About the Agent Management API
The Agent Management API allows you to programmatically configure, manage, and monitor your NXLog Agent fleet. You can use it to integrate with third-party systems such as Software Configuration Management (SCM) and network and application monitoring tools.
API concepts and terminology
The following are concepts and terms you will come across in this documentation.
- Entities
-
The API implements three entity types:
- Agent
-
Represents NXLog Agent instances managed from NXLog Platform. Agent endpoints are available at
/api/v1/agents/*
. - Configuration template
-
NXLog Agent configurations that you assign to agent instances. Configuration template endpoints are available at
/api/v1/templates/*
. - Enrollment rules
-
Policies for enrolling NXLog Agent instances to NXLog Platform. Enrollment rules endpoints are available at
/api/v1/enroll-rules/*
.
The Agent Management API assigns each entity a UUID on creation, which you can then use to request information about or perform actions on the specific entity.
- Fields
-
The properties of an entity; for example,
hostname
for an agent instance orpriority
for an enrollment rule. The API provides endpoints to retrieve, set, and delete properties. - MQL
-
The querying language used for filtering agents, configuration templates, and enrollment rules.
- Single-entity request
-
An API request for a specific entity identified by its UUID.
- Multi-entity request
-
An API request for multiple entities of the same type.
API endpoints
Agent Management API endpoints are in the form /api/v1/{ENTITY_TYPE}/{ENTITY_UUID|*}/{DATA_PATH}
, where:
-
{ENTITY_TYPE}
is eitheragents
,templates
, orenroll-rules
. -
{ENTITY_UUID|*}
is either an entity UUID or*
to select all entities of this type. -
{DATA_PATH}
is the path to an object, field, or aPOST
command, such asenroll
orcertificate/renew
for agent entities.
Requests to the API
The Agent Management API uses various HTTP methods according to the endpoint functionality. Depending on the request type, you might need to specify request headers or body parameters. The API responds to each request with an appropriate HTTP status code, and the response may include text, JSON, or NDJSON content.
HTTP methods
The HTTP method of an endpoint depends on the type of operation it performs on the entity. The Agent Management API strives to use the most appropriate method for each operation.
Header | Description |
---|---|
GET |
Used for listing entities. Single-entity requests return a value. The value type depends on the request. For example, a string when getting the value of an agent field or a JSON object when getting the agent status. Multi-entity requests return a JSON array of values, such as strings or objects. |
POST |
Used for creating new entities, such as configuration templates or enrollment rules. |
PUT |
Used for modifying fields. |
PATCH |
Used for modifying and deleting multiple fields at once. Patch requests require a JSON object containing the fields and values to update. Set a field’s value to null to delete it. |
DELETE |
Used for deleting an entity or field. |
HTTP request headers
The table below lists the required headers when making Agent Management API requests.
Header | Description |
---|---|
Authorization |
This header is used for authentication and must contain a valid Personal Access Token (PAT).
It is required for all requests except |
Accept |
This header is required for multi-entity requests and must contain one of the following values:
Any other value returns an |
Response codes
Every request returns an HTTP/1.1 status code indicating whether the server processed it successfully. The following table lists the most common response codes.
Code | Status | Description |
---|---|---|
200 |
OK |
The server processed the request successfully and included any expected data in the response. |
204 |
No Content |
The server processed the request successfully and does not need to return any data. |
400 |
Bad Request |
The server cannot process the request because it is malformed or has incorrect parameters. |
401 |
Unauthorized |
Authentication failed or was not provided. |
404 |
Not Found |
The specified entity or field is unknown. If the entity is an agent, it can also be that it’s unreachable, but a connection is required for the operation. |
405 |
Method Not Allowed |
The HTTP method is incorrect for this endpoint.
For example, if you make a |
406 |
Not Acceptable |
The specified |
409 |
Conflict |
The server received simultaneous conflicting requests and rejected the request. |
428 |
Precondition Required |
The server cannot perform the requested operation on the specified entity because the necessary preconditions are not met. |
500 |
Internal Server Error |
An unexpected error occurred on the server or agent. |
504 |
Gateway Timeout |
The request timed out. If it’s an agent request, the server did not receive a timely response from the agent instance. |