icinga2/doc/12-icinga2-api.md

Icinga 2 API

Setting up the API

You can run the CLI command icinga2 api setup to enable the api feature and set up certificates as well as a new API user root with an auto-generated password in the /etc/icinga2/conf.d/api-users.conf configuration file:

# icinga2 api setup

Make sure to restart Icinga 2 to enable the changes you just made:

# systemctl restart icinga2

If you prefer to set up the API manually, you will have to perform the following steps:

• Set up X.509 TLS certificates for Icinga 2
• Enable the api feature (icinga2 feature enable api)
• Create an ApiUser object for authentication

The next chapter provides a quick overview of how you can use the API.

Introduction

The Icinga 2 API allows you to manage configuration objects and resources in a simple, programmatic way using HTTP requests.

The URL endpoints are logically separated allowing you to easily make calls to

• query, create, modify and delete config objects
• perform actions (reschedule checks, etc.)
• subscribe to event streams
• manage configuration packages
• evaluate script expressions

Requests

Any tool capable of making HTTP requests can communicate with the API, for example curl.

Requests are only allowed to use the HTTPS protocol so that traffic remains encrypted.

By default the Icinga 2 API listens on port 5665 which is shared with the cluster stack. The port can be changed by setting the bind_port attribute for the ApiListener object in the /etc/icinga2/features-available/api.conf configuration file.

Supported request methods:

Method	Usage
GET	Retrieve information about configuration objects. Any request using the GET method is read-only and does not affect any objects.
POST	Update attributes of a specified configuration object.
PUT	Create a new object. The PUT request must include all attributes required to create a new object.
DELETE	Remove an object created by the API. The DELETE method is idempotent and does not require any check if the object actually exists.

All requests except GET require the following Accept header:

Accept: application/json

Each URL is prefixed with the API version (currently "/v1").

HTTP header size is limited to 8KB per request.

Responses

Successful requests will send back a response body containing a results list. Depending on the number of affected objects in your request, the results list may contain more than one entry.

The output will be sent back as a JSON object:

{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Object was created."
        }
    ]
}

Tip

You can use the pretty parameter to beautify the JSON response.

You can also use jq or python -m json.tool in combination with curl on the CLI.

curl ... | jq 
curl ... | python -m json.tool

jq also has additional filter capabilities, as shown in this blogpost.

curl ... |jq '{name: .results[].name}'

For programmatic examples in various languages, check the chapter below.

Note

Future versions of Icinga 2 might set additional fields. Your application should gracefully handle fields it is not familiar with, for example by ignoring them.

HTTP Statuses

The API will return standard HTTP statuses including error codes.

When an error occurs, the response body will contain additional information about the problem and its source. Set verbose to true to retrieve more insights into what may be causing the error.

A status code between 200 and 299 generally means that the request was successful.

Return codes within the 400 range indicate that there was a problem with the request. Either you did not authenticate correctly, you are missing the authorization for your requested action, the requested object does not exist or the request was malformed.

A status in the range of 500 generally means that there was a server-side problem and Icinga 2 is unable to process your request.

Authentication

There are two different ways for authenticating against the Icinga 2 API:

• Username and password using HTTP basic auth
• X.509 client certificate

In order to configure a new API user you'll need to add a new ApiUser configuration object. In this example root will be the basic auth username and the password attribute contains the basic auth password.

# vim /etc/icinga2/conf.d/api-users.conf

object ApiUser "root" {
  password = "icinga"
}

Alternatively you can use X.509 client certificates by specifying the client_cn the API should trust. The X.509 certificate has to be signed by the CA certificate that is configured in the ApiListener object.

# vim /etc/icinga2/conf.d/api-users.conf

object ApiUser "root" {
  client_cn = "CertificateCommonName"
}

An ApiUser object can have both authentication methods configured.

Authentication Test

You can test authentication by sending a GET request to the API:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1'

In case you get an error message make sure to check the API user credentials.

When using client certificates for authentication you'll need to pass your client certificate and private key to the curl call:

$ curl -k --cert example.localdomain.crt --key example.localdomain.key 'https://example.localdomain:5665/v1/status'

In case of an error make sure to verify the client certificate and CA.

The curl parameter -k disables certificate verification and should therefore only be used for testing. In order to securely check each connection you'll need to specify the trusted CA certificate using the curl parameter--cacert:

$ curl -u root:icinga --cacert ca.crt 'icinga2.node1.localdomain:5665/v1'

Read the next chapter on API permissions in order to configure authorization settings for your newly created API user.

Permissions

By default an API user does not have any permissions to perform actions on the URL endpoints.

Permissions for API users must be specified in the permissions attribute as array. The array items can be a list of permission strings with wildcard matches. Please notice, that the permission system that is used by the API differs from the permission system used by the Icinga Web 2 frontend or other parts of Icinga 2.

The permission system mainly relies on the url scheme of the API endpoints (See listing below).

Example for an API user with all permissions:

permissions = [ "*" ]

Note that you can use wildcards to include all possible hierarchically lower items. Here's another example that only allows the user to perform read-only object queries for hosts and services:

permissions = [ "objects/query/Host", "objects/query/Service" ]

You can also further restrict permissions by specifying a filter expression. The filter expression has to be a lambda function which must return a boolean value.

The following example allows the API user to query all hosts and services which have a custom attribute os that matches the regular expression ^Linux. The regex function is available as global function.

permissions = [
  {
    permission = "objects/query/Host"
    filter = {{ regex("^Linux", host.vars.os) }}
  },
  {
    permission = "objects/query/Service"
    filter = {{ regex("^Linux", service.vars.os) }}
  }
]

More information about filters can be found in the filters chapter.

Prior to setting complex permissions, ensure to always test them step by step.

Overview

Permissions are tied to a maximum HTTP request size to prevent abuse, responses sent by Icinga are not limited. An API user with all permissions ("*") may send up to 512 MB regardless of the endpoint.

Available permissions for specific URL endpoints:

Permissions	URL Endpoint	Supports filters	Max body size in MB
actions/<action>	/v1/actions	Yes	1
config/query	/v1/config	No	1
config/modify	/v1/config	No	512
console	/v1/console	No	1
events/<type>	/v1/events	No	1
objects/query/<type>	/v1/objects	Yes	1
objects/create/<type>	/v1/objects	No	1
objects/modify/<type>	/v1/objects	Yes	1
objects/delete/<type>	/v1/objects	Yes	1
status/query	/v1/status	Yes	1
templates/<type>	/v1/templates	Yes	1
types	/v1/types	Yes	1
variables	/v1/variables	Yes	1

The required actions or types can be replaced by using a wildcard match ("*").

Parameters

Depending on the request method there are two ways of passing parameters to the request:

• JSON object as request body (all request methods other than GET)
• Query string as URL parameter (all request methods)

Reserved characters by the HTTP protocol must be URL-encoded as query string, e.g. a space character becomes %20.

Example for a URL-encoded query string:

/v1/objects/hosts?filter=match(%22example.localdomain*%22,host.name)&attrs=name&attrs=state

Here are the exact same query parameters as a JSON object:

{ "filter": "match(\"example.localdomain*\",host.name)", "attrs": [ "host.name", "host.state" ] }

The match function is available as global function in Icinga 2.

Whenever filters and other URL parameters don't work due to encoding issues, consider passing them in the request body. For GET requests, this method is explained here.

Global Parameters

Name	Description
pretty	Pretty-print the JSON response.
verbose	Add verbose debug information inside the diagnostic_information key into the response if available. This helps with troubleshooting failing requests.

Example as URL parameter:

/v1/objects/hosts?pretty=1

Example as JSON object:

{ "pretty": true }

Request Method Override

GET requests do not allow you to send a request body. In case you cannot pass everything as URL parameters (e.g. complex filters or JSON-encoded dictionaries) you can use the X-HTTP-Method-Override header. This comes in handy when you are using HTTP proxies disallowing PUT or DELETE requests too.

