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Frontend Scripts

So, you're diving into the world of Zabbix frontend scripts, and you're in for a treat! These little powerhouses unlock a whole new level of flexibility within your Zabbix environment. Imagine being able to trigger custom actions directly from your Zabbix interface – whether it's as an action operation responding to an alert, a manual intervention on a host, or a targeted response to a specific event.

What's truly exciting is where you can weave these scripts into your daily Zabbix workflow. Picture adding custom menu items right within your Hosts, Problems, Dashboards, and even your Maps sections. This means the information and tools you need are always at your fingertips.

Ultimately, frontend scripts empower you to extend Zabbix far beyond it's out-of-the-box capabilities. They provide that crucial extra layer of customization, allowing you to seamlessly integrate your own scripts and workflows directly into the Zabbix frontend. Get ready to harness this power and tailor Zabbix precisely to your needs!

Creating a frontend scripts

For this example, we'll work with a frontend script I developed that lets you put hosts in maintenance mode. This script makes it possible to add a convenient option in your GUI, allowing you to place hosts in maintenance with just a few clicks. You can download the script from my GitHub repository :

https://github.com/Trikke76/Zabbix/blob/master/maintenance/zabbix-maintenance.py

Download this script and place it in /usr/bin/ 

cd /usr/bin/
sudo dnf install wget -y
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Trikke76/Zabbix/refs/heads/master/maintenance/zabbix-maintenance.py -P /usr/bin/
chmod +x /usr/bin/zabbix-maintenance.py

Our Python script relies on an additional package that needs to be installed before running. Make sure you have this dependency set up on your system before executing the script.

install python3-requests

Redhat 

dnf install python3-requests
Ubuntu 
sudo apt install python3-requests

Note

For the user you can use the user Admin or you can create a new user. but make sure this user has enough permissions to create a maintenance mode. It's best practice to create a dedicated user for this in production.

Starting with Zabbix 7.2, token-based authentication is required when working with the API. Each user can create their own tokens, while the Super admin has management privileges over all tokens.

To create a token for your Admin user:

  • Navigate to User settings
  • Select the API tokens sections

User API

9.1 User API

After selecting API tokens from the menu, you'll land on the API tokens page. Look for the Create API token button in the top right corner and click it to begin the creation process.

Create API

9.2 Create API page

A popup window will appear for creating your new API token. You'll need to provide a unique Name for your token. While there's an option to set an expiration date, we'll keep our token active indefinitely by leaving the time limit settings unchanged.

New API token

9.3 Create new API token

A confirmation popup will display your newly created API token, showing the Auth token string generated by Zabbix. Be sure to copy or write down this token immediately, as it will no longer be visible once you click Close. If you lose this token, you'll need to delete it and create a new one. There's no way to retrieve or view the token again through the interface.

API Token Created

9.4 Added API token

The next step is updating our script with the proper connection details. Edit the script and modify the variables to include your Zabbix server's correct URL and the token you just created. Pay attention to whether your server uses HTTP or HTTPS protocol. Be sure the URL in your script matches your actual server configuration.

Replace variables

sudo vi /usr/bin/zabbix-maintenance.py

ZABBIX_API_URL = "https://zabbix-url.be/api_jsonrpc.php"
ZABBIX_API_TOKEN = "API TOKEN"

Now that our script is properly configured, we need to set it up in the Zabbix interface. From the main Zabbix menu, navigate to Alerts and then select Scripts from the dropdown to access the scripts configuration area.

Alerts scripts menu

9.5 Scripts menu

You should already see a few existing script like Ping, Traceroute, .... that's normal those where created with the installation of Zabbix. Press the button Create scripts on the top right corner. A now form will popup where we will configure our maintenance script. Fill out the following fields:

  • Name: Create maintenance no data collection
  • Scope : Manual host action
  • Menu path : Maintenance
  • Type : Script
  • Execute on : Zabbix proxy or server
  • Commands : /usr/bin/zabbix-maintenance.py create "{HOST.HOST}" {MANUALINPUT} no

At the bottom we have a tab Advanced configuration Click on this and extra configuration options will appear.

