managing-papertrail

name	managing-papertrail
description	Use when working with Papertrail — papertrail cloud-hosted log management for log aggregation, search, tail, alerting, and archiving. Covers log searching, system and group management, saved search alerts, and log volume analysis. Use when searching Papertrail logs, investigating incidents via log data, managing log groups and systems, or configuring log-based alerts.
connection_type	papertrail
preload	false

Papertrail Monitoring Skill

Query, analyze, and manage Papertrail log data using the Papertrail API.

API Overview

Papertrail uses a REST API at https://papertrailapp.com/api/v1.

Core Helper Function

#!/bin/bash

pt_api() {
    local method="$1"
    local endpoint="$2"
    curl -s -X "$method" "https://papertrailapp.com/api/v1/${endpoint}" \
        -H "X-Papertrail-Token: $PAPERTRAIL_API_TOKEN"
}

pt_search() {
    local query="$1"
    local group_id="${2:-}"
    local params="q=$(python3 -c "import urllib.parse; print(urllib.parse.quote('${query}'))")"
    [ -n "$group_id" ] && params="${params}&group_id=${group_id}"
    pt_api GET "events/search.json?${params}"
}

MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern

Always discover systems, groups, and saved searches before querying.

Phase 1: Discovery

#!/bin/bash

echo "=== Systems ==="
pt_api GET "systems.json" | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id)\t\(.name)\t\(.hostname)\t\(.ip_address)"' | head -20

echo ""
echo "=== Groups ==="
pt_api GET "groups.json" | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id)\t\(.name)\tsystems:\(.system_count)"' | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Saved Searches ==="
pt_api GET "searches.json" | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id)\t\(.name)\t\(.query)"' | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Log Destinations ==="
pt_api GET "destinations.json" | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id)\t\(.type)\t\(.description // "N/A")"' | head -10

Phase 2: Analysis

#!/bin/bash
QUERY="${1:-error}"

echo "=== Log Search: ${QUERY} ==="
pt_search "$QUERY" | jq -r '.events[] | "\(.received_at[0:19])\t\(.source_name)\t\(.message[0:80])"' | head -20

echo ""
echo "=== System Activity (recent logs) ==="
pt_api GET "systems.json" \
    | jq -r '.[] | "\(.name)\t\(.last_event_at // "never")"' \
    | sort -t$'\t' -k2 -r | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Search Alerts ==="
pt_api GET "searches.json" \
    | jq -r '.[] | select(.alerts | length > 0) | "\(.name)\t\(.query)\talerts:\(.alerts | length)"' | head -10

echo ""
echo "=== Account Usage ==="
pt_api GET "accounts.json" | jq -r '"Plan: \(.plan.name)\nLog data rate: \(.log_data_transfer_used_percent // 0)%"'

Output Rules

• TOKEN EFFICIENCY: Target ≤50 lines — limit search results and use head in output
• Use system/group filtering to narrow log searches
• Prefer saved searches for recurring investigations

Output Format

Present results as a structured report:

Managing Papertrail 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