Design and implement Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs) with self-service capabilities, golden paths, and developer experience optimization. Covers platform strategy, IDP architecture (Backstage, Port), infrastructure orchestration (Crossplane), GitOps (Argo CD), and adoption patterns. Use when building developer platforms, improving DevEx, or establishing platform teams.
View on GitHubskills/platform-engineering/SKILL.md
February 1, 2026
Select agents to install to:
npx add-skill https://github.com/ancoleman/ai-design-components/blob/main/skills/platform-engineering/SKILL.md -a claude-code --skill platform-engineeringInstallation paths:
.claude/skills/platform-engineering/# Platform Engineering ## Purpose Build Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs) that provide self-service infrastructure, reduce cognitive load, and accelerate developer productivity through golden paths and platform-as-product thinking. Platform engineering represents the evolution beyond traditional DevOps, focusing on creating product-quality internal platforms that treat developers as customers. The discipline addresses the developer productivity crisis where engineers spend 30-40% of time on infrastructure and tooling instead of features. ## When to Use This Skill Trigger this skill when: - Building or improving an internal developer platform - Designing a developer portal (Backstage, Port, or commercial IDP) - Implementing golden paths and software templates - Establishing or restructuring a platform engineering team - Measuring and improving developer experience (DevEx) - Integrating IDP with infrastructure, CI/CD, observability, or security tools - Driving platform adoption across an engineering organization - Assessing platform maturity and identifying capability gaps ## Core Concepts ### Platform as Product Treat internal platforms with the same rigor as customer-facing products: **Product Management Approach:** - Define platform vision, strategy, and roadmap - Identify developer "customers" and their pain points - Measure success via adoption metrics, satisfaction surveys, and business impact - Iterate based on feedback loops and usage analytics - Balance new capabilities with platform reliability and support **Key Differences from Traditional DevOps:** - DevOps focuses on delivery pipelines; platform engineering builds comprehensive developer experiences - Platform teams operate as product teams (product managers, UX designers, engineers) - Success measured by developer productivity and satisfaction, not just infrastructure metrics - Self-service is the primary interface, not ticket queues ### Internal Developer Platform (IDP) Architecture **Thre