newrelic: Go NewRelic plugin API client

newrelic is an embeddable client for implementing custom NewRelic plugins. It is aided and inpired by yvasiyarov's newrelic_platform_go package.

Installation

go get github.com/neocortical/newrelic

Use

import (
	"runtime"
	"time"

	"github.com/neocortical/newrelic"
)

func main() {
	client := newrelic.New("abc123") // license key goes here
	myplugin := &Plugin{
		Name: "My Plugin",
		GUID: "com.example.newrelic.myplugin",
	}
	client.AddPlugin(myplugin)

	// the easiest way to add a metric is to use a closure
	metric := newrelic.NewMetric("MyApp/Total CGO Calls",
		func() (float64, error) { return float64(runtime.NumCgoCall()), nil })
	plugin.AddMetric()

	// call run after doing all plugin config
	client.Run()

	// main application code here..
	for {
		time.Sleep(time.Minute)
	}
}

Advanced Features

Set log levels and custom log destination

newrelic.LogLevel = newrelic.LogAll
newrelic.Logger = myAwesomeLogger // standard library logger

Use an HTTP proxy to send data to NewRelic

proxy := &http.Client{Transport: &http.Transport{Proxy: http.ProxyURL(myProxyUrl)}}
client := newrelic.New("abc123")
client.HTTPClient = proxy

Implementation Notes

The NewRelic plugin API reference can be found here. There is some naming confusion in the API that can throw people off. Namely, when crafting API requests, the term components is used when plugins would be more accurate. Additionally, in the reference, the term Agent refers to both the code interacting with the API and the host/process information sent in requests.

When writing this package, the term Plugin is used exclusively to refer to plugins, and the term Client is used to refer to the "agent" that sends data to NewRelic. The objects that model JSON requests are completely separated from business objects to keep things clear.