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Verify Ssi

DatadogOfficialCreated by datadog-labs

  • Skill
  • Review and audit
  • Cloud and DevOps
  • MIT
  • Low risk

From the author

Verify Single Step Instrumentation (SSI) is working end-to-end on Linux hosts — SSI automatically instruments applications for APM without code changes. Only use after enable-ssi has run.
— the description by datadog-labs

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill provides a systematic procedure to verify that Single Step Instrumentation (SSI) is correctly configured and functioning on Linux hosts. It validates that the necessary shared libraries are injected into running processes, confirms the Datadog Agent is actively receiving traces, and ensures the service is correctly reporting to the Datadog backend. It is intended for use after the initial SSI setup to ensure observability is active without requiring code changes.

What it does

  • Inspects process memory maps to confirm successful injection of launcher and language libraries.
  • Checks Datadog Agent status to verify APM receiver health and trace ingestion.
  • Queries the Datadog API to confirm the service is visible and reporting in the APM dashboard.
  • Provides troubleshooting steps for common injection failures or missing trace data.
  • Automates traffic generation to verify trace reporting for inactive services.

When to use it

  • Immediately after enabling SSI on a Linux host.
  • When you need to confirm if a specific Linux process is being instrumented.
  • When troubleshooting why a service is not appearing in the Datadog APM UI.
  • To verify that the tracer is correctly reporting telemetry after a service restart.

Advantages

  • Provides authoritative verification using process memory maps.
  • Automates the multi-step validation process across host and backend.
  • Includes built-in troubleshooting paths for common configuration issues.
  • Ensures consistent verification of APM instrumentation status.

Usage examples

“Verify that my web-server service is instrumented with SSI on the production host.”
The agent will perform a multi-step check, verifying the process memory maps, agent status, and backend visibility, reporting back on whether the service is successfully traced.
“Check if SSI is working for my application after I enabled it.”
The agent will guide you through resolving necessary host details and perform the verification steps to confirm the instrumentation is active and reporting.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/datadog-labs/verify-ssi/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip verify-ssi.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by datadog-labs

Verify APM SSI on Linux

Before doing anything else: Fully resolve all variables in ## Context to resolve before acting. Do not begin Step 1 until every variable has a concrete value.

Triggers

Invoke this skill when the user expresses intent to:

  • Confirm SSI is working after installing the Datadog Agent on Linux

  • Check whether a Linux process is being instrumented

  • Verify the tracer is running and reporting telemetry

Do NOT invoke this skill if:

  • SSI has not been enabled yet — run agent-install first

  • Services have not been restarted since the agent was installed — restart them first, then verify


Prerequisites

  • [ ] agent-install is complete

  • [ ] Application services have been restarted since the agent was installed

pup-cli: check, install, and authenticate
Claude runs
pup --version

If not found:

Claude runs
brew tap datadog-labs/pack
brew install datadog-labs/pack/pup

Check auth:

pup auth status --site <DD_SITE>

If not authenticated:

Claude runs
pup auth login --site <DD_SITE>

This opens a browser tab for OAuth. Complete the login there — Claude will continue once the command exits.

If valid token — proceed. ERROR: No browser available: export DD_APP_KEY=<your-app-key>


Context to resolve before acting

VariableHow to resolve
DD_HOSTNAMEHostname as Datadog sees it — from sudo datadog-agent status output
SERVICE_NAMEExpected service name in APM — ask the user
ENVEnvironment tag — ask the user
DD_SITEgrep "^site:" /etc/datadog-agent/datadog.yaml via SSH, or ask the user
SSH_KEYPath to SSH private key
SSH_USERSSH username
SSH_HOSTHostname or IP of the target host

Step 1: Confirm the Process is Injected

Use /proc/<pid>/maps — this is the authoritative check. It shows the actual shared libraries loaded into the running process, which is the only way to confirm the launcher and tracer .so files were actually loaded.

