Managing Zabbix

---
name: managing-zabbix
description: |
  Use when working with Zabbix — zabbix enterprise monitoring platform for
  infrastructure, networks, servers, cloud resources, and applications. Covers
  host management, trigger and problem review, item data querying, template
  management, and alert configuration. Use when monitoring Zabbix hosts,
  investigating active problems, reviewing trigger states, or managing
  monitoring templates and actions.
connection_type: zabbix
preload: false
---

# Zabbix Monitoring Skill

Query, analyze, and manage Zabbix monitoring data using the Zabbix JSON-RPC API.

## API Overview

Zabbix uses a JSON-RPC API at `https://<ZABBIX_HOST>/api_jsonrpc.php`.

### Core Helper Function

```bash
#!/bin/bash

zx_api() {
    local method="$1"
    local params="$2"
    curl -s -X POST "${ZABBIX_URL}/api_jsonrpc.php" \
        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
        -d "{
            \"jsonrpc\": \"2.0\",
            \"method\": \"${method}\",
            \"params\": ${params},
            \"auth\": \"${ZABBIX_API_TOKEN}\",
            \"id\": 1
        }" | jq -r '.result'
}
```

## MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern

**Always discover hosts, host groups, and templates before querying.**

### Phase 1: Discovery

```bash
#!/bin/bash

echo "=== Host Groups ==="
zx_api "hostgroup.get" '{"output": ["groupid","name"], "sortfield": "name", "limit": 20}' \
    | jq -r '.[] | "\(.groupid)\t\(.name)"' | head -20

echo ""
echo "=== Monitored Hosts ==="
zx_api "host.get" '{"output": ["hostid","host","name","status"], "selectInterfaces": ["ip"], "limit": 25}' \
    | jq -r '.[] | "\(.hostid)\t\(.host)\t\(.interfaces[0].ip // "N/A")\t\(if .status == "0" then "enabled" else "disabled" end)"' | head -25

echo ""
echo "=== Active Problems ==="
zx_api "problem.get" '{"output": ["eventid","name","severity","clock"], "recent": true, "sortfield": "eventid", "sortorder": "DESC", "limit": 20}' \
    | jq -r '.[] | "\(.severity)\t\(.clock | tonumber | strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M"))\t\(.name[0:60])"' | head -20

echo ""
echo "=== Templates ==="
zx_api "template.get" '{"output": ["templateid","name"], "sortfield": "name", "limit": 20}' \
    | jq -r '.[] | "\(.templateid)\t\(.name)"' | head -20
```

### Phase 2: Analysis

```bash
#!/bin/bash

echo "=== Problems by Severity ==="
for sev in 5 4 3 2 1; do
    count=$(zx_api "problem.get" "{\"countOutput\": true, \"severities\": [${sev}]}")
    labels=("" "Info" "Warning" "Average" "High" "Disaster")
    echo "${labels[$sev]}: $count"
done

echo ""
echo "=== Top Hosts with Problems ==="
zx_api "problem.get" '{"output": ["name","severity"], "selectHosts": ["host"], "recent": true, "sortfield": "eventid", "sortorder": "DESC", "limit": 50}' \
    | jq -r '[.[] | .hosts[0].host // "unknown"] | group_by(.) | map({host: .[0], count: length}) | sort_by(-.count)[] | "\(.host)\t\(.count) problems"' | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Host CPU/Memory (latest data) ==="
zx_api "item.get" '{"output": ["name","lastvalue","units"], "hostids": [], "search": {"key_": "system.cpu.util"}, "sortfield": "name", "limit": 15}' \
    | jq -r '.[] | "\(.name)\t\(.lastvalue)\(.units)"' | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Trigger Status (PROBLEM state) ==="
zx_api "trigger.get" '{"output": ["description","priority","lastchange"], "filter": {"value": 1}, "sortfield": "lastchange", "sortorder": "DESC", "limit": 15}' \
    | jq -r '.[] | "\(.priority)\t\(.lastchange | tonumber | strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M"))\t\(.description[0:60])"' | head -15
```

## Output Rules
- **TOKEN EFFICIENCY**: Target ≤50 lines — use `limit` parameter and `countOutput` for aggregations
- Use problem.get for active issues overview before drilling into specific hosts
- Severity levels: 1=Info, 2=Warning, 3=Average, 4=High, 5=Disaster

## Output Format

Present results as a structured report:
```
Managing Zabbix Report
══════════════════════
Resources discovered: [count]

Resource       Status    Key Metric    Issues
──────────────────────────────────────────────
[name]         [ok/warn] [value]       [findings]

Summary: [total] resources | [ok] healthy | [warn] warnings | [crit] critical
Action Items: [list of prioritized findings]
```

Target ≤50 lines of output. Use tables for multi-resource comparisons.

## Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. **NEVER assume resource names** — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. **NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions** — verify against the service documentation or `--help` output.
3. **NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions** — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. **ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain** — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. **ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully** — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

## Counter-Rationalizations

| Shortcut | Counter | Why |
|----------|---------|-----|
| "I'll skip discovery and check known resources" | Always run Phase 1 discovery first | Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors |
| "The user only asked for a quick check" | Follow the full discovery → analysis flow | Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures |
| "Default configuration is probably fine" | Audit configuration explicitly | Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled |
| "Metrics aren't needed for this" | Always check relevant metrics when available | API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues |
| "I don't have access to that" | Try the command and report the actual error | Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative |