back for "I can't get pastForbidden.RAM"-class issues../references/ram-policies.md— RAM Actions and policy templates required by this skill'saliyun cscalls (cluster / nodepool / addon / task scopes).
Scripts:
./scripts/check-cs-plugin.sh— Verify aliyun CLI ≥ 3.3.3 and thecsplugin is installed./scripts/install-cs-plugin.sh— Install or update thecsplugin (idempotent; supports--updatefor non-interactive)./scripts/wait-for-task.sh— Polldescribe-task-infountil terminal state (requires task ID + region)