mcpbeat Sign in

Datadog Agent Skill

Implement Datadog monitoring and APM for infrastructure and applications. Configure agents, create dashboards, set up alerts, and implement distributed tracing. Use when implementing enterprise monitoring, APM, or unified observability platforms.

3k tokens
context cost
the whole folder, loaded on every use
2
files
instructions only
0
copies elsewhere
how many repositories repackaged it
511
stars on the repo
on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository
npx skills add https://github.com/BagelHole/DevOps-Security-Agent-Skills --skill datadog

What comes with it

2 027 bytes besides the instruction
references/datadog-integrations.md

The instruction itself

34 sections, as written by the author

Datadog

Monitor infrastructure and applications with Datadog's unified observability platform.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

  • Implementing enterprise-grade monitoring
  • Setting up APM and distributed tracing
  • Creating unified dashboards for infrastructure and apps
  • Configuring intelligent alerting
  • Monitoring cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Prerequisites

  • Datadog account and API key
  • Agent installation access
  • Application code access for APM

Agent Installation

Linux

# Install agent
DD_API_KEY=<YOUR_API_KEY> DD_SITE="datadoghq.com" bash -c "$(curl -L https://s3.amazonaws.com/dd-agent/scripts/install_script_agent7.sh)"

# Or via package manager
apt-get update && apt-get install datadog-agent

# Configure API key
echo "api_key: YOUR_API_KEY" >> /etc/datadog-agent/datadog.yaml

# Start agent
systemctl start datadog-agent
systemctl enable datadog-agent

Docker

# docker-compose.yml
version: '3.8'

services:
  datadog-agent:
    image: gcr.io/datadoghq/agent:7
    environment:
      - DD_API_KEY=${DD_API_KEY}
      - DD_SITE=datadoghq.com
      - DD_LOGS_ENABLED=true
      - DD_APM_ENABLED=true
      - DD_PROCESS_AGENT_ENABLED=true
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
      - /proc/:/host/proc/:ro
      - /sys/fs/cgroup/:/host/sys/fs/cgroup:ro
    ports:
      - "8126:8126"  # APM
      - "8125:8125/udp"  # DogStatsD

Kubernetes

# Using Helm
helm repo add datadog https://helm.datadoghq.com

helm install datadog datadog/datadog \
  --set datadog.apiKey=${DD_API_KEY} \
  --set datadog.site=datadoghq.com \
  --set datadog.logs.enabled=true \
  --set datadog.apm.portEnabled=true \
  --set datadog.processAgent.enabled=true \
  --namespace datadog \
  --create-namespace

Agent Configuration

# /etc/datadog-agent/datadog.yaml
api_key: YOUR_API_KEY
site: datadoghq.com

# Hostname
hostname: myserver.example.com

# Tags applied to all metrics
tags:
  - env:production
  - service:myapp
  - team:platform

# Log collection
logs_enabled: true

# APM
apm_config:
  enabled: true
  apm_dd_url: https://trace.agent.datadoghq.com

# Process monitoring
process_config:
  enabled: true

# Container monitoring
container_collect_all: true
docker_labels_as_tags:
  app: service
  environment: env

Integration Configuration

MySQL

# /etc/datadog-agent/conf.d/mysql.d/conf.yaml
init_config:

instances:
  - host: localhost
    port: 3306
    username: datadog
    password: <PASSWORD>
    tags:
      - env:production
    options:
      replication: true
      extra_status_metrics: true

PostgreSQL

# /etc/datadog-agent/conf.d/postgres.d/conf.yaml
init_config:

instances:
  - host: localhost
    port: 5432
    username: datadog
    password: <PASSWORD>
    dbname: mydb
    collect_activity_metrics: true
    collect_database_size_metrics: true

NGINX

# /etc/datadog-agent/conf.d/nginx.d/conf.yaml
init_config:

instances:
  - nginx_status_url: http://localhost:80/nginx_status
    tags:
      - env:production

Log Collection

File-Based Logs

# /etc/datadog-agent/conf.d/myapp.d/conf.yaml
logs:
  - type: file
    path: /var/log/myapp/*.log
    service: myapp
    source: python
    sourcecategory: custom
    tags:
      - env:production

  - type: file
    path: /var/log/nginx/access.log
    service: nginx
    source: nginx
    log_processing_rules:
      - type: exclude_at_match
        name: exclude_healthchecks
        pattern: health_check

Docker Logs

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  myapp:
    labels:
      com.datadoghq.ad.logs: '[{"source": "python", "service": "myapp"}]'

Kubernetes Logs

# Pod annotation
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  annotations:
    ad.datadoghq.com/myapp.logs: |
      [{
        "source": "python",
        "service": "myapp",
        "log_processing_rules": [{
          "type": "multi_line",
          "name": "python_tracebacks",
          "pattern": "^Traceback"
        }]
      }]

