managing-equinix-metal

name	managing-equinix-metal
description	Use when working with Equinix Metal — equinix Metal bare metal infrastructure management via the metal CLI and Equinix Metal API. Covers devices, projects, VLANs, IPs, BGP sessions, and capacity. Use when managing Equinix Metal bare metal servers or networking.
connection_type	equinix-metal
preload	false

Managing Equinix Metal

Manage Equinix Metal bare metal infrastructure using the metal CLI.

MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern

Always discover available resources before performing analysis.

Phase 1: Discovery

#!/bin/bash

echo "=== Projects ==="
metal project get -o json 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id)\t\(.name)\t\(.created_at)"' | head -10

echo ""
echo "=== Devices ==="
metal device get -p "$METAL_PROJECT_ID" -o json 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id)\t\(.hostname)\t\(.facility.code)\t\(.plan.slug)\t\(.state)\t\(.ip_addresses[0].address // "N/A")"' | head -30

echo ""
echo "=== VLANs ==="
metal virtual-network get -p "$METAL_PROJECT_ID" -o json 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.virtual_networks[] | "\(.id)\t\(.description)\t\(.vxlan)\t\(.facility_code)"' | head -10

echo ""
echo "=== IP Reservations ==="
metal ip get -p "$METAL_PROJECT_ID" -o json 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id)\t\(.address)\t\(.cidr)\t\(.type)\t\(.facility.code)"' | head -10

echo ""
echo "=== SSH Keys ==="
metal ssh-key get -o json 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id)\t\(.label)\t\(.fingerprint)"' | head -10

Phase 2: Analysis

#!/bin/bash

DEVICE_ID="${1:?Device ID required}"

echo "=== Device Details ==="
metal device get -i "$DEVICE_ID" -o json 2>/dev/null | jq '{
    id, hostname, state, plan: .plan.slug,
    facility: .facility.code, metro: .metro.code,
    os: .operating_system.slug,
    ip_addresses: [.ip_addresses[] | {address, cidr, address_family, public}],
    created_at, tags
}'

echo ""
echo "=== BGP Sessions ==="
metal device get -i "$DEVICE_ID" -o json 2>/dev/null | jq '[.bgp_sessions[]? | {id, status, learned_routes, default_route}]' | head -10

echo ""
echo "=== Network Ports ==="
metal device get -i "$DEVICE_ID" -o json 2>/dev/null | jq '[.network_ports[] | {id, name, type, bond: .bond?.name, virtual_networks: [.virtual_networks[]?.vxlan]}]' | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Capacity ==="
metal capacity get -o json 2>/dev/null | jq '[to_entries[:5][] | {facility: .key, plans: [.value | to_entries[:5][] | {plan: .key, available: .value.available}]}]' | head -20

echo ""
echo "=== Events ==="
metal event get -p "$METAL_PROJECT_ID" -o json 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.[] | "\(.created_at)\t\(.type)\t\(.body)"' | head -10

Output Format

ID                                    HOSTNAME   FACILITY  PLAN         STATE
abc123-def456-ghi789                  web-01     sv15      c3.small.x86 active
abc123-def456-jkl012                  db-01      sv15      m3.large.x86 active

Safety Rules

• Use read-only commands: get, list
• Never run delete, destroy, power-off without explicit user confirmation
• Use -o json with jq for structured output parsing
• Limit output with | head -N to stay under 50 lines

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