datadog-automation - Agent Skills

Datadog Automation via Rube MCP

Automate Datadog monitoring and observability operations through Composio's Datadog toolkit via Rube MCP.

Prerequisites

Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)

Active Datadog connection via RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit datadog

Always call RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS first to get current tool schemas

Setup

Get Rube MCP: Add https://rube.app/mcp as an MCP server in your client configuration. No API keys needed — just add the endpoint and it works.

Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS responds

Call RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit datadog

If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete Datadog authentication

Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. Query and Explore Metrics

When to use: User wants to query metric data or list available metrics

Tool sequence:

DATADOG_LIST_METRICS - List available metric names [Optional]

DATADOG_QUERY_METRICS - Query metric time series data [Required]

Key parameters:

query: Datadog metric query string (e.g., avg:system.cpu.user{host:web01})

from: Start timestamp (Unix epoch seconds)

to: End timestamp (Unix epoch seconds)

q: Search string for listing metrics

Pitfalls:

Query syntax follows Datadog's metric query format: aggregation:metric_name{tag_filters}

from and to are Unix epoch timestamps in seconds, not milliseconds

Valid aggregations: avg, sum, min, max, count

Tag filters use curly braces: {host:web01,env:prod}

Time range should not exceed Datadog's retention limits for the metric type

2. Search and Analyze Logs

When to use: User wants to search log entries or list log indexes

Tool sequence:

DATADOG_LIST_LOG_INDEXES - List available log indexes [Optional]

DATADOG_SEARCH_LOGS - Search logs with query and filters [Required]

Key parameters:

query: Log search query using Datadog log query syntax

from: Start time (ISO 8601 or Unix timestamp)

to: End time (ISO 8601 or Unix timestamp)

sort: Sort order ('asc' or 'desc')

limit: Number of log entries to return

Pitfalls:

Log queries use Datadog's log search syntax: service:web status:error

Search is limited to retained logs within the configured retention period

Large result sets require pagination; check for cursor/page tokens

Log indexes control routing and retention; filter by index if known

3. Manage Monitors

When to use: User wants to create, update, mute, or inspect monitors

Tool sequence:

DATADOG_LIST_MONITORS - List all monitors with filters [Required]

DATADOG_GET_MONITOR - Get specific monitor details [Optional]

DATADOG_CREATE_MONITOR - Create a new monitor [Optional]

DATADOG_UPDATE_MONITOR - Update monitor configuration [Optional]

DATADOG_MUTE_MONITOR - Silence a monitor temporarily [Optional]

DATADOG_UNMUTE_MONITOR - Re-enable a muted monitor [Optional]

Key parameters:

monitor_id: Numeric monitor ID

name: Monitor display name

type: Monitor type ('metric alert', 'service check', 'log alert', 'query alert', etc.)

query: Monitor query defining the alert condition

message: Notification message with @mentions

tags: Array of tag strings

thresholds: Alert threshold values (critical, warning, ok)

Pitfalls:

Monitor type must match the query type; mismatches cause creation failures

message supports @mentions for notifications (e.g., @slack-channel, @pagerduty)

Thresholds vary by monitor type; metric monitors need critical at minimum

Muting a monitor suppresses notifications but the monitor still evaluates

Monitor IDs are numeric integers

4. Manage Dashboards

When to use: User wants to list, view, update, or delete dashboards

Tool sequence:

DATADOG_LIST_DASHBOARDS - List all dashboards [Required]

DATADOG_GET_DASHBOARD - Get full dashboard definition [Optional]

DATADOG_UPDATE_DASHBOARD - Update dashboard layout or widgets [Optional]

DATADOG_DELETE_DASHBOARD - Remove a dashboard (irreversible) [Optional]

Key parameters:

dashboard_id: Dashboard identifier string

title: Dashboard title

layout_type: 'ordered' (grid) or 'free' (freeform positioning)

widgets: Array of widget definition objects

description: Dashboard description

Pitfalls:

Dashboard IDs are alphanumeric strings (e.g., 'abc-def-ghi'), not numeric

layout_type cannot be changed after creation; must recreate the dashboard

Widget definitions are complex nested objects; get existing dashboard first to understand structure

