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Knowledge base

PMTA knowledge base›Mechanism§ 5.1

Monitor response formats

format parameter
Structure instead of text

Every monitor page can be retrieved as a structure: the format=xml or format=json parameter on the address without the /ui suffix. By default the monitor root redirects a browser to /ui.

The XML and JSON structures match field for field — the manual gives the status response in both formats — so the reading side takes whichever suits it.

The main trap is the address with /ui. A link copied from a browser leads to the page for a person: parsing gets markup instead of a structure.
What the Hub does. It asks for json — that way the response is parsed without parsing text.
Recommended values

Which address for whom:

For whom Address Format
a person with /ui a page
an XML program without /ui, format=xml XML
a JSON program without /ui, format=json JSON
The address without /ui, the two formats and matching structures come from the manual (§ 5.1, § 5.3). The table is ours.
Example configuration
# one page in two formats
curl -s 'http://127.0.0.1:8080/status?format=json'curl -s 'http://127.0.0.1:8080/status?format=xml'
Both responses carry the same fields.
yellow — — directive names, blue — blocks. They are highlighted the same way in the text of the card.
Compatibility
PowerMTA 6.0
described in the manual of this version · platform: any
The vendor does not state the first version for every directive — there is no note here. The name also appears in the 5.0 edition of the manual.
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Related entries

2 relations

Depends on

What protects the web monitor and what that protection is notThe same setting at another level. § 5.1

Applies to

What the node tells about itself and through which channelsA related mechanism: they work together. § 4.1.1

Referenced from

The whole node state in one documentTwo response formats with matching structures — the choice is up to the reading side. § 5.1Command output formatsThe same setting at another level. § 6.2

How to check on the node
Check that a structure arrives:
curl -s 'http://127.0.0.1:8080/status?format=json' | head -c 200
The response should start with {; HTML markup means the request went to the page for a person.
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What else to read

3 articles

◇What the node tells about itself and through which channelsSeven observation surfaces: the web monitor, the console in four formats, the log, accounting, accounting search, metrics and export to external analytics.◇Two inbound report processors and what to do with themBounces by message and complaints are parsed by two identically structured blocks; each has its own address list and its own pair of decisions about the message’s fate.◇Five ways for a queue to hand off a messageA queue does not have to use SMTP: it can write to a file, run a program, call over HTTP or discard.

In the Hub
Cost of a mistake
safe: a wrong value breaks nothing
Scenarios
Collect telemetry