
Arize Instrumentation
Repair Arize ax CLI profiles when LLM observability authentication fails so tracing and instrumentation calls succeed again.
Overview
Arize instrumentation is an agent skill for the Operate phase that diagnoses and repairs ax CLI profile, API key, and region settings when Arize authentication fails.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/arize-ai/arize-skills --skill arize-instrumentationWhat is this skill?
- Inspect current ax profile state with ax profiles show before changing anything
- Patch only broken fields via ax profiles update for API key and region without wiping other settings
- Never pass raw API keys on CLI flags—reference ARIZE_API_KEY from the environment
- Create a new profile when none exists or the active profile must be replaced
- Explicitly not for proactive checks—invoke only when authentication errors appear
- Consult profile steps only when authentication fails—do not run proactively per skill guidance
- ax profiles update changes only specified fields and preserves other profile settings
Adoption & trust: 1k installs on skills.sh; 31 GitHub stars; 2/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
Your Arize ax CLI returns 401 errors, shows no profile, or points at the wrong region so LLM traces cannot authenticate.
Who is it for?
Builders already using Arize ax who hit profile or API key misconfiguration during observability setup or after key rotation.
Skip if: Proactive profile audits with no auth errors, first-time OpenTelemetry code instrumentation without ax CLI, or replacing Arize dashboard onboarding.
When should I use this skill?
Authentication fails with 401, missing profile, or missing API key for Arize ax—not for proactive health checks.
What do I get? / Deliverables
A valid ax profile uses ARIZE_API_KEY from the environment and the correct region so instrumentation commands connect without unauthorized errors.
- Inspected ax profile state from ax profiles show
- Updated or newly created ax profile with correct API key reference and region
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Canonical shelf is Operate because the skill addresses live telemetry auth breakage (401, missing keys) rather than greenfield app coding. Monitoring matches vendor CLI profile repair for an observability stack you already depend on in production or staging.
How it compares
Troubleshooting skill for ax CLI credentials and regions, not a generic LLM logging or metrics instrumentation generator.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is arize-instrumentation for?
Solo and indie builders operating LLM-powered products who use the Arize ax CLI and need fast recovery when profiles or API keys block telemetry.
When should I use arize-instrumentation?
Use it in Operate when you see 401 Unauthorized, missing profile output, or wrong region on ax—after key rotation or environment changes—not as a routine pre-flight check.
Is arize-instrumentation safe to install?
It instructs shell commands that touch API keys via environment variables; review the Security Audits panel on this page and never paste secrets into chat or CLI flags.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Arize Instrumentation
# ax Profile Setup Consult this when authentication fails (401, missing profile, missing API key). Do NOT run these checks proactively. Use this when there is no profile, or a profile has incorrect settings (wrong API key, wrong region, etc.). ## 1. Inspect the current state ```bash ax profiles show ``` Look at the output to understand what's configured: - `API Key: (not set)` or missing → key needs to be created/updated - No profile output or "No profiles found" → no profile exists yet - Connected but getting `401 Unauthorized` → key is wrong or expired - Connected but wrong endpoint/region → region needs to be updated ## 2. Fix a misconfigured profile If a profile exists but one or more settings are wrong, patch only what's broken. **Never pass a raw API key value as a flag.** Always reference it via the `ARIZE_API_KEY` environment variable. If the variable is not already set in the shell, instruct the user to set it first, then run the command: ```bash # If ARIZE_API_KEY is already exported in the shell: ax profiles update --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY # Fix the region (no secret involved — safe to run directly) ax profiles update --region us-east-1b # Fix both at once ax profiles update --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY --region us-east-1b ``` `update` only changes the fields you specify — all other settings are preserved. If no profile name is given, the active profile is updated. ## 3. Create a new profile If no profile exists, or if the existing profile needs to point to a completely different setup (different org, different region): **Always reference the key via `$ARIZE_API_KEY`, never inline a raw value.** ```bash # Requires ARIZE_API_KEY to be exported in the shell first ax profiles create --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY # Create with a region ax profiles create --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY --region us-east-1b # Create a named profile ax profiles create work --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY --region us-east-1b ``` To use a named profile with any `ax` command, add `-p NAME`: ```bash ax spans export PROJECT -p work ``` ## 4. Getting the API key **Never ask the user to paste their API key into the chat. Never log, echo, or display an API key value.** If `ARIZE_API_KEY` is not already set, instruct the user to export it in their shell: ```bash export ARIZE_API_KEY="..." # user pastes their key here in their own terminal ``` They can find their key at https://app.arize.com by navigating to the settings page. Recommend they create a **scoped service key** (not a personal user key) — service keys are not tied to an individual account and are safer for programmatic use. Keys are space-scoped — make sure they copy the key for the correct space. Once the user confirms the variable is set, proceed with `ax profiles create --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY` or `ax profiles update --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY` as described above. ## 5. Verify After any create or update: ```bash ax profiles show ``` Confirm the API key and region are correct, then retry the original command. ## Space There is no profile flag for space. Save it as an environment variable — accepts a space **name** (e.g., `my-workspace`) or a base64 space **ID** (e.g., `U3BhY2U6...`). Find yours with `ax spaces list -o json`. **macOS/Linux** — add to `~/.zshrc` or `~/.bashrc`: ```bash export ARIZE_SPACE="my-workspace" # name or base64 ID ``` Then `source ~/.zshrc` (or restart terminal). **Windows (PowerShell):** ```powershell [System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('ARIZE_SPACE', 'my-workspace', 'User') ``` Restart terminal for it to take effect. ## Save Credentials for Future Use At the **end of the session**, if the user manually provided any credentials during this conversation **and** those values were NOT already loaded from a saved profile or environment variable, offer to save them. **Skip this entirely if:** - The API key was already loaded from an existing profile or `ARIZE_API_KEY` env var - The space was already set via `ARIZE_SPACE` env var - The user o