Kibana Agent Builder

Create, inspect, update, delete, and test Agent Builder tools and agents. Ground LLM responses in Elasticsearch data through scoped search tools, parameterized ES|QL, and workflow integrations.

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Environment Configuration

This skill executes Elasticsearch operations through the elastic CLI. If the elastic CLI is not installed, tell the user what it is needed for. Do not guess credentials, call the HTTP API directly, or attempt other workarounds.

This skill references operations in HTTP-shorthand form (e.g., GET /, GET /_cat/indices, GET /{index}/_mapping, GET /{index}/_settings/index.mode, POST /_query). The Operations table at the end of this document maps each shorthand to the equivalent elastic CLI command — always use the CLI rather than calling the HTTP API directly.

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Resource model

Agent Builder exposes three distinct resource kinds — do not conflate them:

Creating a tool does not create an agent. Listing or chatting with an agent does not create a tool. When the user asks to "create an agent" or "create a tool," identify which resource they mean before calling a write API.

Built-in tools use the platform.core.* prefix (for example platform.core.search). Custom tools and agents are user-defined. Read architecture-guide.md for built-in tool inventory, context engineering, and security notes.

Process

1. Classify the task. Decide whether the user needs a tool, an agent, or chat with an existing agent. If they ask what already exists ("what agents are there?", "list agents"), treat the request as read-only discovery — answer from live data before proposing any create, update, or delete.

2. Discover existing resources before any write. When creating or updating:

   • Call GET kbn:/api/agent_builder/tools to list available tools (built-in and custom). Do not invent tool IDs.
   • Call GET kbn:/api/agent_builder/agents to list existing agents and avoid duplicate IDs or names.

   When the user only asks what agents exist, stop after GET kbn:/api/agent_builder/agents. Enumerate each agent's id and name. If the list is empty, say so plainly — do not fabricate agents. Only proceed to creation when the user explicitly asks to create one and you have confirmed the target id is unused.

3. Choose the tool type (for tool tasks). Match intent to the narrowest tool type:

   • Open-ended search over a known index pattern → index_search with a specific pattern (for example customer-feedback-*), never * or all-indices scope unless the user explicitly requires it.
   • Fixed analytics, aggregations, or parameterized queries → esql with ?param placeholders and a params object (use {} when there are no parameters).
   • Multi-step automation beyond retrieval → workflow referencing an existing workflow id.

   For ES|QL syntax and query design, follow the elasticsearch-esql skill. For workflow YAML, follow the kibana-workflows skill.

4. Build the tool payload. Required fields: id, type, description, configuration. Optional: tags.

   API constraints (violations return 400):

   • POST accepts only id, type, description, configuration, tags. name is not valid on tools.
   • Index search configuration uses "pattern", not "index".
   • ES|QL tools require "params" even when empty: "params": {}.
   • Each param accepts only type and description — not default or optional. Hard-code defaults in the query.
   • PUT on tools accepts only description, configuration, and tags. id and type are immutable.

   Index search example (scoped pattern):

   {
     "id": "customer_feedback_search",
     "type": "index_search",
     "description": "Searches customer feedback and support tickets in the customer-feedback indices.",
     "configuration": {
       "pattern": "customer-feedback-*"
     }
   }
   

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   ES|QL example (parameterized, with LIMIT):

   {
     "id": "feedback_sentiment_trend",
     "type": "esql",
     "description": "Returns positive vs negative feedback counts by product category over a lookback window.",
     "configuration": {
       "query": "FROM customer-feedback-* | WHERE @timestamp >= NOW() - ?lookback_days::integer * 1d | STATS positive = COUNT(*) WHERE sentiment == \"positive\", negative = COUNT(*) WHERE sentiment == \"negative\" BY product_category | SORT negative DESC | LIMIT 20",
       "params": {
         "lookback_days": {
           "type": "integer",
           "description": "Number of days to look back, e.g. 7, 30, 90"
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

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5. Create and verify the tool. Call POST kbn:/api/agent_builder/tools with the payload. Confirm success by calling GET kbn:/api/agent_builder/tools/{toolId} and reporting the created id, type, description, and configuration back to the user — do not claim success without a live API response.