Query an existing object by sending a POST request with X-HTTP-Method-Override: GET as request header:

$ curl -k -s -u 'root:icinga' -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -H 'X-HTTP-Method-Override: GET' -X POST \
 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/hosts'

Delete an existing object by sending a POST request with X-HTTP-Method-Override: DELETE as request header:

$ curl -k -s -u 'root:icinga' -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -H 'X-HTTP-Method-Override: DELETE' -X POST \
 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/hosts/example.localdomain'

Query objects with complex filters. For a detailed introduction into filter, please read the following chapter.

curl -k -s -u 'root:icinga' -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -H 'X-HTTP-Method-Override: GET' -X POST \
 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/services' \
 -d '{ "filter": "service.state==2 && match(\"ping*\",service.name)" }'

Filters

Simple Filters

By default actions and queries operate on all objects unless further restricted by the user. For example, the following query returns all Host objects:

https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/hosts

If you're only interested in a single object, you can limit the output to that object by specifying its name:

https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/hosts?host=localhost

The name of the URL parameter is the lower-case version of the type the query applies to. For example, for Host objects the URL parameter therefore is host, for Service objects it is service and so on.

You can also specify multiple objects:

https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/hosts?hosts=first-host&hosts=second-host

Again -- like in the previous example -- the name of the URL parameter is the lower-case version of the type. However, because we're specifying multiple objects here the plural form of the type is used.

When specifying names for objects which have composite names like for example services the full name has to be used:

https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/services?service=localhost!ping6

The full name of an object can be obtained by looking at the __name attribute.

Advanced Filters

Most of the information provided in this chapter applies to both permission filters (as used when configuring ApiUser objects) and filters specified in queries.

Advanced filters allow users to filter objects using lambda expressions. The syntax for these filters is the same like for apply rule expressions.

The filter parameter can only be specified once, complex filters must be defined once in the provided string value.

Note

Filters used as URL parameter must be URL-encoded. The following examples are not URL-encoded for better readability.

Example matching all services in NOT-OK state:

https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/services?filter=service.state!=ServiceOK

Example matching all hosts by a name string pattern:

https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/hosts?filter=match("example.localdomain*",host.name)

Example for all hosts which are in the host group linux-servers:

https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/hosts?filter="linux-servers" in host.groups

Tip

Best practice for filters is to use X-HTTP-Method-Override for GET requests and always pass them in the request body.

User-specified filters are run in a sandbox environment which ensures that filters cannot modify Icinga's state, for example object attributes or global variables.

When querying objects of a specific type the filter expression is evaluated for each object of that type. The object is made available to the filter expression as a variable whose name is the lower-case version of the object's type name.

For example when querying objects of type Host the variable in the filter expression is named host. Additionally related objects such as the host's check command are also made available (e.g., via the check_command variable). The variable names are the exact same as for the joins query parameter; see object query joins for details.

The object is also made available via the obj variable. This makes it easier to build filters which can be used for more than one object type (e.g., for permissions).

Some queries can be performed for more than just one object type. One example is the 'reschedule-check' action which can be used for both hosts and services. When using advanced filters you will also have to specify the type using the type parameter:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' -X POST \
 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/reschedule-check' \
 -d '{ "type": "Service", "filter": "service.name==\"ping6\"", "pretty": true }'

Filter Variables

Filter values need to be escaped in the same way as in the Icinga 2 DSL.

The example below is not valid:

-d '{ "type": "Host", "filter": ""linux-servers" in host.groups" }'

The double quotes need to be escaped with a preceeding backslash:

-d '{ "type": "Host", "filter": "\"linux-servers\" in host.groups" }'

You can use the filter_vars attribute to avoid additional escaping. This follows the same principle as with parameter binding known from RDBMS. Specify a placeholder variable inside the filter string, and actually assign its value inside the filter_vars dictionary.

That way you can also keep the filter string the same for different requests with only changing the filter_vars.

$ curl -k -s -u 'root:icinga' -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -H 'X-HTTP-Method-Override: GET' -X POST \
 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/hosts' \
 -d '{ "filter": "group in host.groups", "filter_vars": { "group": "linux-servers" }, "pretty": true }'

We're using X-HTTP-Method-Override here because the HTTP specification does not allow message bodies for GET requests.

The filters_vars attribute can only be used inside the request body, but not as a URL parameter because there is no way to specify a dictionary in a URL.

The example from X-HTTP-Method-Override can be enhanced to avoid additional parameter value escaping.

curl -k -s -u 'root:icinga' -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -H 'X-HTTP-Method-Override: GET' -X POST \
 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/services' \
 -d '{ "filter": "service.state==state && match(pattern,service.name)", "filter_vars": { "state": 2, "pattern": "ping*" } }'

Config Objects

Provides methods to manage configuration objects:

• creating objects
• querying objects
• modifying objects
• deleting objects

API Objects and Cluster Config Sync

Newly created or updated objects can be synced throughout your Icinga 2 cluster. Set the zone attribute to the zone this object belongs to and let the API and cluster handle the rest.

Objects without a zone attribute are only synced in the same zone the Icinga instance belongs to.

Note

Cluster nodes must accept configuration for creating, modifying and deleting objects. Ensure that accept_config is set to true in the ApiListener object on each node.

If you add a new cluster instance, or reconnect an instance which has been offline for a while, Icinga 2 takes care of the initial object sync for all objects created by the API.

Querying Objects

You can request information about configuration objects by sending a GET query to the /v1/objects/<type> URL endpoint. <type has to be replaced with the plural name of the object type you are interested in:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/hosts'

A list of all available configuration types is available in the object types chapter.

The following URL parameters are available:

Parameters	Type	Description
attrs	Array	Optional. Limited attribute list in the output.
joins	Array	Optional. Join related object types and their attributes specified as list (?joins=host for the entire set, or selectively by ?joins=host.name).
meta	Array	Optional. Enable meta information using ?meta=used_by (references from other objects) and/or ?meta=location (location information) specified as list. Defaults to disabled.

In addition to these parameters a filter may be provided.

Instead of using a filter you can optionally specify the object name in the URL path when querying a single object. For objects with composite names (e.g. services) the full name (e.g. example.localdomain!http) must be specified:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/services/example.localdomain!http'

You can limit the output to specific attributes using the attrs URL parameter:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/hosts/example.localdomain?attrs=name&attrs=address&pretty=1'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "attrs": {
                "name": "example.localdomain"
                "address": "192.168.1.1"
            },
            "joins": {},
            "meta": {},
            "name": "example.localdomain",
            "type": "Host"
        }
    ]
}

Object Queries Result

Each response entry in the results array contains the following attributes:

Attribute	Type	Description
name	String	Full object name.
type	String	Object type.
attrs	Dictionary	Object attributes (can be filtered using the URL parameter attrs).
joins	Dictionary	Joined object types as key, attributes as nested dictionary. Disabled by default.
meta	Dictionary	Contains used_by object references. Disabled by default, enable it using ?meta=used_by as URL parameter.

Object Query Joins

Icinga 2 knows about object relations. For example it can optionally return information about the host when querying service objects.

The following query retrieves all host attributes:

https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/services?joins=host

Instead of requesting all host attributes you can also limit the output to specific attributes:

https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/services?joins=host.name&joins=host.address

You can request that all available joins are returned in the result set by using the all_joins query parameter.

https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/services?all_joins=1

Note

For performance reasons you should only request attributes which your application requires.

The following joins are available:

Object Type	Object Relations (joins prefix name)
Service	host, check_command, check_period, event_command, command_endpoint
Host	check_command, check_period, event_command, command_endpoint
Notification	host, service, command, period
Dependency	child_host, child_service, parent_host, parent_service, period
User	period
Zones	parent

Here's an example that retrieves all service objects for hosts which have had their os custom attribute set to Linux. The result set contains the display_name and check_command attributes for the service. The query also returns the host's name and address attribute via a join:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/services?attrs=display_name&attrs=check_command&joins=host.name&joins=host.address&filter=host.vars.os==%22Linux%22&pretty=1'

{
    "results": [
        {
            "attrs": {
                "check_command": "ping4",
                "display_name": "ping4"
            },
            "joins": {
                "host": {
                    "address": "192.168.1.1",
                    "name": "example.localdomain"
                }
            },
            "meta": {},
            "name": "example.localdomain!ping4",
            "type": "Service"
        },
        {
            "attrs": {
                "check_command": "ssh",
                "display_name": "ssh"
            },
            "joins": {
                "host": {
                    "address": "192.168.1.1",
                    "name": "example.localdomain"
                }
            },
            "meta": {},
            "name": "example.localdomain!ssh",
            "type": "Service"
        }
    ]
}

Tip

Use X-HTTP-Method-Override and pass everything in the request body like this:

$ curl -k -s -u 'root:icinga' -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -H 'X-HTTP-Method-Override: GET' -X POST \
 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/services' \
 -d '{ "attrs": [ "display_name", "check_command" ], "joins": [ "host.name", "host.address" ], "filter": "host.vars.os==\"Linux\"", "pretty": true }'

In case you want to fetch all comments for hosts and services, you can use the following query URL (similar example for downtimes):

https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/comments?joins=host&joins=service

This is another example for listing all service objects which are unhandled problems (state is not OK and no downtime or acknowledgement set). We're using X-HTTP-Method-Override here because we want to pass all query attributes in the request body.

