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AI-Powered Analysis for Atmos Commands with the Global --ai Flag

· 3 min read
Andriy Knysh
Andriy Knysh
Principal Architect @ Cloud Posse

Add --ai to any Atmos command and get instant AI-powered analysis of the output. Successful plans get summarized, errors get explained with step-by-step fixes — zero workflow changes required.

How It Works​

  1. Run any Atmos command with --ai
  2. The command executes normally — output streams to your terminal in real-time
  3. After the command completes, the captured output is sent to the AI provider
  4. The AI analysis appears below the command output

Plan Analysis​

atmos terraform plan --ai

$ atmos terraform plan vpc -s ue1-prod --ai

Terraform will perform the following actions:

  # null_resource.vpc will be created
  + resource "null_resource" "vpc" {
      + id       = (known after apply)
      + triggers = {
          + "availability_zones"  = "us-east-1a,us-east-1b,us-east-1c"
          + "environment"         = "production"
          + "nat_gateway_enabled" = "true"
          + "vpc_cidr"            = "10.10.0.0/16"
        }
    }

Plan: 1 to add, 0 to change, 0 to destroy.

✓ AI analysis complete

  ## Terraform Plan Summary:  vpc  in  ue1-prod

  ### Plan Succeeded — 1 Resource to Create

   Metric     │ Value
  ────────────┼───────
   To Add     │ 1
   To Change  │ 0
   To Destroy │ 0

  A  null_resource.vpc  will be created with CIDR  10.10.0.0/16 ,
  3 availability zones, and NAT Gateways enabled.

Error Explanation​

When commands fail, the AI explains the root cause and provides actionable fixes:

atmos terraform plan --ai (error)

$ atmos terraform plan vpc -s ue1-pro --ai

✓ AI analysis complete

  ## Component Not Found Error

   Atmos cannot locate the  vpc  component within the  ue1-pro  stack.

  ## Quick Fix

   Check                           │ Command
  ─────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────
   Stack name is correct           │  atmos list stacks
   Component is defined in stack   │  atmos list components -s ue1-pro
   No YAML syntax errors           │  atmos validate stacks

Domain-Specific Analysis with --skill​

Pair --ai with --skill for domain-specific expertise. Combine multiple skills with commas or repeated flags:

# Terraform expertise for plan analysis
atmos terraform plan vpc -s ue1-prod --ai --skill atmos-terraform

# Multiple skills (comma-separated)
atmos terraform plan vpc -s ue1-prod --ai --skill atmos-terraform,atmos-stacks

# Multiple skills (repeated flag)
atmos terraform plan vpc -s ue1-prod --ai --skill atmos-terraform --skill atmos-stacks

Enable via Environment Variable​

# Enable for all commands in the session
export ATMOS_AI=true
atmos terraform plan vpc -s ue1-prod

# With skills
ATMOS_AI=true ATMOS_SKILL=atmos-terraform,atmos-stacks atmos terraform plan vpc -s ue1-prod

Works with Everything​

The --ai flag works with any Atmos command:

atmos terraform plan vpc -s ue1-prod --ai
atmos terraform apply vpc -s ue1-prod --ai
atmos describe stacks --ai
atmos validate stacks --ai
atmos list components --ai

Try It​

Explore the AI Example

Try --ai and --skill with a complete multi-region infrastructure project using mock components — no cloud credentials required.

Learn More​