   Optionally validate ES|QL tools with POST kbn:/api/agent_builder/tools/_execute, passing tool_id and tool_params. Always include | LIMIT N in ES|QL queries to control token use.

6. Build the agent payload (for agent tasks). Required fields: id, name, description, configuration. Configuration must include instructions and a tools array with tool_ids drawn from Step 2 — only IDs returned by GET kbn:/api/agent_builder/tools.

   Derive a stable id from the name (lowercase, hyphens, alphanumeric). Check Step 2's agent list for conflicts before posting.

   {
     "id": "customer-feedback-agent",
     "name": "Customer Feedback Analyst",
     "description": "Analyzes customer sentiment and feedback trends.",
     "configuration": {
       "instructions": "Always use tools to retrieve data. Never answer data questions from memory.",
       "tools": [
         {
           "tool_ids": ["customer_feedback_search", "platform.core.search"]
         }
       ]
     }
   }
   

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   Agent update constraints: PUT accepts only description, configuration, and tags (plus avatar/labels when applicable). Do not send immutable fields like id, name, or type on update — they cause 400 errors.

7. Create and verify the agent. Call POST kbn:/api/agent_builder/agents. Confirm with GET kbn:/api/agent_builder/agents or GET kbn:/api/agent_builder/agents/{agentId}. Report the live response.

8. Update or delete (when requested). Confirm destructive actions with the user first.

   • Update tool: PUT kbn:/api/agent_builder/tools/{toolId}
   • Delete tool: DELETE kbn:/api/agent_builder/tools/{toolId}
   • Update agent: PUT kbn:/api/agent_builder/agents/{agentId}
   • Delete agent: DELETE kbn:/api/agent_builder/agents/{agentId}

9. Chat (when requested). Chat is not agent or tool creation. Use POST kbn:/api/agent_builder/converse/async with an existing agent_id and user input. Expect multi-step reasoning and tool calls; allow sufficient time for streaming completion.

Guidelines

• Discover before create. Always list agents (and tools when relevant) before creating resources. When asked "what agents exist?", answer that question first — read-only — even if the user also mentions wanting a new agent later.
• Scope index search narrowly. Prefer customer-feedback-* over *. Broad patterns increase noise, token cost, and RBAC surface area.
• Write descriptive tool descriptions. The agent selects tools based on descriptions alone — include when to use each tool and example trigger phrases.
• Minimize toolsets. Every assigned tool adds tokens to the agent system prompt on every turn.
• Validate ES|QL before deployment. Execute the tool after creation when parameters or query shape are non-trivial.
• Use aggregations and KEEP. Prefer summary stats over raw document dumps for analytics questions.

Examples

Create an index search tool (eval pattern)

User: "Create a custom Agent Builder tool that searches the customer-feedback-* index. Use the tool id 'eval-feedback-search'."

1. List tools — confirm eval-feedback-search does not already exist.
2. Choose index_search scoped to customer-feedback-* (not *).
3. POST the tool with id, description, and configuration.pattern.
4. GET the tool by id and confirm creation to the user.

Answer "what agents already exist?" before creating

User: "I want to create a new agent in Kibana Agent Builder. What agents already exist?"

1. Call GET kbn:/api/agent_builder/agents — read-only.
2. Enumerate existing agent ids and names (or state that none exist).
3. Do not create, update, or delete anything in this step.
4. Only if the user then asks to create, pick an unused id informed by the list above.

Create an agent after discovery

User: "Create a sales-helper agent using the esql-sales-data tool."

1. List tools — confirm esql-sales-data exists.
2. List agents — confirm no conflicting id.
3. POST agent with instructions and selected tool IDs.
4. GET agent to verify and report back.

References

• architecture-guide.md — Built-in tools, context engineering, token optimization, MCP/A2A integration, permissions
• use-cases.md — Playbooks for customer feedback, marketing campaign, and contract analysis agents with example tool and agent payloads

Operations