Claude runs
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i <SSH_KEY> <SSH_USER>@<SSH_HOST> \
  "pgrep -a -f '<SERVICE_NAME>' | head -5"

Use the PID from above:

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i <SSH_KEY> <SSH_USER>@<SSH_HOST> \
  "sudo cat /proc/<PID>/maps | grep -E 'launcher|apm-library|datadog'"

If the output includes both the launcher (e.g. launcher.preload.so) and a language library (e.g. apm-library-python) — injection succeeded for this process.

ERROR: Launcher present but no language library — launcher ran but couldn't inject. Check for injection errors:

Claude runs
pup apm troubleshooting list --hostname <DD_HOSTNAME> --timeframe 1h

ERROR: Neither present — process was not injected. Check /etc/ld.so.preload:

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i <SSH_KEY> <SSH_USER>@<SSH_HOST> "cat /etc/ld.so.preload"

If empty — install did not set up the launcher. Re-run the install script with DD_APM_INSTRUMENTATION_ENABLED=host. If non-empty but the process still isn't injected — the process was started before the launcher was installed. Restart the service and recheck.


Step 2: Confirm the Agent is Receiving Traces

Claude runs
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i <SSH_KEY> <SSH_USER>@<SSH_HOST> \
  "sudo datadog-agent status 2>&1 | grep -A 15 'APM Agent'"

Healthy output shows:

  • feature_auto_instrumentation_enabled: true

  • Receiver (previous minute) with > 0 traces

ERROR: feature_auto_instrumentation_enabled: false — SSI not active on the agent. Check apm_config in /etc/datadog-agent/datadog.yaml.

ERROR: Receiver (previous minute): 0 — agent running but no traces yet. Generate traffic first (see Step 3), then recheck.


Step 3: Confirm the Service is Visible in Datadog

Claude runs
DD_SITE=<DD_SITE> pup apm services list --env <ENV> --from 1h

If <SERVICE_NAME> appears with isTraced: true — traces are reaching the Datadog backend.

Flask / ddtrace v3 naming note: With ddtrace >=3.x, Flask spans are emitted as service:flask rather than service:<DD_SERVICE>. The DD_SERVICE value appears as base_service on the spans. If you set DD_SERVICE=my-app, search for service:flask in the APM UI — the service list will show flask, not my-app. Check the base_service tag to confirm it matches your DD_SERVICE.

ERROR: Service missing — generate traffic to trigger trace creation:

Claude runs
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i <SSH_KEY> <SSH_USER>@<SSH_HOST> \
  "sudo ss -tlnp 2>/dev/null | grep <PID> || sudo netstat -tlnp 2>/dev/null | grep <PID>"

Use the port from above:

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i <SSH_KEY> <SSH_USER>@<SSH_HOST> \
  "for i in \$(seq 1 10); do curl -s -o /dev/null http://localhost:<PORT>/; done"

Wait 30 seconds, then retry:

DD_SITE=<DD_SITE> pup apm services list --env <ENV> --from 10m
DD_SITE=<DD_SITE> pup traces search --query "service:<SERVICE_NAME>" --from 10m --limit 5

ERROR: Still missing — check for injection errors and go to troubleshoot-ssi:

pup apm troubleshooting list --hostname <DD_HOSTNAME> --timeframe 1h

Done

Exit when ALL of the following are true:

  • [ ] Step 1: launcher + language library both visible in /proc/<PID>/maps

  • [ ] Step 2: agent APM receiver shows > 0 traces/min

  • [ ] Step 3: service appears in pup apm services list

If any check fails, go to troubleshoot-ssi.

When all steps pass, automatically proceed to onboarding-summary now — do not ask the user for permission.


Security constraints

  • Never write a raw API key into any file or chat message

  • Always confirm before restarting production services

Files

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs network access, Needs an API key, Needs a command-line tool, Needs Python

Security

What our scanner noticed· Low risk

  • Phrasing that asks for actions without confirmation

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Attribution and licence

Created by
datadog-labs
Publisher
Datadog (Official)
Source
datadog-labs/agent-skills · dd-apm/linux-ssi/verify-ssi · commit 8e1306a
Licence
MIT License (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced

AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by datadog-labs or Datadog.

Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download verify-ssi.zip