APM Configuration

Python

from ddtrace import patch_all, tracer

# Automatic instrumentation
patch_all()

# Configure tracer
tracer.configure(
    hostname='localhost',
    port=8126,
    service='myapp',
    env='production',
    version='1.0.0'
)

# Manual instrumentation
@tracer.wrap(service='myapp', resource='process_order')
def process_order(order_id):
    with tracer.trace('validate_order') as span:
        span.set_tag('order_id', order_id)
        # Validation logic
    
    with tracer.trace('save_order'):
        # Save logic
        pass
# Install library
pip install ddtrace

# Run with auto-instrumentation
ddtrace-run python app.py

Node.js

const tracer = require('dd-trace').init({
  service: 'myapp',
  env: 'production',
  version: '1.0.0',
  logInjection: true
});

// Manual instrumentation
const span = tracer.startSpan('custom_operation');
span.setTag('user_id', userId);
// ... operation
span.finish();
# Install library
npm install dd-trace

# Run with auto-instrumentation
DD_TRACE_ENABLED=true node --require dd-trace/init app.js

Go

import (
    "gopkg.in/DataDog/dd-trace-go.v1/ddtrace/tracer"
)

func main() {
    tracer.Start(
        tracer.WithService("myapp"),
        tracer.WithEnv("production"),
        tracer.WithServiceVersion("1.0.0"),
    )
    defer tracer.Stop()

    // Manual span
    span, ctx := tracer.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "process_request")
    defer span.Finish()
    span.SetTag("user_id", userID)
}

Custom Metrics

DogStatsD

from datadog import DogStatsd

statsd = DogStatsd(host='localhost', port=8125)

# Counter
statsd.increment('myapp.orders.count', tags=['env:production'])

# Gauge
statsd.gauge('myapp.queue.size', queue_size, tags=['queue:orders'])

# Histogram
statsd.histogram('myapp.request.duration', response_time)

# Distribution
statsd.distribution('myapp.response_time', duration, tags=['endpoint:/api/orders'])

API Submission

from datadog_api_client import Configuration, ApiClient
from datadog_api_client.v2.api.metrics_api import MetricsApi
from datadog_api_client.v2.model.metric_payload import MetricPayload
from datadog_api_client.v2.model.metric_series import MetricSeries
from datadog_api_client.v2.model.metric_point import MetricPoint

configuration = Configuration()
with ApiClient(configuration) as api_client:
    api = MetricsApi(api_client)
    
    payload = MetricPayload(
        series=[
            MetricSeries(
                metric="custom.metric.name",
                type=MetricSeries.GAUGE,
                points=[MetricPoint(value=42.0, timestamp=int(time.time()))],
                tags=["env:production"]
            )
        ]
    )
    api.submit_metrics(body=payload)

Dashboards

Dashboard JSON

{
  "title": "Application Overview",
  "widgets": [
    {
      "definition": {
        "type": "timeseries",
        "title": "Request Rate",
        "requests": [
          {
            "q": "sum:trace.http.request.hits{service:myapp}.as_rate()",
            "display_type": "line"
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "definition": {
        "type": "query_value",
        "title": "Error Rate",
        "requests": [
          {
            "q": "sum:trace.http.request.errors{service:myapp}.as_rate() / sum:trace.http.request.hits{service:myapp}.as_rate() * 100"
          }
        ],
        "precision": 2
      }
    }
  ]
}

Monitors (Alerts)

Metric Monitor

{
  "name": "High Error Rate",
  "type": "metric alert",
  "query": "sum(last_5m):sum:trace.http.request.errors{service:myapp}.as_count() / sum:trace.http.request.hits{service:myapp}.as_count() > 0.05",
  "message": "Error rate is {{value}}% for {{service.name}}. @slack-alerts",
  "tags": ["service:myapp", "env:production"],
  "options": {
    "thresholds": {
      "critical": 0.05,
      "warning": 0.02
    },
    "notify_no_data": true,
    "no_data_timeframe": 10
  }
}

APM Monitor

{
  "name": "High Latency Alert",
  "type": "trace-analytics alert",
  "query": "trace-analytics(\"service:myapp @http.status_code:2*\").rollup(\"avg\", \"@duration\").last(\"5m\") > 2000000000",
  "message": "Average latency is above 2 seconds. @pagerduty",
  "options": {
    "thresholds": {
      "critical": 2000000000
    }
  }
}

