open-consul/website/source/docs/agent/watches.html.markdown

---
layout: "docs"
page_title: "Watches"
sidebar_current: "docs-agent-watches"
---

# Watches

Watches are a way of specifying a view of data (list of nodes, KV pairs,
health checks, etc) which is monitored for any updates. When an update
is detected, an external handler is invoked. A handler can be any
executable. As an example, you could  watch the status of health checks and
notify an external system when a check is critical.

Watches are implemented using blocking queries in the [HTTP API](/docs/agent/http.html).
Agent's automatically make the proper API calls to watch for changes,
and inform a handler when the data view has updated.

Watches can can be configured as part of the [agent's configuration](/docs/agent/options.html),
causing them to run once the agent is initialized. Reloading the agent configuration
allows for adding or removing watches dynamically.

Alternatively, the [watch command](/docs/commands/watch.html) enables a watch to be
started outside of the agent. This can be used by an operator to inspect data in Consul,
or to easily pipe data into processes without being tied to the agent lifecycle.

In either case, the `type` of the watch must be specified. Each type of watch
supports different parameters, both required and optional. These options are specified
in a JSON body when using agent configuration, or as CLI flags for the watch command.

## Handlers

The watch specifiation specifies the view of data to be monitored.
Once that view is updated the specified handler is invoked. The handler
can be any executable.

A handler should read it's input from stdin, and expect to read
JSON formatted data. The format of the data depends on the type of the
watch. Each watch type documents the format type, and because they
map directly to an HTTP API, handlers should expect the input to
match the format of the API.

Additionally, the `CONSUL_INDEX` environmental variable will be set.
This maps to the `X-Consul-Index` value from the [HTTP API](/docs/agent/http.html).

## Global Parameters

In addition to the parameters supported by each option type, there
are a few global parameters that all watches support:

* `datacenter` - Can be provided to override the agent's default datacenter.
* `token` - Can be provided to override the agent's default ACL token.
* `handler` - The handler to invoke when the data view updates.

## Watch Types

The following types are supported, with more documentation below:

* `key` - Watch a specific KV pair
* `keyprefix` - Watch a prefix in the KV store
* `services` - Watch the list of available services
* `nodes` - Watch the list of nodes
* `service`-  Watch the instances of a service
* `checks` - Watch the value of health checks


### Type: key

The "key" watch type is used to watch a specific key in the KV store.
It requires that the "key" parameter be specified.

This maps to the `/v1/kv/` API internally.

Here is an example configuration:

    {
        "type": "key",
        "key": "foo/bar/baz",
        "handler": "/usr/bin/my-key-handler.sh"
    }

Or, using the watch command:

    $ consul watch -type key -key foo/bar/baz /usr/bin/my-key-handler.sh

An example of the output of this command:

    {
        "Key": "foo/bar/baz",
        "CreateIndex": 1793,
        "ModifyIndex": 1793,
        "LockIndex": 0,
        "Flags": 0,
        "Value": "aGV5",
        "Session": ""
    }

### Type: keyprefix

The "keyprefix" watch type is used to watch a prefix of keys in the KV store.
It requires that the "prefix" parameter be specified.

This maps to the `/v1/kv/` API internally.

Here is an example configuration:

    {
        "type": "keyprefix",
        "prefix": "foo/",
        "handler": "/usr/bin/my-prefix-handler.sh"
    }

Or, using the watch command:

    $ consul watch -type keyprefix -prefix foo/ /usr/bin/my-prefix-handler.sh

An example of the output of this command:

    [
        {
            "Key": "foo/bar",
            "CreateIndex": 1796,
            "ModifyIndex": 1796,
            "LockIndex": 0,
            "Flags": 0,
            "Value": "TU9BUg==",
            "Session": ""
        },
        {
            "Key": "foo/baz",
            "CreateIndex": 1795,
            "ModifyIndex": 1795,
            "LockIndex": 0,
            "Flags": 0,
            "Value": "YXNkZg==",
            "Session": ""
        },
        {
            "Key": "foo/test",
            "CreateIndex": 1793,
            "ModifyIndex": 1793,
            "LockIndex": 0,
            "Flags": 0,
            "Value": "aGV5",
            "Session": ""
        }
    ]


### Type: services

The "services" watch type is used to watch the list of available
services. It has no parameters.

This maps to the `/v1/catalog/services` API internally.

An example of the output of this command:

    {
        "consul": [],
        "redis": [],
        "web": []
    }

### Type: nodes

The "nodes" watch type is used to watch the list of available
nodes. It has no parameters.

This maps to the `/v1/catalog/nodes` API internally.

An example of the output of this command:

    [
        {
            "Node": "nyc1-consul-1",
            "Address": "192.241.159.115"
        },
        {
            "Node": "nyc1-consul-2",
            "Address": "192.241.158.205"
        },
        {
            "Node": "nyc1-consul-3",
            "Address": "198.199.77.133"
        },
        {
            "Node": "nyc1-worker-1",
            "Address": "162.243.162.228"
        },
        {
            "Node": "nyc1-worker-2",
            "Address": "162.243.162.226"
        },
        {
            "Node": "nyc1-worker-3",
            "Address": "162.243.162.229"
        }
    ]

### Type: service

The "service" watch type is used to monitor the providers
of a single service. It requires the "service" parameter,
but optionally takes "tag" and "passingonly". The "tag" parameter
will filter by tag, and "passingonly" is a boolean that will
filter to only the instances passing all health checks.

This maps to the `/v1/health/service` API internally.

Here is an example configuration:

    {
        "type": "service",
        "key": "redis",
        "handler": "/usr/bin/my-service-handler.sh"
    }

Or, using the watch command:

    $ consul watch -type service -service redis /usr/bin/my-service-handler.sh

An example of the output of this command:

    [
        {
            "Node": {
                "Node": "foobar",
                "Address": "10.1.10.12"
            },
            "Service": {
                "ID": "redis",
                "Service": "redis",
                "Tags": null,
                "Port": 8000
            },
            "Checks": [
                {
                    "Node": "foobar",
                    "CheckID": "service:redis",
                    "Name": "Service 'redis' check",
                    "Status": "passing",
                    "Notes": "",
                    "Output": "",
                    "ServiceID": "redis",
                    "ServiceName": "redis"
                },
                {
                    "Node": "foobar",
                    "CheckID": "serfHealth",
                    "Name": "Serf Health Status",
                    "Status": "passing",
                    "Notes": "",
                    "Output": "",
                    "ServiceID": "",
                    "ServiceName": ""
                }
            ]
        }
    ]

### Type: checks

The "checks" watch type is used to monitor the checks of a given
service or in a specific state. It optionally takes the "service"
parameter to filter to a specific service, or "state" to filter
to a specific state. By default, it will watch all checks.

This maps to the `/v1/health/state/` API if monitoring by state,
or `/v1/health/checks/` if monitoring by service.

An example of the output of this command:

    [
        {
            "Node": "foobar",
            "CheckID": "service:redis",
            "Name": "Service 'redis' check",
            "Status": "passing",
            "Notes": "",
            "Output": "",
            "ServiceID": "redis",
            "ServiceName": "redis"
        }
    ]