DOCA Pipeline Language Developer Tools

Scope boundaries

These requests are out of scope: say so, name the skill that owns the request, and stop.

• installing DOCA and bringing up the DPL Runtime Service container: doca-setup/SKILL.md. Name doca-setup in the answer and route the whole install/bring-up there; do not walk the install steps from this skill or from the DPL Installation Guide.
• DPU mode or firmware state changes: doca-hardware-safety/SKILL.md.
• which DOCA version is installed, version compatibility: doca-version/SKILL.md.
• authoring, compiling and deploying DPL programs (DOCA Pipeline Language Service Guide): doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md.

Examples

• "How do I inspect the DPL runtime tables on the DPU?" — this is in scope. Use DPL Nspect; do not author or compile DPL programs here.
• "I want to visualize packet flow through my DPL program." — this is in scope. Use DPL Debugger; ensure the program was compiled with the debug flag -g and loaded into dpl_rtd using the P4Runtime controller.
• "How do I dynamically change a configuration item in dpl_rtd?" — this is in scope. Use DPL Admin; inspect current state first.
• "Can I build a custom P4Runtime application for DPL?" — this is in scope. Use the DPL Runtime Controller SDK.
• "My DPL program is loaded but I cannot start a debug session." — check the debug-flag prerequisite and the P4Runtime load path before assuming the tool is broken.

Quick facts

The authoritative source for the tool names, flags, and paths is the public DOCA Pipeline Language Developer Tools guide for your release; confirm them with the installed tool's help before quoting any of them. As that guide describes it:

• The developer tools are a suite for validating and debugging DPL applications: DPL Compiler, P4 Runtime Shell, DPL Nspect, DPL Debugger, DPL Admin, and DPL Runtime Controller SDK.
• All tools interact with the DPL Runtime Daemon (dpl_rtd) running on the BlueField DPU.
• DPL Compiler converts DPL source code into a binary format that can be loaded by dpl_rtd.
• P4 Runtime Shell is an open-source control plane manager implementing the P4Runtime API.
• DPL Nspect is a command-line interface for inspecting DPL runtime state, including tables, keys, counters, and more.
• DPL Debugger is a graphical interface for visualizing and debugging packet flow through the DPL program.
• DPL Admin is a CLI tool for dynamically modifying configuration items in the DPL Runtime Daemon.
• DPL Runtime Controller SDK is an SDK for building custom P4Runtime applications or integrating with DPL shared memory APIs.
• Prerequisites: the DPL Runtime Service container must be deployed and running on the DPU, the dpl_rtd process must be active, and the DPU must be configured to operate in DPU mode.
• Starting a debug session requires the DPL program to be compiled for debugging: compile with the DPL Compiler debug flag -g enabled, then load the compiled binary into dpl_rtd using the P4Runtime controller.
• The developer tools are included in the DPL Development Container, which is publicly available on NGC. Installation instructions refer to the DPL Installation Guide.
• For instructions on creating, compiling, and deploying DPL programs, refer to the DOCA Pipeline Language Service Guide.
• Support and feedback: visit the NVIDIA DOCA Enterprise Networking Forum. Registration with the NVIDIA Developer Program is required to post; registration is not required to view existing discussions. For help with registration, refer to the FAQ.

Instructions

Follow Loading order below. Open the tasks companion for inspect / debug / modify / build / shell. Open the capabilities companion for what the tools inspect and change. Do not open every companion file.

Where to start: This is a tool skill for invoking the DOCA Pipeline Language Developer Tools — the suite for inspecting and debugging DPL programs on BlueField DPUs. Open the tasks companion and start at ## inspect for DPL Nspect runtime-state inspection, ## debug for DPL Debugger packet-flow visualization, ## modify for DPL Admin dynamic configuration changes, ## build for DPL Runtime Controller SDK custom P4Runtime applications, and ## shell for P4 Runtime Shell control-plane use. Open the capabilities companion when the question is what state can the tools inspect, what do they change, and what prerequisites gate their use. If the user has not installed DOCA yet, route to doca-setup/SKILL.md first. If the user is asking about DPL program authoring, compiling, or deploying rather than inspecting or debugging a loaded program, route to the DOCA Pipeline Language Service Guide, not this skill. Any step that changes hardware or firmware state routes through doca-hardware-safety/SKILL.md. Version questions route through doca-version/SKILL.md; installs route through doca-setup/SKILL.md.

How to use this skill. Read this file, then search the companion file for the ## <name> heading the question needs and read that whole section. Answer completely from it, quoting only its symbols and commands. Do not browse docs; use the entry points in doca-public-knowledge-map. Give environment checks as commands for the user's DOCA host, quoting only commands documented in the public guide or installed tool help. For out-of-scope requests, name the skill that owns them and stop.

Example questions this skill answers well

The CLASSES of DPL developer-tools questions this skill is built to answer, each with one worked example. The class is the load-bearing piece; the worked example is one instance.

• "What tools are available for inspecting and debugging DPL programs?" — worked example: "I have a DPL program loaded on the DPU and need to see its tables, keys, counters, or packet flow". Answered by the tool inventory in the capabilities companion + the tasks companion.
• "How do I inspect DPL runtime state?" — worked example: "I want to list the tables and counters currently active in dpl_rtd". Answered by the DPL Nspect workflow in the tasks companion.
• "How do I debug packet flow through a DPL program?" — worked example: "packets are not matching the expected table entries; I need to visualize the path through the DPL program". Answered by the DPL Debugger prerequisites (debug flag -g, P4Runtime load) in the capabilities companion + the tasks companion.
• "How do I dynamically change configuration items in dpl_rtd?" — worked example: "I need to update a configuration item without restarting the DPL Runtime Daemon". Answered by the DPL Admin workflow in the tasks companion.
• "How do I build a custom P4Runtime application or integrate with DPL shared memory APIs?" — worked example: "I want to write my own control-plane application for DPL instead of using the P4 Runtime Shell". Answered by the DPL Runtime Controller SDK workflow in the tasks companion.
• "What are the prerequisites for using the developer tools?" — worked example: "the tools cannot see dpl_rtd; is the DPL Runtime Service container running and is the DPU in DPU mode?". Answered by the prerequisites in the capabilities companion + the tasks companion.

