Better Uptime Management Skill

Manage and analyze monitors, incidents, status pages, and on-call schedules in Better Uptime.

API Conventions

Authentication

All API calls use the Authorization: Bearer $BETTERUPTIME_API_KEY header. Never hardcode tokens.

Base URL

https://betteruptime.com/api/v2

Core Helper Function

#!/bin/bash

bu_api() {
    local method="$1"
    local endpoint="$2"
    local data="${3:-}"

    if [ -n "$data" ]; then
        curl -s -X "$method" \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer $BETTERUPTIME_API_KEY" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            "https://betteruptime.com/api/v2${endpoint}" \
            -d "$data"
    else
        curl -s -X "$method" \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer $BETTERUPTIME_API_KEY" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            "https://betteruptime.com/api/v2${endpoint}"
    fi
}

Output Rules

• TOKEN EFFICIENCY: Extract only needed fields with jq
• Target <=50 lines per script output
• Never dump full API responses

Discovery Phase

List Monitors

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Monitors ==="
bu_api GET "/monitors?per_page=25" \
    | jq -r '.data[] | "\(.attributes.status)\t\(.attributes.monitor_type)\t\(.attributes.url[0:50])\t\(.attributes.pronounceable_name)"' \
    | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Monitor Status Summary ==="
bu_api GET "/monitors?per_page=100" \
    | jq -r '.data[] | .attributes.status' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn

Active Incidents

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Active Incidents ==="
bu_api GET "/incidents?per_page=20" \
    | jq -r '.data[] | select(.attributes.resolved_at == null) | "\(.attributes.started_at[0:16])\t\(.attributes.call)\t\(.attributes.name[0:60])"' \
    | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== On-Call Now ==="
bu_api GET "/on-call-calendars" \
    | jq -r '.data[] | "\(.attributes.name)\t\(.attributes.current_on_call.name // "nobody")"' | column -t

Analysis Phase

Monitor Performance

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Monitors Down ==="
bu_api GET "/monitors?per_page=50" \
    | jq -r '.data[] | select(.attributes.status == "down") | "\(.attributes.pronounceable_name)\t\(.attributes.url[0:40])\tdown since \(.attributes.last_checked_at[0:16])"' \
    | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Response Times (slowest) ==="
bu_api GET "/monitors?per_page=50" \
    | jq -r '.data[] | select(.attributes.status == "up") | "\(.attributes.pronounceable_name)\t\(.attributes.response_time_ms // 0)ms"' \
    | sort -t$'\t' -k2 -rn | head -10

Incident History

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Recent Incidents ==="
bu_api GET "/incidents?per_page=25" \
    | jq -r '.data[] | "\(.attributes.started_at[0:16])\t\(.attributes.resolved_at[0:16] // "ongoing")\t\(.attributes.name[0:50])"' \
    | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Incident Duration Stats ==="
bu_api GET "/incidents?per_page=50" \
    | jq '[.data[] | select(.attributes.resolved_at != null) | ((.attributes.resolved_at | fromdateiso8601) - (.attributes.started_at | fromdateiso8601)) / 60] | {avg_minutes: (add / length | . * 10 | round / 10), count: length}'

Output Format

• Use tab-separated columns with column -t
• Limit lists to 15-25 items
• Show summaries before details

Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or --help output.
3. NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

Counter-Rationalizations

Shortcut	Counter	Why
"I'll skip discovery and check known resources"	Always run Phase 1 discovery first	Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors
"The user only asked for a quick check"	Follow the full discovery → analysis flow	Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures
"Default configuration is probably fine"	Audit configuration explicitly	Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled
"Metrics aren't needed for this"	Always check relevant metrics when available	API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues
"I don't have access to that"	Try the command and report the actual error	Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative

Common Pitfalls

• JSON:API format: Responses use data[].attributes structure
• Monitor types: status, expected_status_code, keyword, keyword_absence, ping, tcp, udp, smtp, pop, imap
• Pagination: Use per_page and check pagination.next URL for more pages
• Heartbeats: Separate endpoint /heartbeats for cron job and service health checks
• Rate limits: 200 requests per minute