# External Provider

> Access configured sidecar providers (health, banking, government) via CLI commands.

- Skill: `avivsinai/external-provider` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add avivsinai/external-provider`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/avivsinai/external-provider/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: avivsinai (https://skillmd.com/u/avivsinai)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/avivsinai/external-provider

---


# External Provider

Use this skill when the user asks about data from configured external providers (citizen services, banking, health, etc.).

## Available Services

Check the provider schema to see which services are available. The authoritative list is the provider's `/v1/schema` response (cached in `references/provider-schema.md` when available). Common examples:
- Health services (appointments, records)
- Banking services (balance, transactions)
- Government services (documents, status)

## How to Use

**IMPORTANT: Use the `telclaude providers ...` CLI commands for all provider operations.**
- Do NOT use WebFetch or curl to call provider endpoints directly
- Use Bash only to run `telclaude` CLI commands (`providers query`, `providers schema`, `send-attachment`, etc.)
- The CLI handles authentication through the relay (mechanism is provider-dependent)
- Direct HTTP calls will fail with "Missing internal auth headers"
- The relay sanitizes responses (strips inline base64, stores attachments)

### User ID

**Extract the user ID from `<request-context>` for provider queries.**

Look for this tag in your system context:
```
<request-context user-id="admin" />
```

`telclaude providers query` falls back to `TELCLAUDE_REQUEST_USER_ID` when the relay exports it, but pass `--user-id` explicitly whenever you have the value or when running outside the relay context.

### 1. Read the schema file

```
Read references/provider-schema.md
```

This shows the provider ID and available services/actions.

### 2. Query the provider via CLI

```bash
telclaude providers query <providerId> <service> <action> --user-id <userId>
```

With parameters:
```bash
telclaude providers query <providerId> <service> <action> --user-id <userId> --params '{"key": "value"}'
```

Examples (assuming `<request-context user-id="admin" />`):
```bash
# Get appointments
	telclaude providers query my-provider health-api appointments --user-id admin

# Get bank transactions with date range
	telclaude providers query my-provider bank-api transactions --user-id admin --params '{"startDate": "2024-01-01"}'

# Get document status
	telclaude providers query my-provider gov-api status --user-id admin
```

### 3. Parse the response

The command outputs JSON. The exact shape is provider-dependent, but the common structure is:
```json
{
  "status": "ok" | "auth_required" | "challenge_pending" | "error",
  "errorCode": "credentials_missing" | "session_expired" | "auth_required" | "...",
  "data": { ... },
  "attachments": [
    {
      "id": "att_123",
      "filename": "document.pdf",
      "mimeType": "application/pdf",
      "size": 12345,
      "ref": "att_abc123.1234567890.signature",
      "textContent": "Extracted text from the PDF for analysis..."
    }
  ]
}
```

Some providers may include additional fields (e.g., `confidence`, `lastUpdated`, `errorCode`).
```

**Note:** The relay proxy intercepts responses and:
- Strips `inline` base64 content (you won't see it)
- Stores the file in the outbox
- Adds a `ref` token for delivery

### 4. Handle status codes

- `ok`: Present the data. Check for `noResults` field - if present, tell user "no records found"
- `credentials_missing`: The provider has no stored session for this user. For session-only
  providers, tell the operator to run `/providers enroll <service>`. Do not give CLI password
  setup instructions and do not ask the user for credentials.
- `session_expired`: The stored provider session is no longer usable. Tell the operator to
  re-enroll with `/providers enroll <service>`. Do not treat this as first-time setup or give
  CLI password instructions.
- `auth_required`: Authentication is required but the provider did not identify whether the
  session is missing or expired. Use the provider's documented session-only enrollment path.
- `challenge_pending`: Ask user to complete verification via `/otp <service> <code>`
- `error`: Show error message to user

## Handling Attachments

Attachments include:
- `ref`: Token to retrieve the stored file (use with `telclaude send-attachment`)
- `textContent`: Extracted text content (for PDFs, documents) - use this to analyze/summarize

**Important:** You will NOT see `inline` base64 content. The relay proxy strips it and stores the file automatically. Use `ref` to send files to users.

### Reading document content

Use `textContent` to answer questions about the document:
```
"Based on the document, [relevant information extracted from textContent]..."
```

### Sending files to the user

There are two cases depending on file size:

#### Case 1: Has `ref` — already stored

If the attachment has a `ref` field, the relay proxy already stored the file:

