Create Invoke Task Agent Skill

by DataDog

Create a new Python invoke task for the dda CLI

609 tokens

context cost

the whole folder, loaded on every use

files

instructions only

copies elsewhere

how many repositories repackaged it

3695

stars on the repo

on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository

npx skills add https://github.com/DataDog/datadog-agent --skill create-invoke-task

What it tells the agent to use

found in the instruction text

Bash runs shell commands — read the instruction before connecting

The instruction itself

7 sections, as written by the author

Create a new invoke task accessible via dda inv <namespace>.<task-name>.

Instructions

Step 1: Gather information from the user

Use AskUserQuestion to collect the following. If $ARGUMENTS provides values, skip those questions.

Task name: The function name (e.g. build, refresh_assets). Underscores become hyphens in the CLI.

Namespace: Which task module does it belong to?
Existing module — Add to an existing file in tasks/ (e.g. agent, linter, dogstatsd). Check tasks/__init__.py for the full list.
New module — Create a new tasks/<name>.py file and register it.

What does the task do?: Brief description (becomes the docstring / help text).

Parameters: What CLI flags does the task need? (name, type, default value, description)

Step 2: Read a reference

Read an existing task file matching the desired complexity:

Simple task (no params): tasks/auth.py
Task with params: Pick any task from tasks/agent.py or tasks/linter.py
Registration: tasks/__init__.py — to see how modules and tasks are registered

Step 3: Create the task

Add the @task decorated function to the appropriate file. Follow the patterns from Step 2.

Key rules:

First parameter is always ctx (the invoke Context)
Use ctx.run("command") to execute shell commands
Docstring first line = short description shown in dda inv --list
Import from invoke: task, Exit (for errors), Context

Step 4: Register (new modules only)

If you created a new module file, edit tasks/__init__.py:

Add the import in the from tasks import (...) block (alphabetical order)
Register it:
As a namespace (most common): ns.add_collection(<module>) — creates dda inv <module>.<task>
As a root task: ns.add_task(<task>) — creates dda inv <task>

If adding to an existing module, no registration is needed — invoke auto-discovers @task functions.

Step 5: Verify

Test the task:

dda inv <namespace>.<task-name> --help

Usage

/create-invoke-task — Interactive: prompts for all details
/create-invoke-task agent my-task — Pre-fills namespace and name

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How to use it

Copy the folder

Take datadog/create-invoke-task from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.