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eks-automode-onboard

A Claude Code skill for users new to EKS Auto Mode who want to understand concepts and deploy using this repository.

When to use​

Trigger this skill when you:

  • Want to understand what EKS Auto Mode manages
  • Need to deploy your first Auto Mode cluster
  • Are choosing which example fits your use case
  • Hit a common first-day issue (Pending pods, tags not landing, LB not provisioning)

What it covers​

Quick decision tree​

Maps your use case to the right example directory:

Use caseExample
First deployment / validationexamples/graviton/
Fault-tolerant batch / devexamples/spot/
ML inference (NVIDIA GPU)examples/gpu/
ML inference (Inferentia2)examples/neuron/
OD + Spot mix with headroomexamples/cost-optimization/
Pin to reserved capacityexamples/capacity-reservation/
Fixed always-on fleetexamples/static-capacity/
Protect long-running jobsexamples/batch-jobs/
Limit drain concurrencyexamples/disruption-budgets/
CPU autoscaling + SQS-drivenexamples/pod-autoscaling/
Metrics, logs, tracingexamples/observability/

Key concepts​

  • What AWS manages vs what you manage (shared responsibility)
  • NodePool and NodeClass relationship
  • The templatefile() rendering chain
  • Why you never edit the managed default NodeClass

Common gotchas​

  1. Pods stuck Pending -- nodeSelector mismatch
  2. Wrong EBS StorageClass provisioner name (ebs.csi.eks.amazonaws.com, not ebs.csi.aws.com)
  3. Editing default NodeClass -- reverts silently
  4. Tags not landing -- missing IAM custom-tags policy
  5. No SSH/SSM access -- use kubectl debug node/ or NodeDiagnostic
  6. Stale rendered YAML after template edit -- run terraform apply
  7. LB not provisioning -- missing subnet tags

Reference docs (loaded on demand)​

  • references/concepts.md -- deep dive on managed components, instance families, IMDS, disruption model
  • references/deployment-guide.md -- prerequisites, variable reference, post-deploy validation, cleanup
  • references/troubleshooting.md -- 8 problem categories with solutions

Sources​