```bash
telclaude send-attachment --ref <attachment.ref>
```

#### Case 2: No `ref` — fetch from provider

If `ref` is empty, fetch the attachment directly:

```bash
telclaude fetch-attachment --provider <providerId> --id <attachment.id> --filename <attachment.filename> --mime <attachment.mimeType>
```

#### Output and delivery

Both commands output:
```
Attachment ready: /media/outbox/documents/<filename>.pdf
```
or
```
Attachment saved to: /media/outbox/documents/<filename>.pdf
```

You MUST include the exact path in your response. The relay watches for this path to trigger Telegram delivery.

#### Example workflow

1. User asks for data or a document
2. Call provider via `telclaude providers query`
3. Response includes `data` and optionally `attachments` with `ref` and `textContent`
4. Present the data to the user
5. If attachments exist, use `textContent` to summarize the document
6. If user wants the file:
   - If `ref` is present: `telclaude send-attachment --ref <ref>`
   - If `ref` is empty: `telclaude fetch-attachment --provider <providerId> --id <id> ...`
7. Include the exact path from output in your response

## Important Rules

1. **ALWAYS extract user-id for provider queries** - Look for `<request-context user-id="..." />` in your context. Pass it via `--user-id` when available, or rely on `TELCLAUDE_REQUEST_USER_ID` only when the relay already exports it.
2. **ALWAYS use the provider** - NEVER search for local files in the workspace when the user asks for health, banking, or government data. Always use `telclaude providers query` to fetch fresh data from the provider.
3. **Use CLI for provider queries** - Use `telclaude providers query`, not WebFetch or curl
4. **Never ask for credentials** - The provider handles authentication separately. Session-only
   providers use `/providers enroll <service>` and never use CLI password setup.
5. **Show confidence levels** - If confidence < 1.0, mention data may be incomplete
6. **Show freshness** - Always tell user when data was last updated
7. **Handle challenges gracefully** - If OTP needed, explain the `/otp <service> <code>` command
8. **Never copy files directly to outbox** - Only use `telclaude send-attachment` or `telclaude fetch-attachment` to deliver files. Copying files directly to `/media/outbox/` will NOT trigger delivery.

## Example Responses

### Successful data fetch:
"Your next appointment is on [date] at [time]. This information was last updated [X] minutes ago."

### Challenge pending:
"To access this service, please complete verification. Check your phone for an SMS code, then reply with `/otp <service> <code>`."

### Auth required:
"Authentication is required. Ask the operator to run `/providers enroll <service>`."

### Provider session missing:
"This provider is not enrolled for this user. Ask the operator to run `/providers enroll <service>`."

### Provider session expired:
"The provider session expired. Ask the operator to re-enroll with `/providers enroll <service>`."

### Attachment available:
"I found a document from [date]. There's a PDF available ([size]). Would you like me to send it to you?"

### Attachment sent (use EXACT path from relay response):
"Here's your document: /media/outbox/documents/<exact-path-from-response>.pdf"

## CLI Command Reference

| Command | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| `telclaude providers query <id> <svc> <act> [--user-id <uid>]` | Query provider data |
| `telclaude send-attachment --ref <ref>` | Send stored attachment to user |
| `telclaude fetch-attachment --provider <id> --id <att-id> ...` | Fetch and send large attachment |

**Note:** Extract `user-id` from `<request-context user-id="..." />`. Pass `--user-id` when available; otherwise `providers query` can use `TELCLAUDE_REQUEST_USER_ID` if the relay injected it.

## Provider Schemas (auto-generated)

See `references/provider-schema.md` for the latest schema fetched from `/v1/schema`.