Prometheus Endpoint of All Available Metrics

Better Stack Team
Updated on November 18, 2024

In Prometheus, you can access the endpoint that lists all available metrics by querying the /metrics endpoint of your Prometheus server. Here’s how to access this information:

Accessing the Metrics Endpoint

  1. Default Metrics Endpoint: The default endpoint for Prometheus metrics is:

     
    http://<prometheus-server>:9090/metrics

    Replace <prometheus-server> with the hostname or IP address of your Prometheus server. If you're accessing it locally, you can use localhost.

  2. Accessing via a Web Browser or Curl: You can access the metrics endpoint in a web browser by entering the URL:

     
    <http://localhost:9090/metrics>

    Alternatively, you can use curl from the command line:

     
    curl <http://localhost:9090/metrics>

  3. List of Available Metrics: Once you access the /metrics endpoint, you will see a plain text output containing all the metrics currently being scraped by Prometheus. The metrics will be listed in the following format:

     
    # HELP <metric_name> <help_text>
# TYPE <metric_name> <type>
<metric_name>{<label1>="<value1>",<label2>="<value2>"} <value>

    Each metric is prefixed with # HELP and # TYPE, which provide additional information about what the metric represents and its data type.

Additional Information

  • Metrics from Exporters: If you are using exporters (like Node Exporter, Blackbox Exporter, etc.), each exporter will also expose its metrics at its configured endpoint, typically accessible in a similar manner.
  • Filtering Metrics: If you have many metrics and need to filter them, you can use Prometheus queries in the Prometheus UI (usually accessible at http://localhost:9090):
    • Use the "Graph" or "Expression" tab to write queries. For example, you can type up to see the metric for the status of monitored targets.
  • Explore Metrics via Grafana: If you are using Grafana as a front end for Prometheus, you can also view available metrics by creating a new panel and exploring the metric selection dropdown, which will list available metrics.

Conclusion

Accessing the Prometheus metrics endpoint is straightforward and provides a comprehensive list of all the metrics being collected. This endpoint is essential for understanding what metrics are available for monitoring and alerting.

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