# Use CocoIndex with AI coding agents

> **CocoIndex v1.** This page documents CocoIndex **v1** — a ground-up redesign from v0. When writing code, ignore any v0 flow-builder DSL or deprecated decorators.
>
> Source: https://cocoindex.io/docs/getting_started/ai_coding_agents/ · Docs index: https://cocoindex.io/docs/llms.txt · Agent skill: https://cocoindex.io/docs/skill.md

CocoIndex ships an official **agent skill** that teaches AI coding agents how to build CocoIndex v1 pipelines correctly — core concepts, API surface, common patterns, connectors, and best practices, all in one place.

The skill lives in the [`skills/cocoindex/`](https://github.com/cocoindex-io/cocoindex/tree/main/skills/cocoindex) directory of the main repo.

## Why a skill?

CocoIndex v1 is a fundamental redesign from v0. Without context, an LLM trained on older snapshots tends to hallucinate the wrong API (the v0 flow-builder DSL, deprecated decorators, missing `@coco.fn`, unstable component paths). The skill gives the agent a single concise reference covering:

- **Mental model** — `target_state = transform(source_state)`, declarative pipelines, [processing components](../programming_guide/processing_component).
- **Core APIs** — `@coco.fn`, `mount` / `use_mount` / `mount_each`, `ContextKey`, `@coco.lifespan`, target state declarations.
- **Common patterns** — file transformation, vector embedding, LLM extraction, knowledge graphs.
- **Connectors** — PostgreSQL, SQLite, LanceDB, Qdrant, SurrealDB, Apache Doris, LocalFS, S3, Kafka, Google Drive.
- **Best practices** — memoization, stable component paths, vector schema with `Annotated[NDArray, KEY]`.

## Use with Claude Code

Claude Code auto-loads skills from `.claude/skills/` in the current project, or from `~/.claude/skills/` globally.

Project-local install (recommended for repos that build with CocoIndex):

```sh
mkdir -p .claude/skills
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/cocoindex-io/cocoindex.git /tmp/cocoindex-skill
cp -r /tmp/cocoindex-skill/skills/cocoindex .claude/skills/
```

Global install:

```sh
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/cocoindex-io/cocoindex.git /tmp/cocoindex-skill
cp -r /tmp/cocoindex-skill/skills/cocoindex ~/.claude/skills/
```

Once installed, Claude Code picks up the skill automatically when you ask it to build or modify a CocoIndex pipeline.

## Use with other agents

The skill is plain Markdown — `SKILL.md` plus a few reference files. Any agent that accepts file-based context will work:

- **Cursor** — copy `skills/cocoindex/SKILL.md` into `.cursor/rules/cocoindex.md`.
- **Generic AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md** — concatenate or `@import` `SKILL.md` from your top-level agent instructions file.
- **Custom RAG / agent stack** — index the `skills/cocoindex/` directory like any other documentation source.

## What's inside

```
skills/cocoindex/
├── SKILL.md                       # main entry — concepts, APIs, patterns
└── references/
    ├── api_reference.md           # quick API reference
    ├── connectors.md              # full connector reference
    ├── patterns.md                # detailed pipeline patterns
    ├── setup_project.md           # project setup
    └── setup_database.md          # database setup
```

## Contributing

The skill is versioned alongside the codebase — when the API changes, the skill changes with it. PRs that improve clarity, add examples, or cover new connectors are welcome. See the [contributing guide](../contributing/guide/) for how to get started.