Developer Support Skill

Developer Support

Build effective support systems that help developers succeed and scale.

Skill Contract

Parameters

parameters:
  required:
    - support_type: enum[question, bug, feature, escalation]
    - context: string
  optional:
    - urgency: enum[low, medium, high, critical]
    - channel: enum[forum, discord, ticket, office_hours]

Output

output:
  response:
    answer: string
    resources: array[Link]
    follow_up: array[Action]

Support Channels

| Channel | Response Time | Best For | |---------|---------------|----------| | Docs/FAQ | Instant | Self-service | | Forum/Discord | 4-24 hours | Community Q&A | | Office Hours | Scheduled | Complex issues | | Support Tickets | 24-48 hours | Bugs/urgent |

Support Tier Model

Tier 0: Self-Service
├── Documentation
├── FAQ
├── Knowledge Base
└── Search

Tier 1: Community
├── Forums
├── Discord/Slack
└── Stack Overflow

Tier 2: DevRel Team
├── Office Hours
├── Direct Outreach
└── Webinars

Tier 3: Engineering
├── Bug Reports
├── Feature Requests
└── Architecture Reviews

Office Hours Best Practices

Format

Weekly or bi-weekly
30-60 minutes
Open Q&A or themed topics
Record for those who can't attend

Running Sessions

Start on time - Respect schedules
Screen share - Show, don't just tell
Take notes - Action items to follow up
Be honest - "I'll find out" is OK

FAQ Management

Creating Effective FAQs

Q: How do I authenticate with the API?

A: You can authenticate using API keys or OAuth 2.0:

**API Keys** (simplest)
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" ...

**OAuth 2.0** (for user data)
[See our OAuth guide →](/docs/oauth)

Related: [Authentication errors](/docs/errors#auth)

FAQ Sources

Support tickets (recurring issues)
Community questions
Search queries
User feedback

Retry Logic

retry_patterns:
  unresolved_question:
    strategy: "Escalate to specialist"

  user_frustrated:
    strategy: "Personal outreach, expedite"

  recurring_issue:
    strategy: "Create FAQ, update docs"

Failure Modes & Recovery

| Failure Mode | Detection | Recovery | |--------------|-----------|----------| | Slow response | >24h wait | Prioritize, apologize | | Wrong answer | User correction | Fix, thank user | | No resolution | Multiple back-forth | Escalate |

Debug Checklist

□ Problem clearly understood?
□ Docs checked first?
□ Similar issues in history?
□ Reproducible steps?
□ Workaround available?
□ Escalation path clear?

Test Template

test_developer_support:
  unit_tests:
    - test_response_time:
        assert: "<24h for community"
    - test_answer_accuracy:
        assert: "Solves problem"

  integration_tests:
    - test_escalation_flow:
        assert: "Reaches specialist"

Support Metrics

| Metric | Target | |--------|--------| | Response time | <24 hours | | Resolution rate | >80% | | CSAT score | >4.0/5 | | Ticket deflection | >60% |

Observability

metrics:
  - tickets_resolved: integer
  - response_time_avg: duration
  - csat_score: float
  - deflection_rate: float

See assets/ for support templates.

Agent Skills: Developer Support

Install this agent skill to your local

Skill Files