---

name: configure-rails description: "Create and validate NVIDIA NeMo Guardrails configs: config.yml, Colang flows, prompts, guardrail catalog rails, custom actions, providers, caching, knowledge base, and config migration." disable-model-invocation: true metadata: disco-role: operating license: NOASSERTION

configure-rails

Use this sub-skill when the task is about authoring or validating a guardrails configuration, not running chat, server, evaluation, or source-checkout work.

Route here

• Create or repair config.yml, prompts.yml, rails.co/main.co, config.py, actions.py, kb/, import_paths, caching, or knowledge-base settings.
• Choose Colang 1.0 vs 2.x and load configs with RailsConfig.from_path() or RailsConfig.from_content().
• Add built-in rails from the guardrail catalog or map a third-party rail to the right models/rails entries.
• Register custom actions, action parameters, providers, embedding providers, or embedding search providers.
• Migrate older Colang/config layouts with nemoguardrails convert.

Route away

• Chat/server/runtime usage, streaming, RunnableRails, or /v1/* calls: ../run-rails/SKILL.md.
• Evaluation, tracing, observability, or telemetry: ../evaluate-and-observe/SKILL.md.
• Source checkout changes, PR policy, maintainer validation, or docs generation: ../repo-development/SKILL.md.
• Install/import discovery only: ../setup-and-basics/SKILL.md.

Operating workflow

1. Start with references/configuration-and-colang.md to choose the right folder layout, loader, and Colang version.
2. Use references/guardrail-catalog.md to map the desired rail family to the required flow names, prompt tasks, model types, and optional dependencies.
3. Use references/custom-actions-and-providers.md for actions.py, config.py, provider registration, and embedding provider registration.
4. Use references/troubleshooting.md whenever config loading fails or a validation rule is expected to fire.
5. Validate with scripts/validate_config.py; pass --instantiate only when you want to confirm that LLMRails can be constructed without generating a response.

Safe helper

python sub-skills/configure-rails/scripts/validate_config.py --config path/to/config
python sub-skills/configure-rails/scripts/validate_config.py --config path/to/config --instantiate

The helper loads the config, prints a concise summary, and never calls generation, chat, or server methods.