As you probably noticed we used in our Command the macro {MANUALINPUT} this will be used to gather information from a user prompt. This allows us to ask the user to fill in the time he wants to place the host in maintenance.

  • Enable user input : yes
  • Input prompt : How many minutes do you want to place the host in maintenance ?
  • Input type : String (A dropdown box can also be used in case you have a list of options)
  • Default string : 60 (but we can use anything this will just be the default answer)
  • Input validation rule : (\d+) (our regex in perl to only allow digits)
  • Enable confirmation : yes
  • Confirmation text : Are you sure ?

If everything went well you should end up with a similar looking page :

Script form

9.6 Script form

When your are ready press Add at the bottom of the form. Let's test our script to see if it works.

Testing the frontend script

In Zabbix go to the menu Monitoring => Hosts and click on the host Zabbix server and from the scripts menu select Maintenance and click on the sub Menu Create maintenance no data collection. You should see a popup asking you how many minutes you like to place the host in maintenance.

Monitoring host

9.7 Create maintenance

When we click continue however we get a popup telling us that Zabbix cannot execute the script.

error execute

9.8 Error executing script

This error is normal Zabbix has an option in the configuration file of the Zabbix server and the proxy that blocks the execution of global scripts.

We get a notification that Zabbix cannot execute the script. The config file has an option to block global executions by default in the server or proxy config activate the option "EnableGlobalScripts=1". Go to the Zabbix server configuration file with you favourite editor and enable the parameter and restart the server service.

If all goes well this time you will see a popup telling you it was successful this time.

Maintenance ok

9.9 Maintenance successful

When we look in our Zabbix menu under Data collection => Maintenance we can see that a new maintenance was created for our host with the time we had specified. This will allow us to create Maintenance windows for hosts from the frontend with only a few clicks.

Even better we are now able to allow certain non Admin users to create maintenance periods for hosts without the need to give special access rights or create special profiles. We have in our config of our script the option to limit the use of this frontend script to certain Host groups and User groups.

Tip

You can now create the same script but add the option yes instead of no when it comes to data collection and you can also create a script to delete the maintenance period by just replacing create with delete and remove all options after "{HOST.HOST}". This way you are able to create maintenance periods and delete them when not needed anymore per host.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've reached the end of this journey into Zabbix frontend scripts. By now, you should have a solid understanding of how to create, implement, and manage these tools to extend Zabbix's functionality.

We've covered a lot of ground, from the initial steps of crafting your own scripts to seamlessly integrating them into the Zabbix frontend. You've learned how to gather user input to make your scripts more dynamic and versatile, and, crucially, how to configure user and host permissions to maintain a secure and controlled Zabbix environment.

The ability to tailor Zabbix to your specific needs with frontend scripts is a significant advantage. It allows you to automate repetitive tasks, streamline workflows, and gain deeper insights into your infrastructure. Whether you're automating routine checks, creating custom dashboards, or integrating with external systems, the knowledge you've gained here will enable you to effectively leverage Zabbix.

Remember, the examples and techniques presented in this book provide a foundation. The true power of Zabbix frontend scripts lies in their flexibility and your ability to adapt them to your specific needs. As you continue to explore and experiment, you'll discover new ways to enhance your monitoring capabilities and optimize your Zabbix setup.

Questions

  • Why are Zabbix frontend scripts useful?
  • What are some ways Zabbix frontend scripts can help automate tasks?
  • Why is it important to configure user and host permissions when using Zabbix frontend scripts?

Useful URLs

  • https://blog.zabbix.com/setting-up-manual-ticket-creation-using-zabbix-frontend-scripts/15550/
  • https://www.zabbix.com/documentation/current/en/manual/web_interface/frontend_sections/administration/scripts
  • https://github.com/Trikke76/Zabbix/tree/master/maintenance