Skill: Datasets

SkillDatabases & data

List all connected datasets with their status, table counts, and last analysis date. Use this skill whenever the user invokes `/datasets`, or asks questions like "what datasets do I have?", "show me my data sources", "list datasets", "which datasets are connected?", "what data is available?", "show all datasets", "what datasets can I analyze?", "view my datasets", "what data sources are set up?", or any request to see what datasets exist in the system. Also trigger when users mention "switch dataset", "change dataset", "use a different dataset", or "what's my active dataset?" since seeing the list helps them choose. This is a foundational command that should be offered proactively whenever users seem unsure about what data they're working with or when they need to understand what datasets are available before starting analysis.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the Skill: Datasets skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by ai-analyst-lab/ai-analyst in .claude/skills/datasets/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Purpose

List all connected datasets with their status, table counts, and last analysis date.

When to Use

Invoke as /datasets when the user wants to see what datasets are available.

Instructions

Step 1: Discover available datasets

The system supports two discovery paths:

Path A: Registry-first (preferred)

  • Read data_sources.yaml to get the official list of registered sources
  • If the file exists and has entries, use this as your source of truth

Path B: Brain-first (fallback when registry is empty)

  • If data_sources.yaml is empty or missing, scan .knowledge/datasets/ directory
  • Each subdirectory represents a dataset (directory name = dataset ID)
  • Read each dataset's manifest.yaml to get connection details and metadata

Use whichever path yields results. Many installations have datasets in .knowledge/datasets/ but an empty data_sources.yaml registry — this is normal during initial setup or when datasets are added manually.

Step 2: Read the active pointer

Read .knowledge/active.yaml to determine which dataset is currently active.

Step 3: Enrich with manifest data

For each discovered dataset (whether from registry or directory scan), read .knowledge/datasets/{name}/manifest.yaml to get:

  • display_name — human-readable name
  • connection.type — connection type (csv, duckdb, postgres, snowflake, bigquery, databricks, redshift, mssql, mysql)
  • connection.database or other connection-specific fields
  • summary.table_count — number of tables
  • summary.date_range — temporal coverage (if available)
  • summary.row_counts — per-table row counts (if profiled)
  • summary.last_updated — when manifest was last written

If a manifest is missing or incomplete, show what you can determine from the directory structure and note that the dataset needs profiling.

Step 4: Display the list

Connected Datasets:

  * your_dataset (active)
    Your Dataset Name — {table_count} tables, {date_range}
    Connection: {type} ({database})
    Analyses: 0

  - {other_dataset}
    {display_name} — {table_count} tables, {date_range}
    Connection: {type} ({details})
    Analyses: {count}

Commands:
  /switch-dataset {name}  — switch active dataset
  /connect-data           — connect a new dataset
  /data                   — inspect active dataset schema

Mark the active dataset with *. Mark others with -.

Important Notes

  1. Security: Never display connection credentials (tokens, passwords, API keys) — show only connection type and database/schema names
  2. Discovery: If data_sources.yaml is empty but .knowledge/datasets/ has content, scan the directory and show what's available — this is a normal state during development or manual dataset setup
  3. Incomplete manifests: If a dataset directory exists but has no manifest or an incomplete manifest, include it in the list with status "Not yet profiled" and show whatever metadata is available
  4. Duplicate detection: If you notice two datasets pointing to the same underlying data (same path or same database), mention this in a Notes section to help users clean up

Signals

GitHub stars
297
Forks
137
Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
datasets
Source
github.com/ai-analyst-lab/ai-analyst