google-cloud-waf-sustainability Skill for Claude: Greener Google Cloud Design and How to Install It

Makes Claude review a Google Cloud design for carbon and energy waste, using the Sustainability pillar of Google's Well-Architected Framework.

Installs: 9.8K; on skills.sh
Stars: 21.8K; on GitHub
Files: 1; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Nov 2026; last repo commit

google-cloud-waf-sustainability gives Claude the nine principles of the Sustainability pillar, a list of Google Cloud products that relate to it, a bank of assessment questions and a validation checklist. It covers low-carbon regions, AI and ML energy use, idle resources, efficient software, storage lifecycles and measuring emissions with Carbon Footprint.

It loads when you ask to assess, design or optimize a Google Cloud workload for sustainability. Its description tells Claude not to use it for cost, performance or reliability, and names the sibling Well-Architected skills for those. SKILL.md also asks Claude to read a usage attribution file before it runs any gcloud, REST or MCP command.

Good for

Cloud architects reviewing a Google Cloud design for its carbon footprint
Platform and FinOps teams adding carbon to their cost reviews
Developers picking regions or cutting idle resources on Google Cloud

Install google-cloud-waf-sustainability

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the google-cloud-waf-sustainability skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add https://github.com/google/skills --skill google-cloud-waf-sustainability

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js.

From its listing on skills.sh. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Provides recommendations for environmental sustainability, carbon footprint reduction, and energy efficiency based on the Sustainability pillar of the Google Cloud Well-Architected Framework (WAF). Use when the user asks to assess, design, or optimize Google Cloud workloads for sustainability—including the shared responsibility model, selecting low-carbon regions (CFE%), reducing resource and AI/ML energy waste, designing efficient software and storage lifecycles, or measuring and tracking emissions using Google Cloud Carbon Footprint. Don't use for financial cost reduction (use google-cloud-waf-cost-optimization), latency and throughput tuning (use google-cloud-waf-performance-optimization), or high availability and disaster recovery (use google-cloud-waf-reliability).

Sections in SKILL.md

Attribution
Overview
Core principles
Relevant Google Cloud products
Workload assessment questions
Validation checklist

Key facts

Author: Google, in its own google/skills repo (the repo describes itself as official skills)
License: Apache-2.0 (repo license file)
Version: 1.0.2 in SKILL.md
Installs on skills.sh: 9,793 (Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars: 21,764 for the whole repo (Nov 2, 2026)
Last commit: Nov 1, 2026
Files: 2 files: SKILL.md and references/attribution.md; no scripts
Needs: Nothing to install beyond the skill; gcloud only if Claude runs Google Cloud commands for you
skills.sh audits: Gen Agent Trust Hub: pass; Socket: pass; Snyk: pass (Nov 2, 2026)

What it includes

Nine principles, each tied to a Google Cloud Well-Architected page
Shared responsibility, low-carbon regions, AI and ML workloads, resource usage, efficient software, data and storage, measuring, culture and industry guidelines.
Core principles
Examples such as Carbon Footprint, BigQuery, Region Picker, Spot VMs and Cloud TPUs
Grouped under visibility and measurement, infrastructure and operations, and data and AI.
Relevant Google Cloud products
Questions Claude picks from to learn about your workload and your organization
Claude chooses the ones that fit, so a short chat comes before any recommendation.
Workload assessment questions
Checkbox list for judging how well a design follows the pillar
Each item pairs two ways to meet it, joined by "or", such as Object Lifecycle Management or Dataplex for cold data.
Validation checklist
Tags the gcloud and HTTP commands Claude runs with the skill name and version
Claude sets an environment variable on each gcloud call and adds a User-Agent suffix to direct API calls. The file says the tag carries no user data and leaves it out of generated code.
Network · Usage attribution
Ask Claude to drop the tag and it removes it from all commands
The attribution file says to omit the variable and the User-Agent suffix when you ask to disable tracking.
Opt out of tagging

From the official docs

Permissions

Low risk

The skill is advice and bundles no scripts. If Claude runs gcloud or API calls for you, they carry a usage tag unless you ask it to drop the tag.

What it can do

Read your data?
Create and change things?
Delete things?
Read-only mode

Watch out for

Commands it runs are tagged for Google
Before any gcloud, REST or MCP command, SKILL.md has Claude follow the attribution file. That adds a skill name and version tag to gcloud and API calls. Ask Claude to leave the tag out if you do not want it. github.com

Technical details

Turning on read-only	The skill has no modes. It contains guidance and bundles no scripts.
Sign-in and keys	SKILL.md names no key or token. Any gcloud commands use whatever Google Cloud sign-in you already have.
Scopes	gcloud and Google Cloud API calls only if you ask Claude to run them

Questions

What does google-cloud-waf-sustainability do?

It makes Claude assess or design a Google Cloud workload for lower carbon and energy use. It draws on nine principles from the Sustainability pillar of the Well-Architected Framework.

Is it made by Google?

It sits in Google's own google/skills repo, which describes itself as a repository of official skills. The skill's text cites Google Cloud's Well-Architected Framework pages as its grounding documents.

How do I install google-cloud-waf-sustainability?

Use the install box above. The repo README also shows npx skills add google/skills, which asks which skills to install. The repo's Claude Code plugins are for Google products and do not list this skill.

Does it need Google Cloud access or an API key?

SKILL.md names no key. It can answer from its own guidance. If you ask Claude to inspect a project, it would run gcloud with your existing sign-in.

What is the usage tag it adds to commands?

The attribution file has Claude set CLOUDSDK_METRICS_REQUEST_ATTRIBUTION on each gcloud command and add a User-Agent suffix to direct API calls. It says the tag identifies only the skill and its version. Tell Claude to disable it and it leaves it out.

Does it work in the Claude app or Codex?

The skill is plain Markdown with one reference file, so you can upload its folder as a ZIP in Claude, as the install box shows. The skills CLI asks which agents to configure when you install.

Should I use it for cost or reliability reviews?

No. SKILL.md says to use google-cloud-waf-cost-optimization for cost, google-cloud-waf-performance-optimization for latency and throughput, and google-cloud-waf-reliability for availability and disaster recovery.

Is google-cloud-waf-sustainability safe?

The skill is a text guide with a reference file and no scripts. Commands Claude runs under it are tagged with the skill name. Review any gcloud command Claude proposes before you approve it, as you would for any Google Cloud change.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: google/skills
Folder: skills/cloud/google-cloud-waf-sustainability

google/skills skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 5

google-cloud-waf-sustainability SKILL.md · github.com
attribution.md · github.com
skills.sh listing · skills.sh
google/skills repo · github.com
google/skills README · github.com