Kongctl New Command

kongctl command docs skill

Generates reference pages and index updates for new kongctl commands, using pre-generated include files from app/_includes/kongctl/help as the source of truth.

Invocation

Option A: Pass a GitHub PR link

/kongctl-new-command https://github.com/Kong/developer.konghq.com/pull/<PR-NUMBER>

Start at Step 1.

Option B: Pass a command path directly

Pass a file or glob relative to app/_includes/kongctl/help:

/kongctl-new-command get/event-gateway/*
/kongctl-new-command get/event-gateway/backend-clusters.md

If any paths correspond to removed commands (the include file no longer exists), handle those with Step 2 first, then skip to Step 3 for new ones.

Prerequisites

Check that kongctl is installed and up to date. Run:

which kongctl && kongctl version
# If missing: brew install kongctl (or: brew upgrade kongctl)

Ask the user to upgrade to the latest version before proceeding:

"Before I start, please upgrade kongctl to the latest version. You can use brew upgrade kongctl or curl -fsSL https://get.konghq.com/kongctl | sh -s -- --version <version-name>. Let me know when that's done."

Only continue once the user confirms their version is up to date.

Only run kongctl commands with the --help flag.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Identify new and removed commands from the PR

Only needed for Option A. Skip to Step 2 if you used Option B.

Fetch added and removed include files from the PR (use --paginate — these PRs often touch 100+ files):

gh api repos/Kong/developer.konghq.com/pulls/<PR-NUMBER>/files \
  --paginate \
  --jq '.[] | select(.status == "added" or .status == "removed") | "\(.status): \(.filename)"' \
  | grep "app/_includes/kongctl/help"

The output will look like:

added: app/_includes/kongctl/help/get/extension.md
removed: app/_includes/kongctl/help/get/gateway/consumer.md

• added: lines are new include files. Strip the app/_includes/kongctl/help/ prefix to get the <COMMAND-PATH> for each.
• removed: lines are dropped commands. Strip the app/_includes/kongctl/help/ prefix to get the command path (e.g. get/gateway/consumer), then process with Step 2 before continuing.

Step 2: Handle removed commands

For each removed command, do all four of the following.

Remove from parent file

Determine where the command lives:

• 3-level command (e.g. get/event-gateway/backend-clusters): it's a ### section in the flat file app/kongctl/get/event-gateway.md. Remove the entire ### section (heading, description paragraph, and {% include_cached %} line). Do not reformat the rest of the file.
• 2-level command (e.g. get/dcr-provider): it's its own .md file (app/kongctl/get/dcr-provider.md). Remove its table row from app/kongctl/get/index.md and delete the file.

If the file or section doesn't exist locally, skip this sub-step.

Check the navigation index

Open app/_indices/kongctl.yaml and delete any entry that directly references the removed command's URL path. Sub-command pages are normally covered by glob patterns, but verify.

Remove crosslinks

Search for stale links and remove any related_resources entries or inline links pointing to the deleted URL:

grep -r "/kongctl/<verb>/<path/to/removed-command>/" app/

Add a redirect

Add a redirect in the # kongctl section of app/_redirects:

• 3-level command: redirect to the anchor on the parent page:

  /kongctl/<verb>/<resource>/<subcommand>/   /kongctl/<verb>/<resource>/#kongctl-<verb>-<resource>-<subcommand>
  

• 2-level command: redirect to the verb index:

  /kongctl/<verb>/<removed-command>/   /kongctl/<verb>/
  

For a removed 2-level command that previously had a resource group (e.g. get/event-gateway being dropped entirely), also add a wildcard redirect:

/kongctl/<verb>/<removed-command>/*  /kongctl/<verb>/

Step 3: Create reference pages

The structure depends on command depth:

Top-level commands (e.g. roar) become standalone index.md files at app/kongctl/roar/index.md:

---
title: kongctl <command>
description: "<First sentence from --help output>"

content_type: reference
layout: reference

works_on:
  - konnect

tools:
  - kongctl

breadcrumbs:
  - /kongctl/

related_resources:
  - text: Declarative configuration with kongctl
    url: /kongctl/declarative/
  - text: Get started with kongctl
    url: /kongctl/get-started/
---

<Full opening paragraph from --help output>

## Command usage

{% include_cached /kongctl/help/<command>/index.md %}

2-level commands (e.g. get/dcr-provider) become standalone .md files at app/kongctl/get/dcr-provider.md.