Common Issues

Issue: Agent Not Reporting

Problem: No data appearing in Datadog

Solution: Check API key, verify agent status with datadog-agent status

Issue: Missing Traces

Problem: APM traces not appearing

Solution: Verify APM is enabled, check tracer configuration, verify port 8126

Issue: High Cardinality Tags

Problem: Custom metrics getting dropped

Solution: Reduce unique tag values, use distributions instead of histograms

Best Practices

  • Use consistent service and environment tags
  • Implement proper tag naming conventions
  • Use unified service tagging (service, env, version)
  • Set up service-level monitors
  • Create dashboards per service
  • Implement log correlation with traces
  • Use distributions for latency metrics
  • Configure proper alert escalation
  • prometheus-grafana - Open source alternative
  • alerting-oncall - Alert management
  • aws-vpc - AWS monitoring

Other skills for the same job

different authors, same section of the catalogue
Azure Kubernetes Automatic Readiness
by microsoft
vendor ×3

Assess Kubernetes workloads and cluster configuration for AKS Automatic compatibility. Identifies incompatibilities, generates fixes, and guides migration from AKS Standard to AKS Automatic. WHEN: migrate to AKS Automatic, check AKS Automatic readiness, validate manifests for Automatic, assess cluster for Automatic compatibility, fix deployment for Automatic compatibility, identify AKS Automatic migration blockers, is my cluster ready for AKS Automatic.

13k tokens
Capacity
by microsoft
vendor ×3

Discovers available Azure OpenAI model capacity across regions and projects. Analyzes quota limits, compares availability, and recommends optimal deployment locations based on capacity requirements. USE FOR: find capacity, check quota, where can I deploy, capacity discovery, best region for capacity, multi-project capacity search, quota analysis, model availability, region comparison, check TPM availability. DO NOT USE FOR: actual deployment (hand off to preset or customize after discovery), quota increase requests (direct user to Azure Portal), listing existing deployments.

6k tokens scripts
Customize
by microsoft
vendor ×3

Interactive guided deployment flow for Azure OpenAI models with full customization control. Step-by-step selection of model version, SKU (GlobalStandard/Standard/ProvisionedManaged), capacity, RAI policy (content filter), and advanced options (dynamic quota, priority processing, spillover). USE FOR: custom deployment, customize model deployment, choose version, select SKU, set capacity, configure content filter, RAI policy, deployment options, detailed deployment, advanced deployment, PTU deployment, provisioned throughput. DO NOT USE FOR: quick deployment to optimal region (use preset).

8k tokens
Deploy Model
by microsoft
vendor ×3

Unified Azure OpenAI model deployment skill with intelligent intent-based routing. Handles quick preset deployments, fully customized deployments (version/SKU/capacity/RAI policy), and capacity discovery across regions and projects. USE FOR: deploy model, deploy gpt, create deployment, model deployment, deploy openai model, set up model, provision model, find capacity, check model availability, where can I deploy, best region for model, capacity analysis. DO NOT USE FOR: listing existing deployments (use foundry_models_deployments_list MCP tool), deleting deployments, agent creation (use agent/create), project creation (use project/create).

26k tokens scripts
Preset
by microsoft
vendor ×3

Intelligently deploys Azure OpenAI models to optimal regions by analyzing capacity across all available regions. Automatically checks current region first and shows alternatives if needed. USE FOR: quick deployment, optimal region, best region, automatic region selection, fast setup, multi-region capacity check, high availability deployment, deploy to best location. DO NOT USE FOR: custom SKU selection (use customize), specific version selection (use customize), custom capacity configuration (use customize), PTU deployments (use customize).

9k tokens
Lamindb
by christophacham
×3

This skill should be used when working with LaminDB, an open-source data framework for biology that makes data queryable, traceable, reproducible, and FAIR. Use when managing biological datasets (scRNA-seq, spatial, flow cytometry, etc.), tracking computational workflows, curating and validating data with biological ontologies, building data lakehouses, or ensuring data lineage and reproducibility in biological research. Covers data management, annotation, ontologies (genes, cell types, diseases, tissues), schema validation, integrations with workflow managers (Nextflow, Snakemake) and MLOps platforms (W&B, MLflow), and deployment strategies.

22k tokens
Latchbio Integration
by christophacham
×3

Latch platform for bioinformatics workflows. Build pipelines with Latch SDK, @workflow/@task decorators, deploy serverless workflows, LatchFile/LatchDir, Nextflow/Snakemake integration.

12k tokens
Modal
by christophacham
×3

Run Python code in the cloud with serverless containers, GPUs, and autoscaling. Use when deploying ML models, running batch processing jobs, scheduling compute-intensive tasks, or serving APIs that require GPU acceleration or dynamic scaling.

17k tokens

How to use it

Copy the folder

Take bagelhole/datadog from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.

Install what it needs

The instructions reference pip, npm, apt. Without those the skill loads but fails at the first command.