eval-setup

You are an environment configurator. You verify the evaluation harness environment and configure optional integrations like MLflow. Non-destructive: skip steps that are already done, report status.

Most users can skip this skill entirely — dependencies auto-install via the plugin's SessionStart hook, and agent_eval is available to scripts via symlinks. This skill is useful for configuring MLflow tracking, troubleshooting dependency issues, or verifying the environment.

The eval pipeline is: /eval-analyze → /eval-dataset → /eval-run → /eval-review or /eval-optimize. /eval-mlflow can be invoked at any point after /eval-run. MLflow tracing is handled by /eval-mlflow after a run completes. No tracing setup is needed here.

Step 0: Parse Arguments

Parse $ARGUMENTS for:

Argument	Required	Default	Description
--tracking-uri <uri>	no	auto-detect	MLflow tracking URI (skips interactive setup)
--skip-mlflow	no	false	Skip MLflow setup entirely
--runs-dir <path>	no	eval/runs	Directory where eval runs are stored

Step 1: Install Dependencies (if needed)

Dependencies are managed in an isolated venv at <plugin_root>/.eval-venv/. The SessionStart hook creates this venv automatically. Scripts auto-activate it via agent_eval._bootstrap on import.

This step is a fallback for mid-session installs or troubleshooting. Re-run the hook's install script:

python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../scripts/ensure_deps.py" "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA:-${XDG_STATE_HOME:-$HOME/.local/state}/agent-eval-data}"

To check the venv status:

VENV_PYTHON="${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../.eval-venv/bin/python3"
test -x "$VENV_PYTHON" && echo "venv: OK" || echo "venv: MISSING"
"$VENV_PYTHON" -c "import yaml; print('pyyaml: OK')" 2>&1 || echo "pyyaml: MISSING"

To install additional packages manually into the venv:

VENV_DIR="${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../.eval-venv"
# Use uv if available, otherwise venv pip
if command -v uv &>/dev/null; then
  uv pip install --python "$VENV_DIR/bin/python3" 'mlflow[genai]>=3.5' 'anthropic[vertex]>=0.40'
else
  "$VENV_DIR/bin/pip" install 'mlflow[genai]>=3.5' 'anthropic[vertex]>=0.40'
fi

Step 2: Run Preflight Checks

python3 ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/check_env.py --fix

Review the output. If all checks pass, report success and skip to Step 6.

If checks fail, work through Steps 3–5 to fix them.

Step 3: Configure MLflow Tracking

If --skip-mlflow was passed, skip this step entirely.

Check if MLflow tracking is configured:

echo "MLFLOW_TRACKING_URI=${MLFLOW_TRACKING_URI:-not set}"

If --tracking-uri was provided: use it directly, skip the interactive choice.

If not set and no flag: Ask the user which MLflow setup they want:

1. Local server (recommended for getting started): Tell the user to run the server in a separate terminal:

   mlflow server --port 5000
   

   Then set the tracking URI in this session:

   export MLFLOW_TRACKING_URI=http://127.0.0.1:5000
   

   Note: the user should add this export to their shell profile for persistence.

2. Local file store (no server needed, limited UI):

   export MLFLOW_TRACKING_URI=sqlite:///mlflow.db
   

3. Remote server (Databricks, etc.): Ask the user for their tracking URI and verify connectivity.

Per-project pinning: To pin a tracking URI to a specific eval suite (overriding the env var), set mlflow.tracking_uri in eval.yaml. Useful when one machine runs evals against multiple servers. The harness resolves URIs in this order: mlflow.tracking_uri in eval.yaml > MLFLOW_TRACKING_URI env var > http://127.0.0.1:5000.

Step 4: Configure API Keys

Check authentication:

echo "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY:+set}"
echo "ANTHROPIC_VERTEX_PROJECT_ID=${ANTHROPIC_VERTEX_PROJECT_ID:-not set}"

If neither is set, tell the user:

• For direct Anthropic API: export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=<key>
• For Vertex AI: export ANTHROPIC_VERTEX_PROJECT_ID=<project-id>

The API key is needed for skill execution (via Claude Code) and pairwise comparison judges.

Step 5: Configure Runs Directory

Check if the runs directory is configured:

echo "AGENT_EVAL_RUNS_DIR=${AGENT_EVAL_RUNS_DIR:-eval/runs}"

If --runs-dir was provided, use it. Otherwise, the default eval/runs is fine for most projects.

If the user wants a non-default location (e.g., larger disk, shared storage), tell them to add to their shell profile:

export AGENT_EVAL_RUNS_DIR=<path>

All harness scripts read this env var. The directory is created automatically by check_env.py --fix.

Step 5b: Check Skill-Specific Environment Variables

If eval.yaml exists and has execution.env entries with $VAR references, those variables must be set in the caller's environment at eval-run time. Check whether they're available:

test -f eval.yaml && PYTHONPATH=${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts python3 -c "
from agent_eval.config import EvalConfig
config = EvalConfig.from_yaml('eval.yaml')
import os
for key, value in config.execution.env.items():
    if isinstance(value, str) and value.startswith('\$'):
        var_name = value[1:]
        status = 'set' if os.environ.get(var_name) else 'NOT SET'
        print(f'  {key}: \${var_name} → {status}')
    else:
        # Mask literal values to avoid leaking credentials in logs
        print(f'  {key}: (literal, {len(str(value))} chars)')
" 2>&1 || echo "  (could not parse eval.yaml)"

If any $VAR references are unset, warn the user — they'll need to export them before running /eval-run. Common examples: JIRA_SERVER for jira-emulator, JIRA_TOKEN for Jira API access.

Step 6: Create MLflow Experiment

If --skip-mlflow was passed, skip this step.

Check if eval.yaml exists and has mlflow.experiment configured:

test -f eval.yaml && echo "CONFIG_EXISTS" || echo "NO_CONFIG"

If eval.yaml exists:

PYTHONPATH=${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts python3 -c "
from agent_eval.config import EvalConfig
from agent_eval.mlflow.experiment import setup_experiment, resolve_tracking_uri
config = EvalConfig.from_yaml('eval.yaml')
if config.mlflow.experiment:
    setup_experiment(config.mlflow.experiment, tracking_uri=resolve_tracking_uri(config))
    print(f'Experiment created: {config.mlflow.experiment} on {resolve_tracking_uri(config)}')
else:
    print('No mlflow.experiment in eval.yaml, skipping')
"

If eval.yaml doesn't exist, skip this step — it will be created by /eval-analyze.

Step 7: Final Verification

Run the preflight checks again to confirm everything is set up:

python3 ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/check_env.py

If eval.yaml exists, also validate it:

test -f eval.yaml && python3 ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/check_env.py --config eval.yaml

Report the final status to the user and suggest next steps:

• If eval.yaml doesn't exist: "Run /eval-analyze --skill <name> to analyze your skill and generate eval.yaml"
• If eval.yaml exists but no dataset: "Run /eval-dataset to generate test cases"
• If everything is ready: "Run /eval-run --model <model> to execute the evaluation"

Rules

• Non-destructive — skip steps that are already done, don't overwrite existing config
• Report clearly — show what passed, what failed, and how to fix each failure
• MLflow is optional — the harness works without it. Don't fail setup if MLflow can't be configured.
• Suggest the full pipeline — after setup, the user should know the path: analyze → dataset → run → review

$ARGUMENTS