---
title: <command name, e.g. "kongctl get dcr-provider">
description: "<Short description of what the command does>"
content_type: reference
layout: reference

works_on:
  # kongctl is a Konnect-native CLI. Set both on-prem and konnect only for pages
  # under /gateway/, since those commands interact with on-prem Gateway resources.
  # All other pages should be konnect only.
  - konnect

tools:
  - kongctl

breadcrumbs:
  # List each ancestor as a breadcrumb. For app/kongctl/get/dcr-provider.md:
  - /kongctl/
  - /kongctl/get/

related_resources:
  - text: kongctl <verb> commands
    url: /kongctl/<verb>/
---

<Short description of what the command does>

## Command usage

{% include_cached /kongctl/help/<path/to/include/file.md> %}

3-level commands (e.g. get/event-gateway/backend-clusters) are NOT standalone files. They are added as ### sections within the flat parent file app/kongctl/get/event-gateway.md. See Step 5 for how to add them.

Run kongctl <command> --help and use the opening paragraph (the text before "Usage:") as the description. Apply these rules:

• Replace "Konnect" with {{site.konnect_short_name}}, "Event Gateway" with {{site.event_gateway_short}}, "Kong Gateway" with {{site.base_gateway}}
• In body text only (not description frontmatter): wrap verb names and subcommand names in backticks
• Use the first sentence for description; use the full paragraph for body text

Step 4: Create resource group pages for new command groups

When a new resource group appears (e.g. get/event-gateway/ in the includes), create a flat .md file at app/kongctl/get/event-gateway.md — not an index.md in a directory.

---
title: <command group name, e.g. "kongctl get event-gateway">
description: "<Short description of what this group of commands does>"
content_type: reference
layout: reference

works_on:
  - konnect  # same rules as Step 3

tools:
  - kongctl

breadcrumbs:
  # List ancestor paths only (not the page's own URL).
  # For app/kongctl/get/event-gateway.md:
  - /kongctl/
  - /kongctl/get/

related_resources:
  - text: kongctl <verb> commands
    url: /kongctl/<verb>/
---

<Short description of what this group of commands does>

## Command usage

{% include_cached /kongctl/help/<verb>/<resource>/index.md %}

### kongctl <verb> <resource> <subcommand>

<Short description of what this subcommand does>

{% include_cached /kongctl/help/<verb>/<resource>/<subcommand>.md %}

Run kongctl <command group> --help to get the opening description and subcommand list. Apply the same rules as Step 3.

Step 5: Update parent index pages

Add rows in alphabetical order by command name.

• New 2-level command (e.g. get/dcr-provider): add a row to app/kongctl/get/index.md with a page link: [kongctl get dcr-provider](/kongctl/get/dcr-provider/)
• New resource group (e.g. get/event-gateway): add a row to app/kongctl/get/index.md with a page link: [kongctl get event-gateway](/kongctl/get/event-gateway/)
• New 3-level subcommand (e.g. get/event-gateway/backend-clusters): add a ### section to app/kongctl/get/event-gateway.md in alphabetical order among the existing sections in that file.

Step 6: Update the navigation index

Update app/_indices/kongctl.yaml only when a new top-level command is added (e.g. explain, scaffold). Subcommand pages under an existing verb are covered by existing glob patterns and don't need changes.

For a new top-level command, add a section under "CLI References" in alphabetical order:

      - title: <Descriptive section title>
        items:
            - path: /kongctl/<verb>/
            - path: /kongctl/<verb>/*/**    # add if verb has subcommand groups

For example, explain (no subcommands) becomes:

      - title: Explain Schema
        items:
            - path: /kongctl/explain/

Step 7: Summarize and report to the user

List the following:

• New pages created
• Pages updated
• Removed commands processed (index entries removed, redirects added, crosslinks cleaned up)
• Commands that were checked and help text that was pulled from them