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -H 'X-HTTP-Method-Override: GET' -X POST \
 'https://127.0.0.1:5665/v1/objects/services' \
-d '{ "joins": [ "host.name", "host.address" ], "attrs": [ "name", "state", "downtime_depth", "acknowledgement" ], "filter": "service.state != ServiceOK && service.downtime_depth == 0.0 && service.acknowledgement == 0.0", "pretty": true }'

{
    "results": [
        {
            "attrs": {
                "acknowledgement": 0.0,
                "downtime_depth": 0.0,
                "name": "10807-service",
                "state": 3.0
            },
            "joins": {
                "host": {
                    "address": "",
                    "name": "10807-host"
                }
            },
            "meta": {},
            "name": "10807-host!10807-service",
            "type": "Service"
        }
    ]
}

In order to list all acknowledgements without expire time, you query the /v1/objects/comments URL endpoint with joins and filter request parameters using the X-HTTP-Method-Override method:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -H 'X-HTTP-Method-Override: GET' -X POST \
 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/comments' \
 -d '{ "joins": [ "service.name", "service.acknowledgement", "service.acknowledgement_expiry" ], "attrs": [ "author", "text" ], "filter": "service.acknowledgement!=0 && service.acknowledgement_expiry==0", "pretty": true }'

{
    "results": [
        {
            "attrs": {
                "author": "icingaadmin",
                "text": "maintenance work"
            },
            "joins": {
                "service": {
                    "__name": "example.localdomain!disk /",
                    "acknowledgement": 1.0,
                    "acknowledgement_expiry": 0.0
                }
            },
            "meta": {},
            "name": "example.localdomain!disk /!example.localdomain-1495457222-0",
            "type": "Comment"
        }
    ]
}

Creating Config Objects

New objects must be created by sending a PUT request. The following parameters need to be passed inside the JSON body:

Parameters	Type	Description
templates	Array	Optional. Import existing configuration templates for this object type. Note: These templates must either be statically configured or provided in config packages-
attrs	Dictionary	Required. Set specific object attributes for this object type.
ignore_on_error	Boolean	Optional. Ignore object creation errors and return an HTTP 200 status instead.

The object name must be specified as part of the URL path. For objects with composite names (e.g. services) the full name (e.g. example.localdomain!http) must be specified.

If attributes are of the Dictionary type, you can also use the indexer format. This might be necessary to only override specific custom variables and keep all other existing custom variables (e.g. from templates):

"attrs": { "vars.os": "Linux" }

Example for creating the new host object example.localdomain:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X PUT 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/hosts/example.localdomain' \
 -d '{ "templates": [ "generic-host" ], "attrs": { "address": "192.168.1.1", "check_command": "hostalive", "vars.os" : "Linux" }, "pretty": true }'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Object was created."
        }
    ]
}

If the configuration validation fails, the new object will not be created and the response body contains a detailed error message. The following example is missing the check_command attribute which is required for host objects:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X PUT 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/hosts/example.localdomain' \
 -d '{ "attrs": { "address": "192.168.1.1", "vars.os" : "Linux" }, "pretty": true }'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 500.0,
            "errors": [
                "Error: Validation failed for object 'example.localdomain' of type 'Host'; Attribute 'check_command': Attribute must not be empty."
            ],
            "status": "Object could not be created."
        }
    ]
}

Service objects must be created using their full name ("hostname!servicename") referencing an existing host object:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X PUT 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/services/example.localdomain!realtime-load' \
 -d '{ "templates": [ "generic-service" ], "attrs": { "check_command": "load", "check_interval": 1,"retry_interval": 1 } }'

Example for a new CheckCommand object:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X PUT 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/checkcommands/mytest' \
 -d '{ "templates": [ "plugin-check-command" ], "attrs": { "command": [ "/usr/local/sbin/check_http" ], "arguments": { "-I": "$mytest_iparam$" } } }'

Modifying Objects

Existing objects must be modified by sending a POST request. The following parameters need to be passed inside the JSON body:

Parameters	Type	Description
attrs	Dictionary	Required. Set specific object attributes for this object type.

In addition to these parameters a filter parameter should be provided.

Note:

Modified attributes do not trigger a re-evaluation of existing static apply rules and group assignments. Delete and re-create the objects if you require such changes or consider funding this feature request.

Furthermore you cannot modify templates which have already been resolved during object creation. There are attributes which can only be set for PUT requests such as groups or zone. A complete list of no_user_modify attributes can be fetched from the types URL endpoint.

If attributes are of the Dictionary type, you can also use the indexer format:

"attrs": { "vars.os": "Linux" }

The following example updates the address attribute and the custom attribute os for the example.localdomain host:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/hosts/example.localdomain' \
 -d '{ "attrs": { "address": "192.168.1.2", "vars.os" : "Windows" }, "pretty": true }'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "name": "example.localdomain",
            "status": "Attributes updated.",
            "type": "Host"
        }
    ]
}

Deleting Objects

You can delete objects created using the API by sending a DELETE request.

Parameters	Type	Description
cascade	Boolean	Optional. Delete objects depending on the deleted objects (e.g. services on a host).

In addition to these parameters a filter should be provided.

Example for deleting the host object example.localdomain:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X DELETE 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/hosts/example.localdomain?cascade=1&pretty=1'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "name": "example.localdomain",
            "status": "Object was deleted.",
            "type": "Host"
        }
    ]
}

Config Templates

Provides methods to manage configuration templates:

• querying templates

Creation, modification and deletion of templates at runtime is not supported.

Querying Templates

You can request information about configuration templates by sending a GET query to the /v1/templates/<type> URL endpoint. <type has to be replaced with the plural name of the object type you are interested in:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/templates/hosts'

A list of all available configuration types is available in the object types chapter.

A filter may be provided for this query type. The template object can be accessed in the filter using the tmpl variable. In this example the match function is used to check a wildcard string pattern against tmpl.name. The filter attribute is passed inside the request body thus requiring to use X-HTTP-Method-Override here.

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -H 'X-HTTP-Method-Override: GET' -X POST \
 'https://localhost:5661/v1/templates/hosts' \
 -d '{ "filter": "match(\"g*\", tmpl.name)" }'

Instead of using a filter you can optionally specify the template name in the URL path when querying a single object:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/templates/hosts/generic-host'

The result set contains the type, name as well as the location of the template.

Variables

Provides methods to manage global variables:

• querying variables

Querying Variables

You can request information about global variables by sending a GET query to the /v1/variables/ URL endpoint:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/variables'

A filter may be provided for this query type. The variable information object can be accessed in the filter using the variable variable. The filter attribute is passed inside the request body thus requiring to use X-HTTP-Method-Override here.

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -H 'X-HTTP-Method-Override: GET' -X POST \
 'https://localhost:5661/v1/variables' \
 -d '{ "filter": "variable.type in [ \"String\", \"Number\" ]" }'

Instead of using a filter you can optionally specify the variable name in the URL path when querying a single variable:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/variables/PrefixDir'

The result set contains the type, name and value of the global variable.

Actions

There are several actions available for Icinga 2 provided by the /v1/actions URL endpoint. You can run actions by sending a POST request.

The following actions are also used by Icinga Web 2:

• sending check results to Icinga from scripts, remote agents, etc.
• scheduling downtimes from external scripts or cronjobs
• acknowledging problems
• adding comments

All actions return a 200 OK or an appropriate error code for each action performed on each object matching the supplied filter.

Actions which affect the Icinga Application itself such as disabling notification on a program-wide basis must be applied by updating the IcingaApplication object called app.

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/icingaapplications/app' \
 -d '{ "attrs": { "enable_notifications": false } }'

process-check-result

Process a check result for a host or a service.

Send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/actions/process-check-result.

