dd-symdb

★ 940

by datadog-labs · part of datadog-labs/pup

Symbol Database - search service symbols, find probe-able methods.

🔌 This skill ships inside the pup plugin — install the plugin and you also get 40 sub-agents.

This is the playbook your agent receives when the skill activates — you don't need to read it to use the skill, but it's here to audit before installing.

Datadog Symbol Database

Search for classes and methods in instrumented services. Find probe-able method locations for use with the Live Debugger.

Authentication

Authenticate via OAuth2 (recommended) or API keys:

# OAuth2 (recommended)
pup auth login

# Or use API keys
export DD_API_KEY="key" DD_APP_KEY="key" DD_SITE="datadoghq.com"

Combining with Debugger

Find methods then place probes:

# 1. Find probe-able methods
pup symdb search --service my-service --query "MyController" --view probe-locations

# 2. Place a probe on a discovered method (language auto-detected from symdb)
pup debugger probes create \
  --service my-service \
  --env production \
  --probe-location "com.example.MyController:handleRequest" \
  --template "handleRequest called with id={id}"

# Or use the full signature when multiple overloads exist
pup debugger probes create \
  --service my-service \
  --env production \
  --probe-location "com.example.MyController:handleRequest(int, java.lang.String)" \
  --template "handleRequest called with id={id}"

# 3. Stream events
pup debugger probes watch <PROBE_ID> --timeout 60 --limit 10

Options

Flag	Description	Default
`--service`	Service name (required)	—
`--query`	Search query, matches scope names	None (lists all)
`--version`	Service version filter	None
`--view`	Output view: `full`, `names`, `probe-locations`	`full`

Failure Handling

Problem	Fix
No results	Verify the service is instrumented and reporting to Datadog
Auth error	Run `pup auth login` or set `DD_API_KEY` + `DD_APP_KEY` + `DD_SITE`
Wrong service name	Check exact service name in Datadog APM service catalog
Stale symbols	Filter with `--version` to target the currently deployed version

References

Copy & paste — that's it

npx skills add https://github.com/datadog-labs/pup --skill dd-symdb

Run this in your project — your agent picks the skill up automatically.

Prerequisites

pup must be installed:

brew tap datadog-labs/pack && brew install pup

Usage

Names View

One scope name per line.

pup symdb search --service my-service --query "Controller" --view names

Probe Locations View

TYPE:METHOD(arg1, arg2, ...) signatures suitable for --probe-location in pup debugger probes create. Falls back to TYPE:METHOD when no argument info is available.

pup symdb search --service my-service --query "VetController" --view probe-locations

Full View

Raw JSON response from the API.

pup symdb search --service my-service --query "VetController" --view full

Filter by Version

pup symdb search --service my-service --query "handler" --version "v1.2.3" --view names