
Arize Instrumentation
Repair Arize `ax` CLI profiles and API key/region settings when LLM observability auth fails so instrumentation can resume without guessing configuration steps.
Overview
Arize Instrumentation is an agent skill most often used in Build (also Operate / monitoring) that fixes Arize `ax` profile and API-key authentication when observability setup fails.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot --skill arize-instrumentationWhat is this skill?
- Reactive playbook only—consult on 401, missing profile, or missing API key; explicitly not for proactive checks
- Diagnose with `ax profiles show` (unset key, no profiles, wrong region, expired credentials)
- Patch in place via `ax profiles update` for API key (via `$ARIZE_API_KEY`) and region without overwriting unrelated fiel
- Security rule: never pass raw API keys on CLI flags—always use exported `ARIZE_API_KEY`
- Create flow when no profile exists, with region fix patterns such as `us-east-1b`
- 3-step workflow: inspect state, patch profile, create if missing
Adoption & trust: 871 installs on skills.sh; 34.6k GitHub stars; 2/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
Your Arize CLI returns 401 or cannot find a profile, so LLM tracing stops until API keys and regions are corrected.
Who is it for?
Indie builders debugging first-time or broken Arize profile setup after deploying an instrumented agent or API.
Skip if: Greenfield architecture of tracing schemas, cost analytics design, or proactive monitoring setup when auth is already healthy.
When should I use this skill?
Authentication fails (401, missing profile, missing API key) or profile settings are wrong; do not run proactively.
What do I get? / Deliverables
A working `ax` profile with the correct region and API key referenced from `ARIZE_API_KEY`, restoring authenticated instrumentation without exposing secrets on the command line.
- Corrected `ax` profile configuration
- Documented inspect/update/create command sequence
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
First appears in Build when you wire Arize tracing into an agent or API, even though misconfigurations also surface during Operate monitoring. Integrations subphase matches third-party observability tooling, profile CRUD, and region endpoint alignment.
Where it fits
After adding Arize tracing to a new agent service, `ax profiles show` reports no API key and uploads fail with 401.
Production traces stop after a key rotation and you need `ax profiles update --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY` without clobbering other profile fields.
First connect to Arize in a new region and must align `--region` with the endpoint your project uses.
How it compares
Targeted CLI profile repair skill—not a full observability platform tutorial or generic secrets manager.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is arize-instrumentation for?
Solo builders using the Arize `ax` CLI who need to recover from auth/profile errors while instrumenting LLM workloads.
When should I use arize-instrumentation?
During Build integrations when wiring Arize tracing, and during Operate monitoring when keys expire or regions change and `ax profiles show` reports missing or wrong settings.
Is arize-instrumentation safe to install?
It instructs handling API keys via environment variables; confirm practices on your machine and review the Security Audits panel on this Prism page before running CLI commands.
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