Parameter	Type	Description
exit_status	Number	Required. For services: 0=OK, 1=WARNING, 2=CRITICAL, 3=UNKNOWN, for hosts: 0=OK, 1=CRITICAL.
plugin_output	String	Required. One or more lines of the plugin main output. Does not contain the performance data.
performance_data	Array|String	Optional. The performance data as array of strings. The raw performance data string can be used too.
check_command	Array|String	Optional. The first entry should be the check commands path, then one entry for each command line option followed by an entry for each of its argument. Alternativly a single string can be used.
check_source	String	Optional. Usually the name of the command_endpoint
execution_start	Timestamp	Optional. The timestamp where a script/process started its execution.
execution_end	Timestamp	Optional. The timestamp where a script/process ended its execution. This timestamp is used in features to determine e.g. the metric timestamp.
ttl	Number	Optional. Time-to-live duration in seconds for this check result. The next expected check result is now + ttl where freshness checks are executed.

In addition to these parameters a filter must be provided. The valid types for this action are Host and Service.

Example for the service passive-ping:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/process-check-result' \
-d '{ "type": "Service", "filter": "host.name==\"icinga2-master1.localdomain\" && service.name==\"passive-ping\"", "exit_status": 2, "plugin_output": "PING CRITICAL - Packet loss = 100%", "performance_data": [ "rta=5000.000000ms;3000.000000;5000.000000;0.000000", "pl=100%;80;100;0" ], "check_source": "example.localdomain", "pretty": true }'

{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully processed check result for object 'icinga2-master1.localdomain!passive-ping'."
        }
    ]
}

You can avoid URL encoding of white spaces in object names by using the filter attribute in the request body.

Example for using the Host type and filter by the host name:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/process-check-result' \
 -d '{ "filter": "host.name==\"example.localdomain\"", "type": "Host", "exit_status": 1, "plugin_output": "Host is not available." }'

Note

Multi-line plugin output requires the following format: The first line is treated as short plugin output corresponding to the first line of the plugin output. Subsequent lines are treated as long plugin output. Please note that the performance data is separated from the plugin output and has to be passed as performance_data attribute.

reschedule-check

Reschedule a check for hosts and services. The check can be forced if required.

Send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/actions/reschedule-check.

Parameter	Type	Description
next_check	Timestamp	Optional. The next check will be run at this time. If omitted, the current time is used.
force	Boolean	Optional. Defaults to false. If enabled, the checks are executed regardless of time period restrictions and checks being disabled per object or on a global basis.

In addition to these parameters a filter must be provided. The valid types for this action are Host and Service.

The example reschedules all services with the name "ping6" to immediately perform a check (next_check default), ignoring any time periods or whether active checks are allowed for the service (force=true).

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/reschedule-check' \
 -d '{ "type": "Service", "filter": "service.name==\"ping6\"", "force": true, "pretty": true }'

{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully rescheduled check for object 'icinga2-master1.localdomain!ping6'."
        }
    ]
}

send-custom-notification

Send a custom notification for hosts and services. This notification type can be forced being sent to all users.

Send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/actions/send-custom-notification.

Parameter	Type	Description
author	String	Required. Name of the author, may be empty.
comment	String	Required. Comment text, may be empty.
force	Boolean	Optional. Default: false. If true, the notification is sent regardless of downtimes or whether notifications are enabled or not.

In addition to these parameters a filter must be provided. The valid types for this action are Host and Service.

Example for a custom host notification announcing a global maintenance to host owners:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/send-custom-notification' \
 -d '{ "type": "Host", "author": "icingaadmin", "comment": "System is going down for maintenance", "force": true, "pretty": true }'

{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully sent custom notification for object 'host0'."
        },
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully sent custom notification for object 'host1'."
        }
}

delay-notification

Delay notifications for a host or a service. Note that this will only have an effect if the service stays in the same problem state that it is currently in. If the service changes to another state, a new notification may go out before the time you specify in the timestamp argument.

Send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/actions/delay-notification.

Parameter	Type	Description
timestamp	Timestamp	Required. Delay notifications until this timestamp.

In addition to these parameters a filter must be provided. The valid types for this action are Host and Service.

Example:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/delay-notification' \
 -d '{ "type": "Service", "timestamp": 1446389894, "pretty": true }'

{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully delayed notifications for object 'host0!service0'."
        },
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully delayed notifications for object 'host1!service1'."
        }
}

acknowledge-problem

Allows you to acknowledge the current problem for hosts or services. By acknowledging the current problem, future notifications (for the same state if sticky is set to false) are disabled.

Send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/actions/acknowledge-problem.

Parameter	Type	Description
author	String	Required. Name of the author, may be empty.
comment	String	Required. Comment text, may be empty.
expiry	Timestamp	Optional. Whether the acknowledgement will be removed at the timestamp.
sticky	Boolean	Optional. Whether the acknowledgement will be set until the service or host fully recovers. Defaults to false.
notify	Boolean	Optional. Whether a notification of the Acknowledgement type will be sent. Defaults to false.
persistent	Boolean	Optional. When the comment is of type Acknowledgement and this is set to true, the comment will remain after the acknowledgement recovers or expires. Defaults to false.

In addition to these parameters a filter must be provided. The valid types for this action are Host and Service.

The following example acknowledges all services which are in a hard critical state and sends out a notification for them:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/acknowledge-problem' \
 -d '{ "type": "Service", "filter": "service.state==2&service.state_type=1", "author": "icingaadmin", "comment": "Global outage. Working on it.", "notify": true, "pretty": true }'

{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully acknowledged problem for object 'icinga2-satellite1.localdomain!ping4'."
        },
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully acknowledged problem for object 'icinga2-satellite2.localdomain!ping4'."
        }
}

remove-acknowledgement

Removes the acknowledgements for services or hosts. Once the acknowledgement has been removed the next notification will be sent again.

Send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/actions/remove-acknowledgement.

A filter must be provided. The valid types for this action are Host and Service.

The example removes all service acknowledgements:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/remove-acknowledgement' \
 -d '{ "type": "Service", "pretty": true }'

{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully removed acknowledgement for object 'host0!service0'."
        },
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully removed acknowledgement for object 'example2.localdomain!aws-health'."
        }
}

add-comment

Adds a comment from an author to services or hosts.

Send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/actions/add-comment.

Parameter	Type	Description
author	string	Required. Name of the author, may be empty.
comment	string	Required. Comment text, may be empty.

In addition to these parameters a filter must be provided. The valid types for this action are Host and Service.

The following example adds a comment for all ping4 services:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/add-comment' \
 -d '{ "type": "Service", "filter": "service.name==\"ping4\"", "author": "icingaadmin", "comment": "Troubleticket #123456789 opened.", "pretty": true }'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "legacy_id": 26.0,
            "name": "icinga2-satellite1.localdomain!ping4!7e7861c8-8008-4e8d-9910-2a0bb26921bd",
            "status": "Successfully added comment 'icinga2-satellite1.localdomain!ping4!7e7861c8-8008-4e8d-9910-2a0bb26921bd' for object 'icinga2-satellite1.localdomain!ping4'."
        },
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "legacy_id": 27.0,
            "name": "icinga2-satellite2.localdomain!ping4!9a4c43f5-9407-a536-18bf-4a6cc4b73a9f",
            "status": "Successfully added comment 'icinga2-satellite2.localdomain!ping4!9a4c43f5-9407-a536-18bf-4a6cc4b73a9f' for object 'icinga2-satellite2.localdomain!ping4'."
        }
    ]
}

remove-comment

Remove the comment using its name attribute , returns OK if the comment did not exist. Note: This is not the legacy ID but the comment name returned by Icinga 2 when adding a comment.

Send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/actions/remove-comment.

A filter must be provided. The valid types for this action are Host, Service and Comment.

Example for a simple filter using the comment URL parameter:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/remove-comment' \
 -d '{ "comment": "icinga2-satellite2.localdomain!ping4!9a4c43f5-9407-a536-18bf-4a6cc4b73a9f", "pretty": true }'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully removed comment 'icinga2-satellite2.localdomain!ping4!9a4c43f5-9407-a536-18bf-4a6cc4b73a9f'."
        }
    ]
}

Example for removing all service comments using a service name filter for ping4:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/remove-comment'
 -d '{ "type": "Service", "filter": "service.name==\"ping4\"", "pretty": true }'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully removed all comments for object 'icinga2-satellite1.localdomain!ping4'."
        },
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully removed all comments for object 'icinga2-satellite2.localdomain!ping4'."
        }
    ]
}

schedule-downtime

Schedule a downtime for hosts and services.