When to load this skill

Load this skill when the user is — or the agent needs to — drive the DOCA Pipeline Language Developer Tools on a real BlueField DPU with the DPL Runtime Service running. Concretely:

• Inspecting DPL runtime state (tables, keys, counters) with DPL Nspect.
• Visualizing or debugging packet flow through a DPL program with DPL Debugger.
• Dynamically modifying configuration items in dpl_rtd with DPL Admin.
• Building custom P4Runtime applications or integrating with DPL shared memory APIs using the DPL Runtime Controller SDK.
• Using the P4 Runtime Shell as a P4Runtime control plane manager.
• Preparing a debug session: ensuring the DPL program was compiled with the debug flag -g and loaded into dpl_rtd using the P4Runtime controller.
• Diagnosing why the developer tools cannot interact with dpl_rtd (DPL Runtime Service container not running, dpl_rtd not active, DPU not in DPU mode).

Do not load this skill for general DOCA orientation, DPL program authoring/compilation/deployment, DOCA install, or hardware/firmware state changes. For those, route to doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md, the DOCA Pipeline Language Service Guide, doca-setup/SKILL.md, or doca-hardware-safety/SKILL.md.

What this skill provides

This is a thin loader. Substantive material lives in two companion files:

• the capabilities companion — what the developer tools inspect and change: the tool inventory (DPL Compiler, P4 Runtime Shell, DPL Nspect, DPL Debugger, DPL Admin, DPL Runtime Controller SDK), the read-only vs state-changing operation split (Nspect and Debugger read-only; Admin modifies; Compiler and SDK build), the prerequisites (DPL Runtime Service container, dpl_rtd active, DPU mode, debug flag -g, P4Runtime load), availability via the DPL Development Container on NGC, support/feedback via the NVIDIA DOCA Enterprise Networking Forum, and the high-stakes safety policy that dynamic configuration changes through DPL Admin affect the running DPL Runtime Daemon and must be gated on a clean inspection.
• the tasks companion — step-by-step workflows for the in-scope task verbs: inspect (DPL Nspect runtime state), debug (DPL Debugger packet flow, including the debug-flag prerequisite), modify (DPL Admin dynamic configuration), build (DPL Runtime Controller SDK custom P4Runtime applications / shared memory integration), shell (P4 Runtime Shell control plane), plus a Deferred task verbs block and a Command appendix that honors the bundle's doca-structured-tools-contract/SKILL.md preamble.

The skill assumes a BlueField DPU where the DPL Runtime Service container is already deployed and running, dpl_rtd is active, and the DPU is configured to operate in DPU mode.

What this skill deliberately does not ship

This skill is agent guidance, not a samples or scripts bundle. To keep the boundary clean, it deliberately does not contain — and pull requests should not add:

• Verbatim subcommand names, flag inventories beyond the documented debug flag -g, default paths, port numbers, or output column names. The public DOCA Pipeline Language Developer Tools guide on docs.nvidia.com and the installed tool help on the user's version are the joint source of truth; copying them here pins the skill to one release and silently rots when the tools evolve. The skill routes the agent at those sources instead.
• Pre-baked example output. Output is install-, version-, and deployment-specific. A captured example will mislead an operator on a different platform / state.
• Wrappers, parsers, or scripts in any language that consume the tools' output. The output format is documented; users who want to script against it should read the live guide and write the parser against their installed version.
• A samples/ or reference/ subtree. This is a thin loader for a documented DOCA artifact; substantive material lives on the public page and in the installed tool help.

Loading order

1. Read this skill first to confirm the user's question is in scope (the user wants to inspect or debug DPL programs on a BlueField DPU, not author, compile, or deploy DPL programs).
2. For what the tools inspect and change, the tool inventory, the read-only vs state-changing split, prerequisites, availability, support, and safety posture, see the capabilities companion.
3. For the documented invocations and the workflows — inspect, debug, modify, build, shell, plus the Command appendix — see the tasks companion.

Related skills

• doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md — routing to the public DOCA Pipeline Language Developer Tools guide and the rest of the public DOCA documentation set. The canonical URL is reached via doca-public-knowledge-map ## DOCA tools (doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md#doca-tools).
• doca-version/SKILL.md — canonical DOCA version-handling rules. Version questions route here; the capabilities companion redirects to this skill for the body.
• doca-setup/SKILL.md — env preparation, install verification, DPL Runtime Service container deployment, and the I have no install yet path with the public NGC DPL Development Container. This skill assumes its preconditions are satisfied.
• doca-hardware-safety/SKILL.md — any step that changes hardware or firmware state routes here.
• doca-structured-tools-contract/SKILL.md — the bundle's detect → prefer → fall back → report contract for structured helper tools. The Command appendix in the tasks companion honors this contract.
• doca-debug/SKILL.md — the cross-cutting debug ladder. The DPL developer tools slot in at the runtime layer as inspection/debug tooling whose layered error surface escalates to the cross-cutting ladder when the cause is below DOCA.