DELETE is permanent; there is no undo

5. Create Events and Manage Downtimes

When to use: User wants to post events or schedule maintenance downtimes

Tool sequence:

DATADOG_LIST_EVENTS - List existing events [Optional]

DATADOG_CREATE_EVENT - Post a new event [Required]

DATADOG_CREATE_DOWNTIME - Schedule a maintenance downtime [Optional]

Key parameters for events:

title: Event title

text: Event body text (supports markdown)

alert_type: Event severity ('error', 'warning', 'info', 'success')

tags: Array of tag strings

Key parameters for downtimes:

scope: Tag scope for the downtime (e.g., host:web01)

start: Start time (Unix epoch)

end: End time (Unix epoch; omit for indefinite)

message: Downtime description

monitor_id: Specific monitor to downtime (optional, omit for scope-based)

Pitfalls:

Event text supports Datadog's markdown format including @mentions

Downtimes scope uses tag syntax: host:web01, env:staging

Omitting end creates an indefinite downtime; always set an end time for maintenance

Downtime monitor_id narrows to a single monitor; scope applies to all matching monitors

6. Manage Hosts and Traces

When to use: User wants to list infrastructure hosts or inspect distributed traces

Tool sequence:

DATADOG_LIST_HOSTS - List all reporting hosts [Required]

DATADOG_GET_TRACE_BY_ID - Get a specific distributed trace [Optional]

Key parameters:

filter: Host search filter string

sort_field: Sort hosts by field (e.g., 'name', 'apps', 'cpu')

sort_dir: Sort direction ('asc' or 'desc')

trace_id: Distributed trace ID for trace lookup

Pitfalls:

Host list includes all hosts reporting to Datadog within the retention window

Trace IDs are long numeric strings; ensure exact match

Hosts that stop reporting are retained for a configured period before removal

Common Patterns

Monitor Query Syntax

Metric alerts:

avg(last_5m):avg:system.cpu.user{env:prod} > 90

Log alerts:

logs("service:web status:error").index("main").rollup("count").last("5m") > 10

Tag Filtering

Tags use key:value format: host:web01, env:prod, service:api

Multiple tags: {host:web01,env:prod} (AND logic)

Wildcard: host:web*

Pagination

Use page and page_size or offset-based pagination depending on endpoint

Check response for total count to determine if more pages exist

Continue until all results are retrieved

Known Pitfalls

Timestamps:

Most endpoints use Unix epoch seconds (not milliseconds)

Some endpoints accept ISO 8601; check tool schema

Time ranges should be reasonable (not years of data)

Query Syntax:

Metric queries: aggregation:metric{tags}

Log queries: field:value pairs

Monitor queries vary by type; check Datadog documentation

Rate Limits:

Datadog API has per-endpoint rate limits

Implement backoff on 429 responses

Batch operations where possible

Quick Reference

Task	Tool Slug	Key Params
Query metrics	DATADOG_QUERY_METRICS	query, from, to
List metrics	DATADOG_LIST_METRICS	q
Search logs	DATADOG_SEARCH_LOGS	query, from, to, limit
List log indexes	DATADOG_LIST_LOG_INDEXES	(none)
List monitors	DATADOG_LIST_MONITORS	tags
Get monitor	DATADOG_GET_MONITOR	monitor_id
Create monitor	DATADOG_CREATE_MONITOR	name, type, query, message
Update monitor	DATADOG_UPDATE_MONITOR	monitor_id
Mute monitor	DATADOG_MUTE_MONITOR	monitor_id
Unmute monitor	DATADOG_UNMUTE_MONITOR	monitor_id
List dashboards	DATADOG_LIST_DASHBOARDS	(none)
Get dashboard	DATADOG_GET_DASHBOARD	dashboard_id
Update dashboard	DATADOG_UPDATE_DASHBOARD	dashboard_id, title, widgets
Delete dashboard	DATADOG_DELETE_DASHBOARD	dashboard_id
List events	DATADOG_LIST_EVENTS	start, end
Create event	DATADOG_CREATE_EVENT	title, text, alert_type
Create downtime	DATADOG_CREATE_DOWNTIME	scope, start, end
List hosts	DATADOG_LIST_HOSTS	filter, sort_field
Get trace	DATADOG_GET_TRACE_BY_ID	trace_id