Send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/actions/schedule-downtime.

Parameter	Type	Description
author	String	Required. Name of the author.
comment	String	Required. Comment text.
start_time	Timestamp	Required. Timestamp marking the beginning of the downtime.
end_time	Timestamp	Required. Timestamp marking the end of the downtime.
fixed	Boolean	Optional. Defaults to true. If true, the downtime is fixed otherwise flexible. See downtimes for more information.
duration	Number	Required for flexible downtimes. Duration of the downtime in seconds if fixed is set to false.
trigger_name	String	Optional. Sets the trigger for a triggered downtime. See downtimes for more information on triggered downtimes.
child_options	String	Optional. Schedule child downtimes. DowntimeNoChildren does not do anything, DowntimeTriggeredChildren schedules child downtimes triggered by this downtime, DowntimeNonTriggeredChildren schedules non-triggered downtimes. Defaults to DowntimeNoChildren.

In addition to these parameters a filter must be provided. The valid types for this action are Host and Service.

Example for scheduling a downtime for all ping4 services:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/schedule-downtime' \
 -d '{ "type": "Service", "filter": "service.name==\"ping4\"", "start_time": 1446388806, "end_time": 1446389806, "duration": 1000, "author": "icingaadmin", "comment": "IPv4 network maintenance", "pretty": true }'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "legacy_id": 2.0,
            "name": "icinga2-satellite1.localdomain!ping4!ecc5fa55-a5b8-4189-a013-a5d4bb47af34",
            "status": "Successfully scheduled downtime 'icinga2-satellite1.localdomain!ping4!ecc5fa55-a5b8-4189-a013-a5d4bb47af34' for object 'icinga2-satellite1.localdomain!ping4'."
        },
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "legacy_id": 3.0,
            "name": "icinga2-satellite2.localdomain!ping4!abc59032-4589-abcd-4567-ecf67856c347",
            "status": "Successfully scheduled downtime 'icinga2-satellite2.localdomain!ping4!abc59032-4589-abcd-4567-ecf67856c347' for object 'icinga2-satellite2.localdomain!ping4'."
        }
    ]
}

In case you want to target just a single service on a host, modify the filter like this:

"filter": "host.name==\"icinga2-satellite1.localdomain\" && service.name==\"ping4\""

remove-downtime

Remove the downtime using its name attribute , returns OK if the downtime did not exist. Note: This is not the legacy ID but the downtime name returned by Icinga 2 when scheduling a downtime.

Send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/actions/remove-downtime.

A filter must be provided. The valid types for this action are Host, Service and Downtime.

Example for a simple filter using the downtime URL parameter:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/remove-downtime' \
 -d '{ "downtime": "icinga2-satellite2.localdomain!ping4!abc59032-4589-abcd-4567-ecf67856c347", "pretty": true }'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully removed downtime 'icinga2-satellite2.localdomain!ping4!abc59032-4589-abcd-4567-ecf67856c347'."
        }
    ]
}

Example for removing all host downtimes using a host name filter for icinga2-satellite2.localdomain:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/remove-downtime' \
 -d '{ "type": "Host", "filter": "host.name==\"icinga2-satellite2.localdomain\"", "pretty": true }'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully removed all downtimes for object 'icinga2-satellite2.localdomain'."
        }
    ]
}

Example for removing a downtime from a host but not the services filtered by the author name. This example uses filter variables explained in the advanced filters chapter.

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/remove-downtime' \
 -d $'{
  "type": "Downtime",
  "filter": "host.name == filterHost && !service && downtime.author == filterAuthor",
  "filter_vars": {
    "filterHost": "icinga2-satellite1.localdomain",
    "filterAuthor": "icingaadmin"
  },
  "pretty": true
}'

{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Successfully removed downtime 'icinga2-satellite1.localdomain!ecc5fa55-a5b8-ef34-abcd-a5d41234af34'."
        }
    ]
}

shutdown-process

Shuts down Icinga. May or may not return.

Send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/actions/shutdown-process.

This action does not support a target type or filter.

Example:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/shutdown-process?pretty=1'

{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Shutting down Icinga 2."
        }
    ]
}

restart-process

Restarts Icinga. May or may not return.

Send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/actions/restart-process.

This action does not support a target type or filter.

Example:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/restart-process?pretty=1'

{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Restarting Icinga 2."
        }
    ]
}

generate-ticket

Generates a PKI ticket for CSR auto-signing. This can be used in combination with satellite/client setups requesting this ticket number.

Note

This must be used on the local host, or e.g. by a Puppet master. Doing so remotely may result in security issues with cluster trust relationships.

Send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/actions/generate-ticket.

Parameter	Type	Description
cn	String	Required. The host's common name for which the ticket should be geenerated.

Example:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/generate-ticket' \
 -d '{ "cn": "icinga2-client1.localdomain", "pretty": true }'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Generated PKI ticket '4f75d2ecd253575fe9180938ebff7cbca262f96e' for common name 'icinga2-client1.localdomain'.",
            "ticket": "4f75d2ecd253575fe9180938ebff7cbca262f96e"
        }
    ]
}

Event Streams

Event streams can be used to receive check results, downtimes, comments, acknowledgements, etc. as a "live stream" from Icinga.

You can for example forward these types into your own backend. Process the metrics and correlate them with notifications and state changes e.g. in Elasticsearch with the help of Icingabeat. Another use case are aligned events and creating/resolving tickets automatically in your ticket system.

You can subscribe to event streams by sending a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/events. The following parameters need to be specified (either as URL parameters or in a JSON-encoded message body):

Parameter	Type	Description
types	Array	Required. Event type(s). Multiple types as URL parameters are supported.
queue	String	Required. Unique queue name. Multiple HTTP clients can use the same queue as long as they use the same event types and filter.
filter	String	Optional. Filter for specific event attributes using filter expressions.

Event Stream Types

The following event stream types are available:

Type	Description
CheckResult	Check results for hosts and services.
StateChange	Host/service state changes.
Notification	Notification events including notified users for hosts and services.
AcknowledgementSet	Acknowledgement set on hosts and services.
AcknowledgementCleared	Acknowledgement cleared on hosts and services.
CommentAdded	Comment added for hosts and services.
CommentRemoved	Comment removed for hosts and services.
DowntimeAdded	Downtime added for hosts and services.
DowntimeRemoved	Downtime removed for hosts and services.
DowntimeStarted	Downtime started for hosts and services.
DowntimeTriggered	Downtime triggered for hosts and services.

Note: Each type requires API permissions being set.

Example for all downtime events:

&types=DowntimeAdded&types=DowntimeRemoved&types=DowntimeTriggered

-d '{ "types": ["DowntimeAdded", "DowntimeRemoved", "DowntimeTriggered"] }'

Event Stream Type: CheckResult

Name	Type	Description
type	String	Event type CheckResult.
timestamp	Timestamp	Unix timestamp when the event happened.
host	String	Host name.
service	String	Service name. Optional if this is a host check result.
check_result	CheckResult	Serialized CheckResult value type.

Event Stream Type: StateChange

Name	Type	Description
type	String	Event type StateChange.
timestamp	Timestamp	Unix timestamp when the event happened.
host	String	Host name.
service	String	Service name. Optional if this is a host state change.
state	Number	Host or service state.
state_type	Number	Host or service state type.
check_result	CheckResult	Serialized CheckResult value type.

Event Stream Type: Notification

Name	Type	Description
type	String	Event type Notification.
timestamp	Timestamp	Unix timestamp when the event happened.
host	String	Host name.
service	String	Service name. Optional if this is a host notification.
command	String	NotificationCommand name.
users	Array	List of notified user names.
notification_type	String	notification.type runtime macro value.
author	String	notification.author runtime macro value.
text	String	notification.comment runtime macro value.
check_result	CheckResult	Serialized CheckResult value type.

Event Stream Type: Flapping

Name	Type	Description
type	String	Event type Flapping.
timestamp	Timestamp	Unix timestamp when the event happened.
host	String	Host name.
service	String	Service name. Optional if this is a host flapping event.
state	Number	Host or service state.
state_type	Number	Host or service state type.
is_flapping	Boolean	Whether this object is flapping.
current_flapping	Number	Current flapping value in percent (added in 2.8).
threshold_low	Number	Low threshold in percent (added in 2.8).
threshold_high	Number	High threshold in percent (added in 2.8).

