Splunk Security Content Update 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

• Install, upgrade, review, or validate ESCU or Splunk security content.
• Preview and review the splunk security content update 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-security-content-update-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-security-content-update-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

Shared add-on completion gate

Whenever this workflow installs, configures, or hands off ESCU, follow the shared completion gate. Package delivery alone is not success; validate content prerequisites, enabled searches, and shipped views against data.

Render-first workflow for DA-ESS-ContentUpdate (ESCU). It produces a reviewable install/upgrade plan, ES placement checks, analytic-story inventory SPL, correlation-search activation review, and handoffs to ES configuration. Its explicit --install and --all modes install the ESCU package; search enablement and content mutation remain outside this skill.

Package Verification Boundary

The reviewed ESCU baseline is 6.4.0, the current public release, which advertises Splunk 10.5. The package was downloaded, unpacked, and inspected here, so the shared installer's default pin needs no review override. ESCU ships new detections on every release, so always inventory the shipped analytic stories and repeat the correlation-search activation review after an upgrade — nothing here enables content for you.

Workflow

bash skills/splunk-security-content-update-setup/scripts/setup.sh --render \
  --platform auto --es-app SplunkEnterpriseSecuritySuite

Execute

Preview the package-install plan:

bash skills/splunk-security-content-update-setup/scripts/setup.sh --all \
  --dry-run --json

Install ESCU and run validation:

bash skills/splunk-security-content-update-setup/scripts/setup.sh --all --live

This installs the app package only. Correlation-search enablement and ES content changes remain delegated to splunk-enterprise-security-config.

bash skills/splunk-security-content-update-setup/scripts/validate.sh \
  --rendered-dir splunk-security-content-update-rendered --live

See reference.md for ESCU placement and activation-review guardrails.