Choose PubNub Docs Path

When to Use This Skill

• The user mentions PubNub but hasn't said which feature, SDK, or use case
• The user asks "where do I start", "which docs", "what should I use", or "do I need chat SDK or core SDK"
• The agent is unsure which other PubNub skill to load
• The user is comparing approaches (e.g., "should I use Functions or Events & Actions?")
• A question spans multiple PubNub products and needs scoping

Core Workflow

1. Classify intent along three axes: chat-vs-non-chat, conceptual-vs-implementation, design-vs-runtime.
2. Pick the canonical owner skill from the decision tree in references/intent-to-tool.md.
3. Pick the matching MCP tool from the same reference.
4. Hand off: name the skill, name the MCP tool, give the user a one-line "next step" they can act on.
5. Stop. Do not implement — that is the specialist skill's job.

Reference Guide

• references/intent-to-tool.md — canonical decision tree from user intent to (skill, MCP tool, docs link)

Key Implementation Requirements

For <restated intent>:
  - Skill   : <specialist-skill-name>
  - MCP tool: <user-pubnub MCP tool name>
  - Docs    : <one-line pointer to PubNub docs>
  - Next    : <one specific next action>

Three Forks That Decide Everything

1. Is the use case chat or non-chat?
   • Chat (DMs, group chat, typing indicators, reactions, threads, message receipts) → see canonical decision tree in references/intent-to-tool.md under "Chat".
   • Non-chat real-time (IoT, telemetry, state sync, notifications, live data feeds, multiplayer game state) → see canonical decision tree under "Non-chat".
2. Is the user designing or running?
   • Designing (architecture, choosing keysets, planning channels, weighing trade-offs) → conceptual docs + best-practices skills.
   • Running (sending a test message, fetching history for debugging, inspecting presence, triaging an incident) → runtime MCP tools (

     send_pubnub_message

     ,

     subscribe_and_receive_pubnub_messages

     ,

     get_pubnub_messages

     ,

     get_pubnub_presence

     ).
3. Is the question about analytics or automation logic?
   • Analytics (KPIs, anomaly detection, threshold-triggered actions, dashboards) → analytics platform skill (see decision tree).
   • Pure event-driven integration (webhook on message, fan-out to Lambda/Kafka/SQS) → event-driven integration skill (see decision tree).
   • Per-message custom logic at the edge (transform, validate, enrich, moderate) → serverless functions skill (see decision tree).

Constraints

• Never write implementation code in this skill. Hand off to the specialist owner.
• Never paraphrase another skill's content. Link instead. The full mapping lives in references/intent-to-tool.md.
• Stop after one handoff. If the user has multiple intents, ask which to address first.
• Always name both the skill and the MCP tool. A handoff without both is incomplete.
• If the user has already named a specific feature, do not run this skill — defer to the matching specialist directly.

MCP Tools

user-pubnub

• get_chat_sdk_documentation

  — for any chat / messaging / typing-indicator / reaction / thread question.

• get_sdk_documentation

  — for any non-chat real-time question (core SDKs, IoT, state sync, notifications).

• how_to

  — for conceptual, step-by-step integration recipes.

• write_pubnub_app

  — for architecture review, production-readiness checks, and best-practices validation.

• manage_apps

  ,

  manage_keysets

  — for environment setup and configuration questions.

• manage_app_context

  — for user/channel/membership metadata questions.

• manage_illuminate

  — for analytics, KPI, threshold-trigger, and dashboard questions.

• send_pubnub_message

  ,

  subscribe_and_receive_pubnub_messages

  ,

  get_pubnub_messages

  ,

  get_pubnub_presence

  — for runtime testing and incident triage.

See Also

• pubnub-keyset-management — for app/keyset/environment setup questions
• pubnub-app-developer — for non-chat SDK mechanics
• pubnub-chat — for chat-specific features
• pubnub-presence — for online/offline/occupancy questions
• pubnub-history — for replay, offline catch-up, and timetoken pagination
• pubnub-app-context — for user/channel/membership metadata
• pubnub-functions — for per-message edge logic
• pubnub-events-and-actions — for event-driven integrations to external systems
• pubnub-illuminate — for real-time analytics, decisions, and dashboards
• pubnub-security — for Access Manager, encryption, TLS
• pubnub-scale — for throughput, channel groups, large events
• pubnub-reliability — for backoff, idempotency, retry, dedup
• pubnub-observability — for logging correlation, testing, runbooks

Output Format

Intent      : <one sentence restating what the user is trying to do>
Skill       : <specialist-skill-name>
MCP tool    : <user-pubnub MCP tool>
Docs source : <which PubNub docs surface to consult>
Next step   : <one concrete action the user or agent should take next>

Canonical Owner Files

• Access Manager tokens → pubnub-security/references/access-manager.md
• History timetoken pagination → pubnub-history/references/pagination-and-ordering.md
• Offline catch-up flow → pubnub-history/references/offline-catch-up.md
• App Context (users, channel metadata, membership metadata) → pubnub-app-context/references/users.md
• Message Actions and reactions → pubnub-chat/references/message-actions.md
• Channel groups and wildcard subscribe → pubnub-scale/references/scaling-patterns.md
• Incident triage and runbook → pubnub-observability/references/incident-runbook.md