Creating & Managing Probes

This guide covers the complete process of creating, editing, and managing probes in Logstyx.

Creating a New Probe

Click the Add Probe button (top-right of the Probes page) to open the creation wizard.

Step 1: Basic Config

Configure the fundamental probe settings.

Title

Label: "Title"
Placeholder: "Web Server Metrics"
Required: Yes

A descriptive name for your probe (e.g., "Production API Health Check", "Database Metrics Collector").

Project

Label: "Project"
Placeholder: "Select project"
Required: Yes

Choose which project should receive the logs from this probe. The dropdown is searchable.

Interval (seconds)

Label: "Interval (seconds)"
Description: "How often to fetch data"
Placeholder: "60"
Required: Yes
Minimum: 5
Maximum: 60 (server enforced)

How often the probe runs, in seconds. Default is 60 seconds.

Server Limit

The server enforces a maximum interval of 60 seconds. While the UI field allows higher values, attempting to create a probe with an interval greater than 60 will fail validation.

Context (optional)

Label: "Context (optional)"
Description: "Additional fields to add to logs"
Placeholder: { "source": "probes", "hostname": "web-01" }
Required: No

Add custom context fields that will be included with every log entry created by this probe. Must be valid JSON.

Example:

{
  "source": "monitoring",
  "environment": "production",
  "region": "us-east-1"
}

These fields appear in the log's context alongside probe metadata.

Click Next to proceed to connection setup.

Step 2: Setup Connection

Configure how the probe connects to the external endpoint.

HTTP Method

Label: "HTTP Method"
Required: Yes
Options: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE

Select the HTTP method for the request. Most monitoring endpoints use GET.

URL

Label: "URL"
Placeholder: "http://server01:9100/metrics"
Required: Yes

The full URL to fetch data from. Must be a valid URL including protocol.

Examples:

• http://localhost:9100/metrics - Prometheus metrics
• https://api.example.com/health - API health check
• http://internal-service:8080/status - Internal service status

Timeout (ms)

Label: "Timeout (ms)"
Placeholder: "10000"
Minimum: 1000
Maximum: 60000

Request timeout in milliseconds. If the endpoint doesn't respond within this time, the request fails.

Default timeout is 10000ms (10 seconds).

Authentication Type

Label: "Authentication Type"
Required: Yes

Select how to authenticate with the endpoint:

• None - No authentication
• Probestyx - HMAC-based authentication with timestamp and signature
• Bearer Token - OAuth 2.0 bearer token
• Basic Auth - HTTP Basic Authentication
• Custom Headers - Define your own authentication headers

See Authentication Methods below for field details.

Test Connection

After configuring connection settings, click Test Connection to verify:

• The URL is reachable
• Authentication works correctly
• The endpoint returns data

Success: Displays "Connected successfully" notification
Failure: Shows error message with details

Always Test First

Testing helps catch configuration issues before creating the probe. Fix any errors before proceeding.

Click Next to review your configuration.

Step 3: Confirmation

Heading: "Review your inputs"

Review your probe configuration before creating:

• Title: Your probe name
• Project: Project ID receiving the logs
• Interval: Execution frequency in seconds
• Connection: Full connection configuration (displayed as formatted JSON)

Buttons:

• Back - Return to previous step to make changes
• Create - Create the probe and start execution

Click Create to finalize. The probe begins running immediately at the configured interval.

Authentication Methods

None

When to use: Public endpoints that don't require authentication

No additional fields required.

Probestyx

When to use: Connect to Probestyx metrics endpoint

Field:

• Label: "Probestyx Secret"
• Placeholder: "your-secret-key"
• Required: Yes

Generates X-Timestamp and X-Signature headers using HMAC SHA-256.

See Using Probestyx for detailed information.

Bearer Token

When to use: APIs using OAuth 2.0 or JWT authentication

Field:

• Label: "Bearer Token"
• Placeholder: "your-token"
• Required: Yes

Sends Authorization: Bearer <token> header with every request.

Basic Auth

When to use: Endpoints using standard HTTP Basic Authentication

Fields:

• Username
  • Label: "Username"
  • Placeholder: "username"
  • Required: Yes
• Password
  • Label: "Password"
  • Placeholder: "password"
  • Required: Yes

Encodes credentials and sends Authorization: Basic <encoded> header.

Custom Headers

When to use: APIs requiring custom authentication headers or API keys

Field:

• Label: "Custom Headers"
• Placeholder: { "X-API-Key": "key123" }
• Required: Yes

Define any headers as JSON key-value pairs.

