managing-sentinel

name	managing-sentinel
description	Use when working with Sentinel — microsoft Sentinel SIEM incident management, threat hunting, analytics rules, and security operations. Covers incident triage, KQL-based threat hunting, alert rule configuration, connector health, and workbook analytics. Use when investigating security incidents, reviewing detection rules, analyzing threat patterns, or managing Sentinel workspace health.
connection_type	sentinel
preload	false

Microsoft Sentinel Management Skill

Manage and analyze Microsoft Sentinel incidents, analytics rules, threat hunting, and data connectors.

API Conventions

Authentication

All API calls use Authorization: Bearer $SENTINEL_ACCESS_TOKEN -- injected automatically via Azure AD. Never hardcode tokens.

Base URL

https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION_ID/resourceGroups/$RESOURCE_GROUP/providers/Microsoft.OperationalInsights/workspaces/$WORKSPACE_NAME/providers/Microsoft.SecurityInsights

Core Helper Function

#!/bin/bash

sentinel_api() {
    local method="$1"
    local endpoint="$2"
    local data="${3:-}"
    local base="https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION_ID/resourceGroups/$RESOURCE_GROUP/providers/Microsoft.OperationalInsights/workspaces/$WORKSPACE_NAME/providers/Microsoft.SecurityInsights"

    if [ -n "$data" ]; then
        curl -s -X "$method" \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer $SENTINEL_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            "${base}${endpoint}?api-version=2023-11-01" \
            -d "$data"
    else
        curl -s -X "$method" \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer $SENTINEL_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            "${base}${endpoint}?api-version=2023-11-01"
    fi
}

Output Rules

• TOKEN EFFICIENCY: Extract only needed fields with jq
• Target <=50 lines per script output
• Always filter by relevant time range to avoid huge response sets
• Never dump full API responses

Discovery Phase

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Active Incidents ==="
sentinel_api GET "/incidents" \
    | jq '[.value[] | select(.properties.status != "Closed")] | length | "Open incidents: \(.)"' -r

echo ""
echo "=== Data Connectors ==="
sentinel_api GET "/dataConnectors" \
    | jq '[.value[]] | length | "Connected sources: \(.)"' -r

echo ""
echo "=== Analytics Rules ==="
sentinel_api GET "/alertRules" \
    | jq '{total: (.value | length), enabled: ([.value[] | select(.properties.enabled == true)] | length)}' -r

Analysis Phase

Incident Overview

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== High Severity Open Incidents ==="
sentinel_api GET "/incidents" \
    | jq -r '[.value[] | select(.properties.status != "Closed" and (.properties.severity == "High" or .properties.severity == "Critical"))] | sort_by(.properties.createdTimeUtc) | reverse | .[:15][] | "\(.properties.createdTimeUtc[0:16])\t\(.properties.severity)\t\(.properties.status)\t\(.properties.title[0:60])"' \
    | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Incidents by Severity ==="
sentinel_api GET "/incidents" \
    | jq -r '[.value[] | select(.properties.status != "Closed")] | group_by(.properties.severity) | map({severity: .[0].properties.severity, count: length}) | .[] | "\(.severity): \(.count)"'

echo ""
echo "=== Incidents by Owner ==="
sentinel_api GET "/incidents" \
    | jq -r '[.value[] | select(.properties.status != "Closed")] | group_by(.properties.owner.assignedTo // "Unassigned") | map({owner: .[0].properties.owner.assignedTo // "Unassigned", count: length}) | sort_by(.count) | reverse | .[] | "\(.owner): \(.count)"' | head -10

Analytics Rules Health

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Enabled Rules by Type ==="
sentinel_api GET "/alertRules" \
    | jq -r '[.value[] | select(.properties.enabled == true)] | group_by(.kind) | map({kind: .[0].kind, count: length}) | .[] | "\(.kind): \(.count)"'

echo ""
echo "=== Recently Triggered Rules (last 7 days) ==="
sentinel_api GET "/incidents" \
    | jq -r '[.value[] | select(.properties.createdTimeUtc > "'"$(date -u -v-7d +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)"'")] | group_by(.properties.title) | map({rule: .[0].properties.title[0:50], count: length}) | sort_by(.count) | reverse | .[:10][] | "\(.count)\t\(.rule)"' \
    | column -t

Data Connector Health

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Connected Data Sources ==="
sentinel_api GET "/dataConnectors" \
    | jq -r '.value[] | "\(.kind)\t\(.name[0:40])"' | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Connector Status ==="
sentinel_api GET "/dataConnectorCheckRequirementsStatus" 2>/dev/null \
    | jq -r '.value[]? | "\(.connectorId)\t\(.status)"' | column -t | head -15

Output Format

Present results as a structured report:

Managing Sentinel 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

Common Pitfalls

• API versioning: Always include api-version query parameter -- features vary by version
• KQL queries: Log Analytics queries go through a different endpoint (/api/query)
• ARM path length: Full resource path is required for every call -- use helper function
• Pagination: Large result sets use nextLink for pagination
• RBAC: Requires Microsoft Sentinel Reader role minimum -- Contributor for write operations