promql-cli
CLI for querying Prometheus and PromQL-compatible engines (Thanos, Cortex, VictoriaMetrics, Grafana Mimir, Grafana Tempo...) — instant queries, range queries, metric discovery (metrics/labels/meta subcommands), output formats (table/csv/json/graph). Apply when executing PromQL queries, troubleshooting performance issues on a software having observability, investigating latency/error rates/saturation, or analyzing time series data.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/samber/cc-skills --skill promql-cli- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads promql-cli automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
Security audits
Independent scans of the skill's instructions and bundled files.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
promql-cli — Prometheus Query CLI Skill
promql-cli (github.com/nalbury/promql-cli) is a Go CLI for querying, analyzing, and visualizing Prometheus metrics, plus PromQL fundamentals.
Reference Files
Read the relevant reference file(s) before executing tasks:
| File | When to read |
|---|---|
references/installation.md | User needs to install promql-cli or set up configuration (hosts, auth, token, password, multi-host) |
references/usage.md | User wants to discover metrics/exporters/labels, run queries, or choose output formats |
references/graphing.md | User wants to visualize Prometheus data as an ASCII chart in the terminal |
references/debugging.md | User is investigating a performance issue, latency, errors, saturation, data gaps, or query cost issues |
references/promql-reference.md | User needs help writing PromQL, understanding metric types, functions, or aggregations |
For most tasks, read references/usage.md. For PromQL help, read references/promql-reference.md. When debugging, read both references/debugging.md and references/promql-reference.md.
Setup Check
Before running any query, verify that a host is configured:
promql 'up' # succeeds if host is reachable; fails with connection error if not configured
# or
promql --host xxx 'up'
Recognize these errors as a configuration/auth problem and refer to references/installation.md:
| Error | Cause |
|---|---|
dial tcp ... connection refused | No host running at the configured address |
dial tcp ... no such host | Hostname not resolved — wrong host in config |
error querying prometheus: ...401... | Bearer token missing or invalid |
error querying prometheus: ...403... | Token valid but insufficient permissions |
please specify an authentication type | Auth flags partially set — use config file instead |
If any of these appear, do not create config files on behalf of the user — config files may contain credentials (tokens, passwords) that must never pass through an LLM. Instead, guide the user to set it up themselves:
"Please create
~/.promql-cli.yamlmanually with your Prometheus host (and credentials if needed). Seereferences/installation.mdfor the exact format. Let me know once it's ready."
Only after the user confirms the config is in place should you proceed with queries.
Quick Command Reference
promql 'up' # instant query
promql 'rate(http_requests_total[5m])' --start 1h # range query (ASCII graph)
promql 'up' --output csv # CSV output
promql 'up' --output json # JSON output
promql metrics # list all metric names
promql labels <metric> # list labels for a metric
promql meta <metric> # show metric type and help
promql --config ~/.promql-cli-prod.yaml 'up' # target a specific host
Key Principles
- Use
rate()on counters, never raw values — raw counters only ever increase; the absolute value is meaningless.rate()gives the per-second change rate, which is what you actually care about. - When debugging, isolate a single instance — aggregating across replicas masks per-instance anomalies. A single overloaded pod hidden behind healthy peers won't show up in averages.
- Filter early with label matchers in the innermost selector — Prometheus evaluates selectors before functions, so filtering late means scanning all time series. Early filters reduce data scanned and query latency.
- For histograms, keep
lein thebyclause beforehistogram_quantile()— the function needs alllebuckets to interpolate percentiles; droppingleearly producesNaNor wrong results. - Prefer
--output graphfor range queries — ASCII sparklines convey trend direction (rising, falling, spiking) in a compact format that LLMs parse well; raw timestamp tables require mental modeling. Never send thousands of raw JSON/CSV rows into the LLM context — use--output graphinstead, or run--output graphfirst and--output tableonly to inspect a narrow window. - Store credentials in
~/.promql-cli.yamland~/.promql_token, chmod 600 — passing tokens as CLI args exposes them in shell history and process listings.
Query Cost Rules
Always apply these before and during any query session:
- Always use the promql CLI — never call the Prometheus HTTP API from Python scripts or shell
curl. The CLI handles auth, formatting, and output consistently; Python API calls bypass all of that and produce raw JSON that must be parsed, inflating context and masking the graph output that models interpret best. - Check cardinality first — before querying an unfamiliar metric, count its time series (
count(metric_name)). High-cardinality metrics without label filters time out or flood the output. Seereferences/debugging.mdfor patterns. - Confirm the time window upfront — always ask before running range queries. Large intervals are expensive; prefer multiple short-interval queries over one long one.
- Clarify past vs. recent — for new investigations, ask whether the user wants a past event (specific timestamp) or a recent trend. If recent, offer concrete choices: last hour, last day, last week, last month.
- Aggregate in Prometheus — never pull raw series to aggregate in Python or shell. Push
sum by(...),avg by(...), ortopk()into the PromQL expression — Prometheus collapses series server-side. - Timeout = query too broad — if a query takes >15s, reduce scope: add label filters, shorten
--start, or add an aggregation wrapper. Apply the same narrowed scope to all subsequent queries in the session. - Data gaps → check
up— when a metric shows missing data, runup{job="...", instance="..."}before diagnosing the application. A0value confirms the exporter was down. Seereferences/debugging.md.
This skill is not exhaustive. Please refer to the official promql-cli documentation and examples for up-to-date information. Context7 can help as a discoverability platform.
If you encounter a bug or unexpected behavior in promql-cli itself, open an issue at https://github.com/nalbury/promql-cli/issues.
FAQ
What does the promql-cli skill do?
CLI for querying Prometheus and PromQL-compatible engines (Thanos, Cortex, VictoriaMetrics, Grafana Mimir, Grafana Tempo...) — instant queries, range queries, metric discovery (metrics/labels/meta subcommands), output formats (table/csv/json/graph). Apply when executing PromQL queries, troubleshooting performance issues on a software having observability, investigating latency/error rates/saturation, or analyzing time series data.
How do I install promql-cli?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/samber/cc-skills --skill promql-cli in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/promql-cli/ (personal) or .claude/skills/promql-cli/ (project).
Which AI agents can use promql-cli?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is promql-cli safe to install?
Security partners have reviewed it: Gen Agent Trust Hub passed; Socket flagged items to review; Snyk passed; ZeroLeaks passed. As with any skill, read the SKILL.md and bundled scripts before installing.
Who maintains promql-cli?
It is published by samber in samber/cc-skills. It has 4,489 recorded installs.
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