Event Stream Type: AcknowledgementSet

Name	Type	Description
type	String	Event type AcknowledgementSet.
timestamp	Timestamp	Unix timestamp when the event happened.
host	String	Host name.
service	String	Service name. Optional if this is a host acknowledgement.
state	Number	Host or service state.
state_type	Number	Host or service state type.
author	String	Acknowledgement author set via acknowledge-problem action.
comment	String	Acknowledgement comment set via acknowledge-problem action.
acknowledgement_type	Number	0 = None, 1 = Normal, 2 = Sticky. sticky can be set via acknowledge-problem action.
notify	Boolean	Notifications were enabled via acknowledge-problem action.
expiry	Timestamp	Acknowledgement expire time set via acknowledge-problem action.

Event Stream Type: AcknowledgementCleared

Name	Type	Description
type	String	Event type AcknowledgementCleared.
timestamp	Timestamp	Unix timestamp when the event happened.
host	String	Host name.
service	String	Service name. Optional if this is a host acknowledgement.
state	Number	Host or service state.
state_type	Number	Host or service state type.

Event Stream Type: CommentAdded

Name	Type	Description
type	String	Event type CommentAdded.
timestamp	Timestamp	Unix timestamp when the event happened.
comment	Dictionary	Serialized Comment object.

Event Stream Type: CommentRemoved

Name	Type	Description
type	String	Event type CommentRemoved.
timestamp	Timestamp	Unix timestamp when the event happened.
comment	Dictionary	Serialized Comment object.

Event Stream Type: DowntimeAdded

Name	Type	Description
type	String	Event type DowntimeAdded.
timestamp	Timestamp	Unix timestamp when the event happened.
downtime	Dictionary	Serialized Comment object.

Event Stream Type: DowntimeRemoved

Name	Type	Description
type	String	Event type DowntimeRemoved.
timestamp	Timestamp	Unix timestamp when the event happened.
downtime	Dictionary	Serialized Comment object.

Event Stream Type: DowntimeStarted

Name	Type	Description
type	String	Event type DowntimeStarted.
timestamp	Timestamp	Unix timestamp when the event happened.
downtime	Dictionary	Serialized Comment object.

Event Stream Type: DowntimeTriggered

Name	Type	Description
type	String	Event type DowntimeTriggered.
timestamp	Timestamp	Unix timestamp when the event happened.
downtime	Dictionary	Serialized Comment object.

Event Stream Filter

Event streams can be filtered by attributes using the prefix event..

Example for the CheckResult type with the exit_code set to 2:

&types=CheckResult&filter=event.check_result.exit_status==2

-d '{ "types": "CheckResult", "filter": "event.check_result.exit_status==2" }'

Example for the CheckResult type with the service matching the string pattern "random*":

&types=CheckResult&filter=match%28%22random*%22,event.service%29

-d { "types": "CheckResult", "filter": "match(\"random*\", event.service)" }

Event Stream Response

The event stream response is separated with new lines. The HTTP client must support long-polling and HTTP/1.1. HTTP/1.0 is not supported.

Example:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/events' \
 -d '{ "queue": "myqueue", "types": "CheckResult", "filter": "event.check_result.exit_status==2" }'

{"check_result":{ ... },"host":"example.localdomain","service":"ping4","timestamp":1445421319.7226390839,"type":"CheckResult"}
{"check_result":{ ... },"host":"example.localdomain","service":"ping4","timestamp":1445421324.7226390839,"type":"CheckResult"}
{"check_result":{ ... },"host":"example.localdomain","service":"ping4","timestamp":1445421329.7226390839,"type":"CheckResult"}

Status and Statistics

Send a GET request to the URL endpoint /v1/status to retrieve status information and statistics for Icinga 2.

Example:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/status?pretty=1'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "name": "ApiListener",
            "perfdata": [ ... ],
            "status": [ ... ]
        },
        ...
        {
            "name": "IcingaAplication",
            "perfdata": [ ... ],
            "status": [ ... ]
        },
        ...
    ]
}

You can limit the output by specifying a status type in the URL, e.g. IcingaApplication:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/status/IcingaApplication?pretty=1'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "perfdata": [],
            "status": {
                "icingaapplication": {
                    "app": {
                        "enable_event_handlers": true,
                        "enable_flapping": true,
                        "enable_host_checks": true,
                        "enable_notifications": true,
                        "enable_perfdata": true,
                        "enable_service_checks": true,
                        "node_name": "example.localdomain",
                        "pid": 59819.0,
                        "program_start": 1443019345.093372,
                        "version": "v2.3.0-573-g380a131"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    ]
}

Configuration Management

The main idea behind configuration management is that external applications can create configuration packages and stages based on configuration files and directory trees. This replaces any additional SSH connection and whatnot to dump configuration files to Icinga 2 directly.

In case you are pushing a new configuration stage to a package, Icinga 2 will validate the configuration asynchronously and populate a status log which can be fetched in a separated request. Once the validation succeeds, a reload is triggered by default.

This functionality was primarly developed for the Icinga Director but can be used with your own deployments too. It also solves the problem with certain runtime objects (zones, endpoints) and can be used to deploy global templates in global cluster zones.

Create a Config Package

Send a POST request to a new config package called example-cmdb in this example. This creates a new empty configuration package.

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
-X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/config/packages/example-cmdb?pretty=1'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "package": "example-cmdb",
            "status": "Created package."
        }
    ]
}

Package names with the _ prefix are reserved for internal packages and must not be used. You can recognize _api, _etc and _cluster when querying specific objects and packages.

Each configuration object stores the package source in the package attribute.

Create a Stage: Upload Configuration

Configuration files in packages are managed in stages. Stages provide a way to maintain multiple configuration versions for a package. Once a new stage is deployed, the content is validated and set as active stage on success.

On failure, the older stage remains active, and the caller can fetch the startup.log from this stage deployment attempt to see what exactly failed. You can see that in the Director's deployment log.

Send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/config/stages and add the name of an existing configuration package to the URL path (e.g. example-cmdb). The request body must contain the files attribute with the value being a dictionary of file targets and their content. You can also specify an optional reload attribute that will tell icinga2 to reload after stage config validation. By default this is set to true.

The file path requires one of these two directories inside its path:

Directory	Description
conf.d	Local configuration directory.
zones.d	Configuration directory for cluster zones, each zone must be put into its own zone directory underneath. Supports the cluster config sync.

Example for a local configuration in the conf.d directory:

"files": { "conf.d/host1.conf": "object Host \"local-host\" { address = \"127.0.0.1\", check_command = \"hostalive\" }" }

Example for a host configuration inside the satellite zone in the zones.d directory:

"files": { "zones.d/satellite/host2.conf": "object Host \"satellite-host\" { address = \"192.168.1.100\", check_command = \"hostalive\" }" }

The example below will create a new file called test.conf in the conf.d directory. Note: This example contains an error (chec_command). This is intentional.

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' -X POST \
-d '{ "files": { "conf.d/test.conf": "object Host \"cmdb-host\" { chec_command = \"dummy\" }" }, "pretty": true }' \
'https://localhost:5665/v1/config/stages/example-cmdb'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "package": "example-cmdb",
            "stage": "7e7861c8-8008-4e8d-9910-2a0bb26921bd",
            "status": "Created stage. Reload triggered."
        }
    ]
}

The Icinga 2 API returns the package name this stage was created for, and also generates a unique name for the stage attribute you'll need for later requests.

Icinga 2 automatically restarts the daemon in order to activate the new config stage. This can be disabled by setting reload to false in the request. If the validation for the new config stage failed, the old stage and its configuration objects will remain active.

Note

Old stages are not purged automatically. You can remove stages that are no longer in use.

Icinga 2 creates the following files in the configuration package stage after configuration validation:

File	Description
status	Contains the configuration validation exit code (everything else than 0 indicates an error).
startup.log	Contains the configuration validation output.

You can fetch these files in order to verify that the new configuration was deployed successfully. Please follow the chapter below to learn more about this.

List Configuration Packages and their Stages

A list of packages and their stages can be retrieved by sending a GET request to the URL endpoint /v1/config/packages.

The following example contains one configuration package example-cmdb. The package does not currently have an active stage.

