Using the Prometheus HTTP API

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Using the Prometheus HTTP API

Tools such as the Prometheus expression browser can provide an easy way to execute queries and interact with Prometheus data. However, Prometheus also provides an HTTP API that can allow you to integrate Prometheus with your own custom tools. In this lesson, you will perform some simple queries using the Prometheus HTTP API, allowing you to gain hands-on experience with using that API.

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Lab Info

Level

Intermediate

Last updated

Aug 15, 2025

Duration

45m

Challenge

Get the Current Number of Threads
1. Log in to the Prometheus server.
2. Make an HTTP request to the Prometheus server to retrieve the data and save it to a file:
  
  curl localhost:9090/api/v1/query?query=num_threads > /home/cloud_user/num_threads.txt
3. If you want, you can view the file to verify the output is there:
  
  cat /home/cloud_user/num_threads.txt

Challenge

Get the `num_threads` Data Over the Last Five Minutes

Make an HTTP request to retrieve the data and save it to a file:

start=$(date --date '-5 min' +'%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')

end=$(date +'%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')

curl "localhost:9090/api/v1/query_range?query=num_threads&start=$start&end=$end&step=15s" > /home/cloud_user/num_threads_5_minutes.txt

View the file to verify the output is there.

cat /home/cloud_user/num_threads_5_minutes.txt

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