Summary

After extensive testing with Claude Code, several documentation gaps were found in the plugin skills that cause AI agents to repeatedly fail at common operations.

Issues Found

1. zeabur-variables skill: ${...} references don't work via CLI

The skill suggests using single quotes to set variable references:

--key 'DATABASE_URL=${POSTGRESQL.POSTGRES_CONNECTION_STRING}'

Problem: This doesn't work because Cobra's StringToStringVarP flag parser mangles values containing ${} regardless of shell quoting. The value gets truncated to an empty string.

Suggested documentation update: Add a clear warning that variable references (${SERVICE.VAR}) cannot be set via CLI and must be set via:

• Dashboard UI
• GraphQL API updateEnvironmentVariable(data: Map!) mutation

2. zeabur-template-deploy skill: PREBUILT services lack internal DNS

Services deployed via template deploy (PREBUILT template) don't get registered in Zeabur's internal DNS (*.zeabur.internal). This means:

• Other services can't connect to them by hostname
• ${SERVICE.VARIABLE} references that resolve to internal hostnames won't work

Suggested documentation update: Add a note that for database services requiring internal connectivity, users should deploy via Dashboard Marketplace until the platform fixes DNS registration for template-deployed services.

3. Template YAML schema: spec nesting requirement

The template YAML requires spec.services[].spec.source (double-nested spec), not spec.services[].source. The current documentation doesn't clarify this, leading to validation errors:

validate schema: missing property 'spec'

Suggested fix: Add a complete PostgreSQL template example to the zeabur-template-deploy skill.

Environment

• Plugin version: latest (marketplace)
• Claude Code: latest
• OS: macOS