How do I install the Kendra Diagnostics skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add aws-samples/kendra-diagnostics in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

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This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Kendra Diagnostics free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Kendra Diagnostics?

aws-samples (@aws-samples) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Kendra Diagnostics by aws-samples — Agent Skill

Name: Kendra Diagnostics
Author: aws-samples

Kendra Diagnostics

Use this skill to investigate and troubleshoot Amazon Kendra problems by analyzing index creation, data source sync, query relevance, FAQ management, custom document enrichment, access control, experience builder, and following structured runbooks. Activate when: index creation failures, data source sync errors, poor query relevance, FAQ issues, document enrichment failures, access control problems, experience builder errors, or the user says something is wrong with Kendra without naming specific symptoms.

aws-samples ec4e2d8 21 files · 78.2 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Amazon Kendra Diagnostics

When to use

Any Amazon Kendra investigation — index creation, data source sync, query relevance, FAQ, custom document enrichment, access control, or experience builder.

Investigation workflow

Step 1 — Collect and triage

aws kendra list-indices
aws kendra describe-index --id <index-id>
aws kendra list-data-sources --index-id <index-id>
aws kendra list-faqs --index-id <index-id>

Step 2 — Domain deep dive

aws kendra describe-data-source --id <ds-id> --index-id <index-id>
aws kendra list-data-source-sync-jobs --id <ds-id> --index-id <index-id>
aws kendra describe-experience --id <exp-id> --index-id <index-id>
aws kendra list-entity-personas --id <exp-id> --index-id <index-id>

Step 3 — Detailed investigation

aws cloudwatch get-metric-statistics --namespace AWS/Kendra --metric-name IndexQueryCount --dimensions Name=IndexId,Value=<index-id> --start-time <start> --end-time <end> --period 300 --statistics Sum
aws kendra describe-query-suggestions-config --index-id <index-id>
aws kendra list-thesauri --index-id <index-id>

Read references/guardrails.md before concluding on any Kendra issue.

Tool quick reference

Tool / API	When to use
`kendra list-indices`	List indices and status
`kendra describe-index`	Get index configuration
`kendra list-data-sources`	List data sources
`kendra list-data-source-sync-jobs`	Check sync history
`kendra list-faqs`	List FAQ resources
`kendra query`	Test search queries
CloudWatch metrics	Monitor query volume and latency

Gotchas: Amazon Kendra

Index creation takes 15-30 minutes. The index is not queryable until ACTIVE.
Data source sync is asynchronous. Documents are not searchable until sync completes.
Query relevance depends on document quality and metadata. Poor results often stem from missing metadata.
FAQs use specific CSV/JSON format. Format errors cause import failures.
Custom document enrichment runs Lambda during ingestion. Lambda errors block document processing.
Access control uses ACLs from data sources. Misconfigured ACLs cause missing results.
Experience builder requires IAM Identity Center. SSO must be configured first.

Anti-hallucination rules

Always cite index IDs, data source IDs, or API responses as evidence.
Index creation is not instant. Never assume immediate availability.
Sync must complete before documents are searchable.
Query relevance tuning requires experimentation. No magic configuration.
Spend no more than 2 minutes on any single hypothesis. Pivot if inconclusive.

16 runbooks

Category	IDs	Covers
A — Index	A1-A2	Index creation, index configuration
B — Data Sources	B1-B3	Sync failures, connector config, crawl issues
C — Query	C1-C3	Relevance, suggestions, filtering
D — FAQ	D1-D2	FAQ import, FAQ quality
E — Enrichment	E1-E2	Custom enrichment, Lambda errors
F — Access	F1-F2	ACL configuration, token-based access
G — Experience	G1-G2	Experience builder, SSO integration
Z — Catch-All	Z1	General troubleshooting

---name: kendra-diagnosticsdescription: Use this skill to investigate and troubleshoot Amazon Kendra problems by analyzing index creation, data source sync, query relevance, FAQ management, custom document enrichment, access control, experience builder, and following structured runbooks. Activate when: index creation failures, data source sync errors, poor query relevance, FAQ issues, document enrichment failures, access control problems, experience builder errors, or the user says something is wrong with Kendra without naming specific symptoms.---# Amazon Kendra Diagnostics## When to useAny Amazon Kendra investigation — index creation, data source sync, query relevance, FAQ, custom document enrichment, access control, or experience builder.## Investigation workflow### Step 1 — Collect and triage```aws kendra list-indicesaws kendra describe-index --id <index-id>aws kendra list-data-sources --index-id <index-id>aws kendra list-faqs --index-id <index-id>```### Step 2 — Domain deep dive```aws kendra describe-data-source --id <ds-id> --index-id <index-id>aws kendra list-data-source-sync-jobs --id <ds-id> --index-id <index-id>aws kendra describe-experience --id <exp-id> --index-id <index-id>aws kendra list-entity-personas --id <exp-id> --index-id <index-id>```### Step 3 — Detailed investigation```aws cloudwatch get-metric-statistics --namespace AWS/Kendra --metric-name IndexQueryCount --dimensions Name=IndexId,Value=<index-id> --start-time <start> --end-time <end> --period 300 --statistics Sumaws kendra describe-query-suggestions-config --index-id <index-id>aws kendra list-thesauri --index-id <index-id>```Read `references/guardrails.md` before concluding on any Kendra issue.## Tool quick reference| Tool / API | When to use ||------------|-------------|| `kendra list-indices` | List indices and status || `kendra describe-index` | Get index configuration || `kendra list-data-sources` | List data sources || `kendra list-data-source-sync-jobs` | Check sync history || `kendra list-faqs` | List FAQ resources || `kendra query` | Test search queries || CloudWatch metrics | Monitor query volume and latency |## Gotchas: Amazon Kendra- Index creation takes 15-30 minutes. The index is not queryable until ACTIVE.- Data source sync is asynchronous. Documents are not searchable until sync completes.- Query relevance depends on document quality and metadata. Poor results often stem from missing metadata.- FAQs use specific CSV/JSON format. Format errors cause import failures.- Custom document enrichment runs Lambda during ingestion. Lambda errors block document processing.- Access control uses ACLs from data sources. Misconfigured ACLs cause missing results.- Experience builder requires IAM Identity Center. SSO must be configured first.## Anti-hallucination rules1. Always cite index IDs, data source IDs, or API responses as evidence.2. Index creation is not instant. Never assume immediate availability.3. Sync must complete before documents are searchable.4. Query relevance tuning requires experimentation. No magic configuration.5. Spend no more than 2 minutes on any single hypothesis. Pivot if inconclusive.## 16 runbooks| Category | IDs | Covers ||----------|-----|--------|| A — Index | A1-A2 | Index creation, index configuration || B — Data Sources | B1-B3 | Sync failures, connector config, crawl issues || C — Query | C1-C3 | Relevance, suggestions, filtering || D — FAQ | D1-D2 | FAQ import, FAQ quality || E — Enrichment | E1-E2 | Custom enrichment, Lambda errors || F — Access | F1-F2 | ACL configuration, token-based access || G — Experience | G1-G2 | Experience builder, SSO integration || Z — Catch-All | Z1 | General troubleshooting |

Frequently asked questions