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/config/packages?pretty=1'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "active-stage": "",
            "name": "example-cmdb",
            "stages": [
                "7e7861c8-8008-4e8d-9910-2a0bb26921bd"
            ]
        }
    ]
}

List Configuration Package Stage Files

In order to retrieve a list of files for a stage you can send a GET request to the URL endpoint /v1/config/stages. You need to include the package name (example-cmdb) and stage name (7e7861c8-8008-4e8d-9910-2a0bb26921bd) in the URL:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/config/stages/example-cmdb/7e7861c8-8008-4e8d-9910-2a0bb26921bd?pretty=1'
{
    "results": [
...
        {
            "name": "startup.log",
            "type": "file"
        },
        {
            "name": "status",
            "type": "file"
        },
        {
            "name": "conf.d",
            "type": "directory"
        },
        {
            "name": "zones.d",
            "type": "directory"
        },
        {
            "name": "conf.d/test.conf",
            "type": "file"
        }
    ]
}

Fetch Configuration Package Stage Files

Send a GET request to the URL endpoint /v1/config/files and add the package name, the stage name and the relative path to the file to the URL path.

Note

The returned files are plain-text instead of JSON-encoded.

The following example fetches the configuration file conf.d/test.conf:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/config/files/example-cmdb/7e7861c8-8008-4e8d-9910-2a0bb26921bd/conf.d/test.conf'

object Host "cmdb-host" { chec_command = "dummy" }

You can fetch a list of existing files in a configuration stage and then specifically request their content.

Configuration Package Stage Errors

Now that we don't have an active stage for example-cmdb yet seen here, there must have been an error.

In order to check for validation errors you can fetch the startup.log file by sending a GET request to the URL endpoint /v1/config/files. You must include the package name, stage name and the startup.log in the URL path.

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/config/files/example-cmdb/7e7861c8-8008-4e8d-9910-2a0bb26921bd/startup.log'
...

critical/config: Error: Attribute 'chec_command' does not exist.
Location:
/var/lib/icinga2/api/packages/example-cmdb/7e7861c8-8008-4e8d-9910-2a0bb26921bd/conf.d/test.conf(1): object Host "cmdb-host" { chec_command = "dummy" }
                                                                                                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

critical/config: 1 error

The output is the exact as known from configuration validation.

Note

The returned output is plain-text instead of JSON-encoded.

Deleting Configuration Package Stage

You can send a DELETE request to the URL endpoint /v1/config/stages in order to purge a configuration stage. You must include the package and stage name inside the URL path.

The following example removes the failed configuration stage 7e7861c8-8008-4e8d-9910-2a0bb26921bd in the example-cmdb configuration package:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X DELETE 'https://localhost:5665/v1/config/stages/example-cmdb/7e7861c8-8008-4e8d-9910-2a0bb26921bd?pretty=1'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Stage deleted."
        }
    ]
}

Deleting Configuration Package

In order to completely purge a configuration package and its stages you can send a DELETE request to the URL endpoint /v1/config/packages with the package name in the URL path.

This example entirely deletes the configuration package example-cmdb:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' -X DELETE \
'https://localhost:5665/v1/config/packages/example-cmdb?pretty=1'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "package": "example-cmdb",
            "status": "Deleted package."
        }
    ]
}

Types

You can retrieve the configuration object types by sending a GET request to URL endpoint /v1/types.

Each response entry in the results array contains the following attributes:

Attribute	Type	Description
name	String	The type name.
plural_name	String	The plural type name.
fields	Dictionary	Available fields including details on e.g. the type and attribute accessibility.
abstract	Boolean	Whether objects can be instantiated for this type.
base	Boolean	The base type (e.g. Service inherits fields and prototype methods from Checkable).
prototype_keys	Array	Available prototype methods.

In order to view a specific configuration object type specify its name inside the URL path:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga 'https://localhost:5665/v1/types/Object?pretty=1'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "abstract": false,
            "fields": {
                "type": {
                    "array_rank": 0.0,
                    "attributes": {
                        "config": false,
                        "navigation": false,
                        "no_user_modify": false,
                        "no_user_view": false,
                        "required": false,
                        "state": false
                    },
                    "id": 0.0,
                    "type": "String"
                }
            },
            "name": "Object",
            "plural_name": "Objects",
            "prototype_keys": [
                "clone",
                "notify_attribute",
                "to_string"
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Debug Console

You can inspect variables and execute other expressions by sending a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/console/execute-script. In order to receive auto-completion suggestions, send a POST request to the URL endpoint /v1/console/auto-complete-script.

Note

This functionality is used by the debug console. Do not use this in production, unless you are aware of the fact that expressions and commands may crash the daemon, or lead into unwanted behaviour. Use this URL endpoint read-only when needed.

The following parameters need to be specified (either as URL parameters or in a JSON-encoded message body):

Parameter	Type	Description
session	String	Optional. The session ID. Ideally this should be a GUID or some other unique identifier.
command	String	Required. Command expression for execution or auto-completion.
sandboxed	Number	Optional. Whether runtime changes are allowed or forbidden. Defaults to disabled.

The API permission console is required for executing expressions.

Note

Runtime modifications via execute-script calls are not validated and might cause the Icinga 2 daemon to crash or behave in an unexpected way. Use these runtime changes at your own risk.

If you specify a session identifier, the same script context can be reused for multiple requests. This allows you to, for example, set a local variable in a request and use that local variable in another request. Sessions automatically expire after a set period of inactivity (currently 30 minutes).

Example for fetching the command line from the local host's last check result:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/console/execute-script?command=get_host(NodeName).last_check_result.command&sandboxed=0&session=bb75fd7c-c686-407d-9688-582c04227756&pretty=1'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "result": [
                "/usr/local/sbin/check_ping",
                "-H",
                "127.0.0.1",
                "-c",
                "5000,100%",
                "-w",
                "3000,80%"
            ],
            "status": "Executed successfully."
        }
    ]
}

Example for fetching auto-completion suggestions for the Host. type. This works in a similar fashion when pressing TAB inside the console CLI command:

$ curl -k -s -u root:icinga -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/console/auto-complete-script?command=Host.&sandboxed=0&session=bb75fd7c-c686-407d-9688-582c04227756&pretty=1'
{
    "results": [
        {
            "code": 200.0,
            "status": "Auto-completed successfully.",
            "suggestions": [
                "Host.type",
                "Host.name",
                "Host.prototype",
                "Host.base",
                "Host.register_attribute_handler",
                "Host.clone",
                "Host.notify_attribute",
                "Host.to_string"
            ]
        }
    ]
}

API Clients

After its initial release in 2015, community members and developers have been working hard to add more REST API clients and integrations into DevOps tools.

• Libraries
• Status
• Management
• Event Streams
• Actions
• REST API Apps

Additional programmatic examples will help you getting started using the Icinga 2 API in your environment.

Libraries

Name	Language	Description
ruby-icinga2	Ruby	Ruby library
python-icinga2_api	Python	Python library
python-icinga2-api	Python	Python bindings for Icinga 2 interaction
go-icinga2	Golang	Golang functions and type definitions
go-icinga2-api	Golang	Golang implementation used inside the Terraform provider
go-icinga2-client	Golang	Golang implementation for the Rancher integration.
Monitoring::Icinga2::Client::REST	Perl	Perl bindings.
Icinga 2 API in PHP	PHP	PHP implementation. For other examples, look into Icinga Web 2 and Director.

Status

Name	Language	Description
Dashing	Ruby, HTML	Dashboard for Dashing querying the REST API for current host/service/global status
InfluxDB Telegraf Input	Golang	Telegraf is an agent written in Go for collecting, processing, aggregating, and writing metrics.
Icinga 2 Slack Bot	Golang	Query host/service details from a Slack channel
icinga2bot	Python	Errbot plugin to fetch status and event stream information and forward to XMPP, IRC, etc.
IcingaBusyLightAgent	C#	Notification Agent in Systray
BitBar for OSX	Python	macOS tray app for highlighting the host/service status
Icinga 2 Multistatus	-	Chrome Extension

Manage Objects

Name	Language	Description
Icinga Director	PHP, JS	Icinga 2 configuration interface with a nice frontend, and automated imports for nearly any source.
Terraform Provider	Golang	Register hosts from Terraform in Icinga 2. Official docs.
Kube Icinga	Typescript	Monitor Kubernetes services / resources using icinga2 (including autodiscovery support)
Logstash output for Icinga	Ruby	Forward check results and create objects from log events
Foreman Smart Proxy Monitoring	Ruby	Smart Proxy extension for Foreman creating and deleting hosts and services in Icinga 2
Rancher integration	Golang	Registers Rancher resources in Icinga 2 for monitoring.
AWS/EC2	Ruby	Example script for creating and deleting AWS instances in Icinga 2
Ansible Host Module	Python	In progress, Ansible Feature is also there.

