Konnect API Catalog

Konnect API catalog workflow

Goal

Help an operator create, shape, and troubleshoot Catalog APIs and API packages before they become a Dev Portal publishing or consumer-access problem.

Own Catalog readiness diagnosis and object modeling for APIs, versions, specs, documentation, implementations, and packages. Do not absorb Dev Portal publication, app auth, or declarative delivery workflows beyond clear handoffs.

Tool Selection

• Use the shared kong-konnect MCP server first for live inspection of APIs, versions, specs, documents, implementations, packages, and portal publications.
• Prefer Catalog-oriented MCP reads before changing config. Useful live surfaces include API, version, implementation, package, and publication listings.
• Preserve the repository's chosen declarative toolchain when catalog objects need to change: use terraform-konnect for HCL-managed Catalog resources and kongctl-declarative only when the repo already manages the surrounding Konnect workflow that way.
• Use deck-gateway only when the real missing link is Gateway-entity config behind an implementation or linked service.
• If live Konnect state matters and kong-konnect MCP is not connected, say so early and continue with user-provided artifacts or adjacent CLI/config sources.
• This skill owns diagnosis of Catalog shape and readiness. It should not turn into a mutation playbook for Portal, app auth, or Gateway configuration.

References To Load

Load only the reference file that matches the active branch:

• references/managed-api-readiness.md
  • Load when the main question is whether the API object, version, and upstream catalog shape are complete enough before publication.
• references/spec-version-and-metadata.md
  • Load when the hard part is versioning model, spec quality, docs, or metadata alignment.
• references/package-and-implementation-boundaries.md
  • Load when packages, implementations, Gateway Service linkage, or package-versus-API modeling is the real issue.

Workflow

1. Classify the operator's real outcome before inspecting objects

First separate whether the user is trying to make the API:

• visible and correct in Catalog
• publishable in Portal
• consumable through registration or app auth
• encoded in the repo's declarative toolchain

If the real outcome is not Catalog readiness, hand off early instead of doing partial diagnosis in the wrong layer.

2. Identify the first Catalog object that is actually missing

Clarify whether the operator is missing:

• the API object itself
• an API version
• a valid specification or generated documentation
• API documents or page structure
• a Gateway implementation link
• an API package
• a portal publication that should happen after the catalog object is ready

Do not jump straight to Portal troubleshooting if the Catalog object model is incomplete.

Load references/managed-api-readiness.md when "missing from catalog" is really a question about what object in the chain is incomplete.

3. Confirm API identity and versioning model

Inspect:

• API name
• current version
• slug or URL identity
• whether the API should be modeled as one API with multiple spec versions or distinct APIs for major versions

Load references/spec-version-and-metadata.md when the versioning or documentation model is the main decision branch.

4. Check spec and documentation readiness

Verify:

• a spec exists when generated docs are expected
• the spec version matches the intended current version
• validation issues are understood before blaming downstream publishing
• documentation pages, slugs, parent pages, and status match the intended structure

Treat invalid-but-accepted specs as degraded inputs, not as healthy state.

5. Check implementation and service linkage only when consumption depends on it

If developers should be able to consume the API through registration, inspect:

• whether the API is linked to a Gateway Service or control-plane-backed implementation
• whether the implementation shape is 1:1 service linkage or a broader package / control plane scenario
• whether the linked service is the right operational surface

Do not call the API consumer-ready until the implementation story is clear.

6. Separate packages from individual APIs

When API packages are involved, verify:

• whether the operator should publish an individual API or a package
• which operations belong in the package
• whether the package boundary is business-facing or merely technical

Packages are for grouping and presentation, not for hiding a broken API model.

Load references/package-and-implementation-boundaries.md when grouping, implementation linkage, or package boundaries are the main question.

7. Hand off only after Catalog readiness is clear

Once API shape, docs, implementations, and packages are understood, hand off:

• to konnect-api-publish for Portal publication and audience-facing issues
• to konnect-app-auth when the API exists but developer registration or auth behavior is the real blocker
• to deck-gateway, terraform-konnect, or kongctl-declarative when the operator wants to codify or change the resulting config

Konnect-Specific Gotchas

• Catalog readiness and Portal publication are related but not identical.
• API versioning, spec versioning, and slug identity can drift separately; do not treat one healthy field as proof that the rest are aligned.
• Developer self-service depends on implementation linkage, not only on the API object existing in Catalog.
• Packages can clarify consumption boundaries, but they do not fix a confused underlying API model.

Validation Checklist

Before answering, verify that you can state:

• whether the user's real outcome is Catalog readiness, Portal publication, app auth, or declarative delivery
• which Catalog stage fails first
• which Catalog object is missing or malformed
• whether API identity and versioning are correct
• whether spec and documentation readiness are complete
• whether an implementation or linked service exists where needed
• whether the problem belongs in Catalog, Portal publication, or app auth
• which declarative tool skill owns the needed change

Handoffs

• Use konnect-api-publish when the Catalog object is ready and the remaining problem is publication to Portal.
• Use konnect-app-auth when the issue is developer self-service, application registration, or auth strategy behavior.
• Use deck-gateway, terraform-konnect, or kongctl-declarative when the operator wants to encode or apply the resulting change as config.