/doca-public-knowledge-map

license: Apache-2.0 AND CC-BY-4.0
name: doca-public-knowledge-map
description: >
  Use this skill to locate authoritative NVIDIA DOCA information
  without the source tree: the docs.nvidia.com page for a
  library/service/tool, which DOCA libraries are installed and at
  what version, a sample on disk or GitHub, a path under
  /opt/mellanox/doca, or a 404'd/renamed doc URL. Activate on
  implicit phrasing only when the conversation already names DOCA,
  BlueField, ConnectX, or /opt/mellanox. Do not activate for generic
  'which version is installed' or 'where is the sample' questions
  with none of that context. Refuse and route elsewhere for hands-on
  programming, env prep, API tutorials, or hardware/firmware
  mutation — those belong to doca-programming-guide, doca-setup, the
  per-library skills, and doca-hardware-safety.
metadata:
  author: NVIDIA <doca-feedback@nvidia.com>
  kind: knowledge
  doca_version: "3.5"
  tags:
    - doca
    - documentation
    - routing
compatibility: >
  No DOCA install required to read this skill (it is an overlay
  loaded against any DOCA artifact skill); the validation steps
  within this skill require a live DOCA install at /opt/mellanox/doca.

DOCA Public Knowledge Map

**Where to start:** Reach for this skill whenever the question is "where does the authoritative answer live?" — a docs page, the on-disk install layout, a sample, or an NGC catalog entry. Read [`## Public documentation entry points`](#public-documentation-entry-points) first; then jump to the routing-table section that matches the user's intent.

**How to use this skill.** Read this file, then search the companion file for the `## <name>` heading the question needs and read that whole section. Answer completely from it, quoting only its symbols and commands. Do not browse docs; use the entry points in `doca-public-knowledge-map`. Give environment checks as commands for the user's DOCA host. For out-of-scope requests, name the skill that owns them and stop.

When to load this skill

Load this skill whenever the user asks anything about NVIDIA DOCA where the agent needs to **locate authoritative information** without access to the DOCA source tree. That includes **documentation-routing questions** about installing DOCA, building a sample, learning a DOCA library (Flow, DPA, Comm Channel, GPUNetIO, …), debugging an error, finding an API or error reference, finding a sample, release notes, or the developer forum. This skill locates the authoritative answer; hands-on installation, building, tutorials, and debugging route to the workflow-owning skills named in the frontmatter and [`## Related skills`](#related-skills).

This skill is intentionally a **routing table**, not a tutorial. Pick the entry that matches the user's intent, fetch the URL or inspect the local install path, and only then answer.

First-contact discovery — the four questions to ask before any drill-down

When a user opens with an open-ended orientation question (*“I'm new with DOCA, how do I start?”*, *“can you guide me?”*, *“what's the easiest way to try DOCA?”*), the agent does **not** have enough information yet to pick a path. Asking these four questions before drilling avoids wasted recommendations that the user cannot actually execute on their setup. Ask them as a single short message; do not interrogate one-at-a-time.

| Question | Why it matters | What it routes | | --- | --- | --- | | 1. **What OS are you on?** macOS, Windows, Linux laptop, cloud VM, lab Linux box, BlueField OS itself? | DOCA installs natively only on supported Linux distributions; macOS / Windows users cannot install it at all. | Picks between the four DOCA acquisition paths in `doca-setup ## no-install` (`doca-setup/TASKS.md#no-install`). macOS / Windows / no-Linux → Path 0 (NGC container). Supported Linux → Path A or B per the Installation Guide. | | 2. **What hardware do you have?** No NVIDIA hardware, ConnectX SmartNIC, BlueField as a SmartNIC in a host, BlueField as a standalone DPU, not sure? | Real-traffic runtime needs a real NIC; build / read / learn does not. The user's hardware decides which DOCA libraries are even relevant. | Picks the runtime story (container is build-only without hardware). Filters which libraries make sense to learn (Flow needs a real port to do anything visible; Comch needs a host ↔ DPU pair). | | 3. **What's your goal?** Just exploring, building a small first app on a specific library (Flow / RDMA / Comch / Telemetry / GPUNetIO / DPA / …), running an existing reference application, operating a service (DMS / DTS / BlueMan / Firefly), or something else? | The bundle's first-app workflow (`doca-programming-guide ## modify`) starts from a **shipped C sample** and edits down. The right sample depends on the library the user is targeting. | Picks which library skill (if any) to load next. If the user does not yet know which library — that itself is a routing answer (see the *Library- and module-specific guides* table above and let the user pick). | | 4. **Which language do you plan to write the program in?** C / C++, Rust, Go, Python, other? | DOCA's public surface is a C ABI. Non-C consumers go through FFI / language bindings (`doca-programming-guide CAPABILITIES.md ## Capabilities and modes` and the per-library skill). The C samples are the reference even when the user's language is not C. | Picks whether the agent's first-app guidance is *direct C build* or *FFI / bindings against the C ABI*. Does **not** change which sample the agent points at first. |

The four-question gate applies when an open-ended orientation, install, build, or run recommendation depends on the user's environment. For that class, **never recommend a specific install path, container tag, or runnable sample without first having the answers to questions 1–3** (question 4 is needed for the first-app workflow but not for orientation itself). Pure documentation lookups — a URL, API reference, sample location, version reference,