Event Streams

Name	Language	Description
Elastic Icingabeat	Golang	Process events and send to Elasticsearch/Logstash outputs
Request Tracker ticket integration	Golang	Create and update RT tickets
Logstash input event stream	Ruby	Forward events as Logstash input
Flapjack events	Golang	Dumping events into Redis for Flapjack processing
Stackstorm integration	Python	Processing events and fetching status information

Actions

Name	Language	Description
Icinga Web 2	PHP	Trigger actions via command transport
Logstash output for Icinga	Ruby	Forward check results and create objects from log events
OTRS SystemMonitoring	Perl	Acknowledge problems in Icinga 2 from OTRS tickets
mqttwarn	Python	Forward check results from mqttwarn to Icinga 2
Lita handler	Ruby	List, recheck and acknowledge through a #chatops bot called Lita
Sakuli forwarder	Java	Forward check results from tests from Sakuli to Icinga 2
OpsGenie actions	Golang, Java	Integrate Icinga 2 into OpsGenie

REST API Apps

Name	Language	Description
Browser plugins	-	Postman for Chrome, RESTED for Firefox
Postman	-	App instead of browser plugin
Cocoa Rest Client	-	macOS app
Paw for MacOS	(exported)	Paw is a full-featured HTTP client that lets you test and describe the APIs you build or consume. It has a beautiful native macOS interface to compose requests, inspect server responses, generate client code and export API definitions.

Programmatic Examples

The following languages are covered:

• Python
• Ruby
• PHP
• Perl
• Golang

The request method is POST using X-HTTP-Method-Override: GET which allows you to send a JSON request body. The examples request specific service attributes joined with host attributes. attrs and joins are therefore specified as array. The filter attribute matches on all services with ping in their name.

Example API Client in Python

The following example uses Python and the requests and json module:

# pip install requests
# pip install json

$ vim icinga2-api-example.py

#!/usr/bin/env python

import requests, json

# Replace 'localhost' with your FQDN and certificate CN
# for SSL verification
request_url = "https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/services"
headers = {
        'Accept': 'application/json',
        'X-HTTP-Method-Override': 'GET'
        }
data = {
        "attrs": [ "name", "state", "last_check_result" ],
        "joins": [ "host.name", "host.state", "host.last_check_result" ],
        "filter": "match(\"ping*\", service.name)",
}

r = requests.post(request_url,
        headers=headers,
        auth=('root', 'icinga'),
        data=json.dumps(data),
        verify="pki/icinga2-ca.crt")

print "Request URL: " + str(r.url)
print "Status code: " + str(r.status_code)

if (r.status_code == 200):
        print "Result: " + json.dumps(r.json())
else:
        print r.text
        r.raise_for_status()

$ python icinga2-api-example.py

Example API Client in Ruby

The following example uses Ruby and the rest_client gem:

# gem install rest_client

$ vim icinga2-api-example.rb

#!/usr/bin/ruby

require 'rest_client'

# Replace 'localhost' with your FQDN and certificate CN
# for SSL verification
request_url = "https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/services"
headers = {
        "Accept" => "application/json",
        "X-HTTP-Method-Override" => "GET"
}
data = {
        "attrs" => [ "name", "state", "last_check_result" ],
        "joins" => [ "host.name", "host.state", "host.last_check_result" ],
        "filter" => "match(\"ping*\", service.name)",
}

r = RestClient::Resource.new(
        URI.encode(request_url),
        :headers => headers,
        :user => "root",
        :password => "icinga",
        :ssl_ca_file => "pki/icinga2-ca.crt")

begin
        response = r.post(data.to_json)
rescue => e
        response = e.response
end

puts "Status: " + response.code.to_s
if response.code == 200
        puts "Result: " + (JSON.pretty_generate JSON.parse(response.body))
else
        puts "Error: " + response
end

$ ruby icinga2-api-example.rb

A more detailed example can be found in the Dashing demo.

Example API Client in PHP

The following example uses PHP and its curl library:

$ vim icinga2-api-example.php

#!/usr/bin/env php
<?php
# Replace 'localhost' with your FQDN and certificate CN
# for SSL verification
$request_url = "https://localhost:5665/v1/objects/services";
$username = "root";
$password = "icinga";
$headers = array(
        'Accept: application/json',
        'X-HTTP-Method-Override: GET'
);
$data = array(
        attrs => array('name', 'state', 'last_check_result'),
        joins => array('host.name', 'host.state', 'host.last_check_result'),
        filter => 'match("ping*", service.name)',
);

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt_array($ch, array(
        CURLOPT_URL => $request_url,
        CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => $headers,
        CURLOPT_USERPWD => $username . ":" . $password,
        CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
        CURLOPT_CAINFO => "pki/icinga2-ca.crt",
        CURLOPT_POST => count($data),
        CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode($data)
));

$response = curl_exec($ch);
if ($response === false) {
        print "Error: " . curl_error($ch) . "(" . $response . ")\n";
}

$code = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
curl_close($ch);
print "Status: " . $code . "\n";

if ($code == 200) {
        $response = json_decode($response, true);
        print_r($response);
}
?>

$ php icinga2-api-example.php

Example API Client in Perl

The following example uses Perl and the Rest::Client module:

# perl -MCPAN -e 'install REST::Client'
# perl -MCPAN -e 'install JSON'
# perl -MCPAN -e 'install MIME::Base64'
# perl -MCPAN -e 'install Data::Dumper'

$ vim icinga2-api-example.pl

#!/usr/bin/env perl

use strict;
use warnings;
use REST::Client;
use MIME::Base64;
use JSON;
use Data::Dumper;

# Replace 'localhost' with your FQDN and certificate CN
# for SSL verification
my $request_host = "https://localhost:5665";
my $userpass = "root:icinga";

my $client = REST::Client->new();
$client->setHost($request_host);
$client->setCa("pki/icinga2-ca.crt");
$client->addHeader("Accept", "application/json");
$client->addHeader("X-HTTP-Method-Override", "GET");
$client->addHeader("Authorization", "Basic " . encode_base64($userpass));
my %json_data = (
        attrs => ['name', 'state', 'last_check_result'],
        joins => ['host.name', 'host.state', 'host.last_check_result'],
        filter => 'match("ping*", service.name)',
);
my $data = encode_json(\%json_data);
$client->POST("/v1/objects/services", $data);

my $status = $client->responseCode();
print "Status: " . $status . "\n";
my $response = $client->responseContent();
if ($status == 200) {
        print "Result: " . Dumper(decode_json($response)) . "\n";
} else {
        print "Error: " . $response . "\n";
}

$ perl icinga2-api-example.pl

Example API Client in Golang

Requires the Golang build chain.

$ vim icinga2-api-example.go

package main

import (
	"bytes"
	"crypto/tls"
	"log"
	"io/ioutil"
	"net/http"
)

func main() {
	var urlBase= "https://localhost:5665"
	var apiUser= "root"
	var apiPass= "icinga"

	urlEndpoint := urlBase + "/v1/objects/services"

	tr := &http.Transport{
		TLSClientConfig: &tls.Config{InsecureSkipVerify: true},
	}
	httpClient := &http.Client{Transport: tr}

	var requestBody = []byte(`{
		"attrs": [ "name", "state", "last_check_result" ],
		"joins": [ "host.name", "host.state", "host.last_check_result" ],
		"filter": "match(\"ping*\", service.name)"
	}`)

	req, err := http.NewRequest("POST", urlEndpoint, bytes.NewBuffer(requestBody))
	req.Header.Set("Accept", "application/json")
	req.Header.Set("X-HTTP-Method-Override", "GET")

	req.SetBasicAuth(apiUser, apiPass)

	resp, err := httpClient.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal("Server error:", err)
		return
	}
	defer resp.Body.Close()

	log.Print("Response status:", resp.Status)

	bodyBytes, _ := ioutil.ReadAll(resp.Body)
	bodyString := string(bodyBytes)

	if resp.StatusCode == http.StatusOK {
		log.Print("Result: " + bodyString)
	} else {
		log.Fatal(bodyString)
	}
}

Build the binary:

go build icinga2-api-example.go
./icinga2-api-example