cloudflare-troubleshooting_skill

Overview

This skill helps investigate and resolve Cloudflare configuration problems using API-driven evidence gathering. It focuses on systematic inspection of zone settings, DNS, SSL, page rules, firewall and load balancer state before changing anything. The goal is to diagnose issues like ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS, SSL errors, DNS misconfigurations, and origin errors with verifiable data and targeted fixes.

How this skill works

I query the Cloudflare API to obtain the actual state for a domain: zone ID, settings, DNS records, page rules, SSL certificates, and recent change data when available. I combine API responses with external checks (dig, curl, openssl) to triangulate the root cause. Changes are applied only after evidence supports a specific fix, and I validate the result by re-querying APIs and re-testing externally.

When to use it

• ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS or suspected redirect loops
• SSL errors (526, 525) or certificate provisioning issues
• DNS resolution problems or unexpected record changes
• Origin errors like 502/503/504 where origin reachability is unclear
• When you need an evidence-based diagnosis before making changes

Best practices

• Always fetch zone_id and current settings via the API before diagnosing
• Prefer API Tokens scoped to needed permissions; avoid sharing global keys publicly
• Gather multiple data points (settings, page rules, DNS, origin responses) before changing anything
• Make one targeted change at a time, then purge cache and verify
• Use GET requests first to understand structure; PATCH/POST only after confirming the fix
• Respect API rate limits and handle 'success' and 'errors' fields in responses

Example use cases

• Detecting a flexible SSL + origin-enforced HTTPS redirect loop and switching to Full
• Listing DNS records to find missing or mis-proxied A/CNAME records causing resolution failures
• Inspecting page rules and forwarding_url actions that create overlapping redirects
• Checking SSL certificate packs and origin certificate validity for 526/525 errors
• Verifying load balancer pools and firewall rules when origin returns 502/503