Getting started
Introduction
What the skill does and why the network model is the source of truth.
Por ahora la documentación está solo en inglés.
network-engineering is a skill for Claude Code that turns Claude into a network engineering assistant. It designs, configures, validates, documents, teaches and troubleshoots computer networks, with first-class support for Cisco Packet Tracer, IOS / IOS XE and ASA.
It is built for students preparing CCNA labs, instructors who need consistent exercises, and engineers who want a second pair of eyes on a design or an existing configuration.
How it works
Most AI answers about networks are a wall of commands you have to trust. This skill works differently: the whole network lives in one model file, and everything else is generated from it.
requirements # "3 VLANs, one router, DHCP…"
└── network model # networks/lab.net.json — devices, ports, VLANs, addressing, tests
├── validate # quality gate: L1–L7 consistency + simulated pings
└── build # only after the gate passes
├── topology.html
├── README.md
└── configs/
Because the diagram, the documentation and the configurations all come from the same validated model, they never contradict each other. When something changes, Claude edits the model and regenerates; outputs are never patched by hand.
What's in the skill
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
SKILL.md | The instructions Claude follows: task router, design flow and quality rules |
references/ | 17 topic guides loaded on demand — IOS, Packet Tracer, IPv4/IPv6, switching, STP, routing, services, security, wireless, troubleshooting… |
netlab toolkit | A zero-dependency TypeScript CLI that validates, simulates and generates everything from the model |
templates/ | A starter model, a lab template and report templates |
examples/ | Seven validated networks with their interactive diagrams |
The toolkit also works on its own, without Claude — see the command reference.
What you can ask for
- Design a network from requirements: topology, VLSM, VLANs, routing, services and security.
- Build a Packet Tracer lab with exact ports, paste-ready candidate configs and GUI steps for PCs and servers.
- Learn a topic step by step, with the why behind every command.
- Troubleshoot from symptoms,
showoutput or a running-config. - Analyze a Packet Tracer screenshot or a network diagram.
- Document or audit an existing network from its configurations.
- Review a change before applying it, with a diff of both versions.
Writing good requests shows how to phrase each one.
Platforms and limits
- Config generation: Cisco IOS / IOS XE routers and switches, and ASA firewalls. Other platforms (for example NX-OS) are blocked rather than guessed.
- Packet Tracer: the skill gives you models, commands and assembly steps; it does not create
.pktfiles. - Simulation: static STP blocking, OSPF costs, an EIGRP metric approximation, ACLs, NAT, HSRP, stateful ASA and IPsec tunnels. Convergence, ARP, ECMP and redistribution are not modeled.
The full list is in Quality gates, secrets & limits.