Splunk Cloud Data Manager Setup

Prerequisites

Tool or access	Purpose	Verify
Bash and Python 3	Run bundled setup and validation helpers	bash --version && python3 --version
Required product/platform access	Inspect or configure the selected target	Complete the documented preflight
Credential files for live modes	Keep secrets out of chat	Verify paths only

Workflow Overview

┌───────────┐   ┌───────────────┐   ┌───────────────┐   ┌─────────────────┐
│ Preflight │ → │ Render/review │ → │ Apply/handoff │ → │ Validate evidence │
└───────────┘   └───────────────┘   └───────────────┘   └─────────────────┘

When to Activate

• Set up Splunk Cloud Data Manager, onboard cloud data sources through Data Manager, validate Data Manager prerequisites, handle Data Manager CloudFormation or ARM or Terraform templates, diagnose Data Manager ingestion health, migrate Azure.
• Preview and review the splunk cloud data manager setup workflow before any live apply phase.
• Diagnose failed prerequisites, generated assets, configuration, or validation evidence.

Scope

Follow the documented read-only or render-first path whenever it is available. This skill does not imply permission to mutate live systems. Require explicit apply flags, protected credentials, and operator review for state changes.

Examples

Inspect the supported setup modes before selecting one:

bash skills/splunk-cloud-data-manager-setup/scripts/setup.sh --help

Expected output: usage, supported modes, and required arguments are displayed without changing the target environment.

Inspect validation modes before running completion checks:

bash skills/splunk-cloud-data-manager-setup/scripts/validate.sh --help

Expected output: offline, live, and completion options are displayed when the skill supports them; help exits without mutation.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Resolution
Preflight fails	A required tool or access path is missing	Resolve it before rendering or applying
Rendered assets are incomplete	Required non-secret inputs are absent	Complete intake and render again
Apply is blocked	Review, credentials, or explicit acceptance is missing	Use the documented handoff
Validation is incomplete	Live evidence is unavailable	Record the gap and keep completion open

This skill is a render-first workflow for Splunk Cloud Platform Data Manager. It covers AWS, Azure, GCP, and CrowdStrike onboarding guardrails, but it does not claim private Data Manager APIs or Terraform CRUD for Data Manager inputs. When Data Manager requires UI creation, render the exact handoff and validate the surrounding prerequisites and generated artifacts.

Safety Rules

• Never ask for or print Splunk tokens, Azure client secrets, GCP keys, CrowdStrike/FDR AWS secret access keys, passwords, or API keys.
• Never pass secrets as command-line arguments or environment-variable prefixes.
• Use spec file fields such as azure.client_secret_file, gcp.json_key_file, crowdstrike.aws_access_key_id_file, and crowdstrike.aws_secret_access_key_file.
• Reject specs that contain raw password, secret, token, api_key, access_key, or private_key values unless the field name ends in _file or _path.
• Do not invent Data Manager REST endpoints or Terraform resources. Splunk Cloud input creation remains a UI handoff unless Splunk publishes a supported API.

Workflow

1. Copy or adapt template.example with only non-secret values and secret file paths.

2. Render a plan:

   bash skills/splunk-cloud-data-manager-setup/scripts/setup.sh \
     --phase render \
     --spec skills/splunk-cloud-data-manager-setup/template.example
   

3. Review splunk-cloud-data-manager-rendered/, especially coverage-report.json, apply-plan.json, provider runbooks, and doctor-report.md.

4. Run offline validation:

   bash skills/splunk-cloud-data-manager-setup/scripts/validate.sh
   

5. Apply only supported user-supplied or Data Manager-downloaded artifacts:

   bash skills/splunk-cloud-data-manager-setup/scripts/setup.sh \
     --phase apply \
     --spec my-data-manager.yaml \
     --accept-apply
   

   GCP Terraform destroy additionally requires --accept-destroy; apply and destroy cannot be enabled in the same reviewed plan.

Phases

• render - default. Writes deterministic artifacts and never mutates.
• doctor - render plus prioritized issue/fix report.
• status - summarizes rendered status commands and health checks.
• apply - requires --accept-apply, a fresh apply plan, and enabled Data Manager-generated artifact paths.
• validate - checks rendered artifacts and policy guardrails.
• all - render, doctor, validate.

What It Renders

Under splunk-cloud-data-manager-rendered/:

• README.md - operator summary and safe next commands.
• coverage-report.json - ui_handoff, artifact_validate, artifact_apply, splunk_validate, cloud_validate, handoff, or not_applicable for every covered feature.
• apply-plan.json - apply ordering, required accept gates, and artifact paths.
• doctor-report.md - prioritized readiness and drift findings.
• health-searches.spl - source-type/index searches for post-onboarding checks.
• provider-runbooks/ - AWS, Azure, GCP, CrowdStrike, HEC, source catalog, and migration runbooks.
• scripts/ - validation/apply wrappers for Data Manager-generated CloudFormation, ARM, and Terraform artifacts.

References

Read only the reference needed for the user request:

• reference.md - complete workflow, source coverage, and guardrails.
• references/aws.md - AWS CloudFormation, StackSets, S3, custom logs, Organizations/OUs, and S3 Promote.
• references/azure.md - Azure ARM, Entra ID, Activity Logs, Event Hubs, Monitor, and MSCS migration.
• references/gcp.md - GCP Terraform templates, Pub/Sub, Dataflow, project/folder/org overlap checks, and edit/delete.
• references/crowdstrike.md - CrowdStrike FDR S3/SQS onboarding, event families, and delete cleanup.
• references/source-catalog.md - official source type and HEC ACK/token catalog.
• references/iac-and-terraform.md - what is supported vs adjacent Terraform.
• references/research-ledger.md - source URLs used to build this skill.