verify-ssi

---
name: verify-ssi
description: Verify Single Step Instrumentation (SSI) is working end-to-end on Kubernetes — SSI automatically instruments applications for APM without code changes. Only use after enable-ssi has run.
metadata:
  version: "1.0.0"
  author: datadog-labs
  repository: https://github.com/datadog-labs/agent-skills
  tags: datadog,apm,kubernetes,ssi,verification,instrumentation
  alwaysApply: "false"
---

# Verify APM SSI on Kubernetes

> **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 enabling APM
- Check whether pods are being instrumented
- Verify the tracer is running and reporting telemetry
- Confirm tracer config is applied correctly

Do NOT invoke this skill if:
- SSI has not been enabled yet — run `enable-ssi` first
- Pods are not being instrumented at all — use `troubleshoot-ssi`

---

## Prerequisites

- [ ] `enable-ssi` is complete
- [ ] Application pods have been restarted since SSI was enabled

### pup-cli: check, install, and authenticate

### Claude runs

```bash
pup --version
```

If not found:

### Claude runs

```bash
brew tap datadog-labs/pack
brew install pup
```

Check auth:
```bash
pup auth status --site <DD_SITE>
```

If not authenticated:

### Claude runs

```bash
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 — use API key fallback: `export DD_APP_KEY=<your-app-key>`

---

## Context to resolve before acting

| Variable | How to resolve |
|---|---|
| `CLUSTER_NAME` | Check `spec.global.clusterName` in `datadog-agent.yaml`, or `kubectl config current-context` |
| `ENV` | Check `tags.datadoghq.com/env` label on the application Deployment |
| `SERVICE_NAME` | Check `tags.datadoghq.com/service` label on the application Deployment |

---

## Step 1: Confirm Pods are Instrumented

### Claude runs

```bash
kubectl get pod -l app=<APP_LABEL> -n <APP_NAMESPACE> \
  -o jsonpath='{.items[0].spec.initContainers[*].name}'
```

If the output includes `datadog-lib-<language>-init` and `datadog-init-apm-inject` — SSI init containers are injected.

ERROR: Init containers missing — pod was not restarted after SSI was enabled, or namespace targeting is not matching. Restart the pod and recheck.

---

## Step 2: Confirm the Tracer is Reporting Telemetry

### Claude runs

```bash
DD_SITE=<DD_SITE> pup apm services list --env <ENV> --from 1h
```

If `<SERVICE_NAME>` appears in the services list with `isTraced: true` — continue to Step 3.

ERROR: Service missing — send some traffic to the app first, then retry:

### Claude runs

```bash
# Port-forward and send test traffic
kubectl port-forward deployment/<DEPLOYMENT_NAME> 8099:8000 -n <APP_NAMESPACE> &
sleep 2 && for i in $(seq 1 10); do curl -s -o /dev/null http://localhost:8099/; done
sleep 30 && kill %1 2>/dev/null
DD_SITE=<DD_SITE> pup apm services list --env <ENV> --from 10m
```

ERROR: Still missing after traffic — check the agent's trace receiver: `kubectl exec -n <AGENT_NAMESPACE> <AGENT_POD> -c agent -- agent status | grep -A 10 "Receiver (previous minute)"`. If receiver shows 0 traces, go to `troubleshoot-ssi`.

---

## Step 3: Confirm Tracer Configuration

**Only run this step if `ddTraceConfigs` was explicitly configured in `enable-ssi`** (e.g. profiling, AppSec, Data Streams). If basic SSI was set up without `ddTraceConfigs`, skip this step. No `ddTraceConfigs` means there is nothing to check.

The pod spec is the source of truth for whether `ddTraceConfigs` reached the workload. SSI adds each entry as an env var on the pod's containers.

Run this for a pod in each target that has `ddTraceConfigs`. For Data Streams, run it once per Deployment in `DSM_SERVICES`, in that Deployment's namespace, with `<LABEL_KEY>` set to `DSM_LABEL_KEY` and `<APP_LABEL>` to that Deployment's value (both from `enable-dsm`). Otherwise `<LABEL_KEY>` is `app`. A pod matched only by a target without `ddTraceConfigs` (such as the catch-all `default` target) should not carry these variables. That is expected, not a failure.

### Claude runs

```bash
kubectl get pod -l <LABEL_KEY>=<APP_LABEL> -n <APP_NAMESPACE> --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp \
  -o jsonpath='{range .items[-1:].spec.containers[*]}{.name}{":"}{"\n"}{range .env[*]}{"  "}{.name}={.value}{.valueFrom}{"\n"}{end}{end}' | grep -E '^[^ ].*:$|^  DD_'
```

To see which target the pod matched:

```bash
kubectl get pod -l <LABEL_KEY>=<APP_LABEL> -n <APP_NAMESPACE> --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp \
  -o jsonpath='{.items[-1:].metadata.annotations.internal\.apm\.datadoghq\.com/applied-target}'
```

If every `ddTraceConfigs` variable for that target appears in the application container with the configured value, the config reached the pod. This confirms delivery, not that the SDK acted on it; `onboarding-summary` checks the product data. Continue.

ERROR: A variable is missing or has a different value.
- Different value: the Deployment sets that variable itself, and SSI never overwrites an existing variable. Remove it from the Deployment or align it.
- Missing: check it is present in the `DatadogAgent` manifest under the target that matches this pod, and that the pod was restarted after the Cluster Agent finished rolling out.

Then check what the tracer reports at runtime. This output is informational; do not fail Step 3 on it.

### Claude runs

```bash
pup apm service-library-config get \
  --service-name <SERVICE_NAME> \
  --env <ENV>
```

This view does not list every setting for every SDK. For example, `DD_DATA_STREAMS_ENABLED` does not show for Java, Python, Ruby, or Go services even when DSM is on. A setting missing here is not a failure when it is present in the pod env. For Data Streams, `onboarding-summary` confirms data with `data_streams.latency` (or `enable-dsm` Step 3 when it was run standalone).

---

## Done

Exit when ALL of the following are true:
- [ ] Step 1: target pods have SSI init containers injected (`datadog-lib-<language>-init` and `datadog-init-apm-inject`)
- [ ] Step 2: service appears in `pup apm services list` with `isTraced: true`
- [ ] Step 3 (only if `ddTraceConfigs` was set): each `ddTraceConfigs` variable appears in the env of pods in its target with the configured value. A setting missing from `pup apm service-library-config get` is not a failure

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
- Never run `kubectl delete` without user confirmation

From datadog-labs/agent-skills at 9cbd518, shown as plain text under its license: MIT (permissive). The license text is in LICENSE.

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