Example:

{
  "X-API-Key": "your-api-key",
  "X-Client-ID": "client-123"
}

Editing Probes

Click the Edit icon (pencil) on any probe card to modify its configuration.

Edit Modal

Modal Title: "Edit Probe"

The edit modal uses the same 3-step wizard as creation, pre-filled with current values:

1. Basic Config - All fields are editable
2. Setup Connection - All connection settings are editable
3. Confirmation - Review changes

Final Button: "Update" (instead of "Create")

All Settings Editable

You can modify any probe setting including title, project, interval, URL, and authentication. Changes apply immediately upon update.

Deleting Probes

Click the Delete icon (trash) on any probe card to remove it.

Confirmation Dialog

Title: "Remove Probe"
Message: "Are you sure you want to remove this probe? This action cannot be undone."

Buttons:

• Cancel - Keep the probe
• Delete - Permanently remove the probe

Deleting a probe:

• Stops all future executions immediately
• Removes the probe configuration
• Does NOT delete logs already created by the probe

Cannot Be Undone

Deleted probes cannot be recovered. You'll need to recreate them manually if needed.

Validation & Error Messages

Server Validation

The server validates all probe settings. Common validation errors:

Title:

• Required field error if empty

Project:

• Required field error if not selected

Interval:

• Must be numeric
• Minimum 5 seconds
• Maximum 60 seconds

URL:

• Must be a valid URL format
• Must include protocol (http:// or https://)

Authentication:

• Bearer: "Token is required for bearer auth"
• Basic: "Username and password is required for basic auth"
• Probestyx: "Secret is required for HMAC auth"

JSON Validation

Context and Custom Headers must be valid JSON:

• Parsing errors will prevent submission
• Use the JSON editor's auto-format feature
• Check for syntax errors before submitting

Common Workflows

A) Monitor API Health

1. Click Add Probe
2. Step 1:
   • Title: "Production API Health"
   • Project: Select production project
   • Interval: 30 seconds
   • Context: { "service": "api", "env": "prod" }
3. Step 2:
   • Method: GET
   • URL: https://api.yourapp.com/health
   • Timeout: 5000ms
   • Auth: None (or Bearer token if required)
4. Test Connection to verify
5. Create probe

B) Collect Prometheus Metrics

1. Click Add Probe
2. Step 1:
   • Title: "Node Exporter Metrics"
   • Project: Select monitoring project
   • Interval: 60 seconds
3. Step 2:
   • Method: GET
   • URL: http://node-exporter:9100/metrics
   • Timeout: 10000ms
   • Auth: None
4. Test Connection
5. Create probe

C) Monitor Authenticated Endpoint

1. Click Add Probe
2. Step 1:
   • Title: "Authenticated Service Check"
   • Project: Select project
   • Interval: 60 seconds
3. Step 2:
   • Method: GET
   • URL: https://internal.service.com/status
   • Timeout: 10000ms
   • Auth: Bearer Token
   • Token: your-bearer-token
4. Test Connection
5. Create probe

D) Update Probe Interval

1. Find the probe card
2. Click Edit icon
3. Navigate to Step 1
4. Change Interval value
5. Click Next twice
6. Click Update

Best Practices

Configuration

• Use descriptive titles - Make it clear what each probe monitors
• Set appropriate intervals - Balance freshness with server load
• Always test connections - Catch issues before creation
• Add context fields - Help identify probe sources in logs

Security

• Use environment-specific projects - Separate dev, staging, production
• Protect credentials - Use secure storage for tokens and secrets
• Limit access - Only give necessary permissions
• Rotate credentials - Periodically update authentication tokens

Monitoring

• Check probe logs regularly - Look for failures in project logs
• Set up alerts - Get notified when probes fail
• Monitor log volume - Ensure intervals aren't too aggressive
• Review probe list - Remove unused probes

Troubleshooting

Test Connection Fails

Problem: Connection test shows error

Solutions:

• Verify URL is correct and accessible
• Check authentication credentials
• Ensure endpoint is running
• Verify network connectivity from Logstyx server
• Check firewall rules

Probe Creates Error Logs

Problem: Logs show pull_success: false

Check:

• Endpoint availability
• Authentication validity (tokens might expire)
• Network issues
• Endpoint changes (URL, response format)

Interval Validation Error

Problem: "Maximum interval is 60 seconds"

Solution: The server limits intervals to 60 seconds maximum. Use 60 or lower.

JSON Parse Error

Problem: Context or Custom Headers won't save

Solution:

• Validate JSON syntax
• Use online JSON validator
• Remove trailing commas
• Check quotes are proper JSON format