# Couchbase Transactions

> Design and implement Couchbase distributed ACID transactions across multiple documents. Use whenever the user asks about transactions, multi-document atomicity, ACID, transaction library, TransactionAttemptContext, commit, rollback, transaction retry, Active Transaction Records (ATRs), transaction expiry, transaction lost write, transaction conflict, transaction performance, cb_transaction_run, o…

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-celticht32-couchbase-skills-for-claude-ai-couchbase-transactions`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [celticht32](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/celticht32)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Databases](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/databases)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [celticht32](https://github.com/celticht32)
- **Source:** https://github.com/celticht32/Couchbase-Skills-for-Claude.ai/tree/main/skills/couchbase/couchbase-transactions

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-celticht32-couchbase-skills-for-claude-ai-couchbase-transactions
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Couchbase Distributed Transactions

A skill for *designing and implementing* multi-document ACID transactions in Couchbase. Goes deeper than the overview in `couchbase-app-integration/references/transactions-app-side.md`.

Distinct from:
- `couchbase-app-integration` — general SDK patterns; has a transactions overview but not the depth needed for production transaction design
- `couchbase-mcp` — the `cb_transaction_run` tool for running transactions via the MCP server

## When this skill applies

- "How do I atomically update multiple documents?"
- "How do transactions work under the hood?"
- "My transaction is retrying — why?"
- "How do I handle a transaction conflict?"
- "What happens if the client crashes mid-transaction?"
- "Transactions are slow — how do I tune them?"
- "What are ATRs and why does my bucket have them?"
- "How do I model data to minimize transaction use?"

## Pick the right reference

| Question | Read |
|---|---|
| "When should I use transactions vs single-doc ops vs subdoc?" | `references/when-to-use.md` |
| "How do they work? ATRs, two-phase commit, retry, expiry" | `references/mechanics.md` |
| "Code patterns — Python, Java, Node; error handling; retry logic" | `references/patterns.md` |

## Core principle: try to design around transactions

Transactions in Couchbase are meaningfully slower than equivalent single-document KV operations — they do substantially more work (staging, two-phase commit across documents, Active Transaction Record bookkeeping, and possible retries) — and add retry complexity. Before reaching for a transaction, ask: can this be modeled as a single-document update? Often the answer is yes. See `references/when-to-use.md` for the decision framework.

When you do need transactions, they're correct and reliable — just plan for the cost.

## Quick tool map

| Task | Tool |
|---|---|
| Run a transaction via MCP | `cb_transaction_run` |
| Single-document atomic op (no transaction needed) | `cb_mutate_in` |
| Check for orphaned ATR documents | `cb_query` on `_txn:atr-*` keys |

## Related skills

- `couchbase-app-integration` — SDK setup and the single-document operations that transactions wrap
- `couchbase-data-modeling` — modeling decisions that reduce the need for transactions
- `couchbase-mcp` — `cb_transaction_run` for executing transactions via the MCP server

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [celticht32](https://github.com/celticht32)
- **Source:** [celticht32/Couchbase-Skills-for-Claude.ai](https://github.com/celticht32/Couchbase-Skills-for-Claude.ai)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-celticht32-couchbase-skills-for-claude-ai-couchbase-transactions
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/celticht32
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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