PMSEARCH_DAILY(1)

💖 pmsearch_daily — from the pmsearch_daily(1) girlies 💖

okay bestie, so this is a General Commands Manual page for pmsearch_daily(1), and if you're here it's because you want the PCP full-text search index rebuilt and you want it done right. sit down, hydrate, let's go 🫶

---

✨ NAME ✨

pmsearch_daily — rebuild the PCP full-text search index 🎀

---

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

pmsearch_daily [-NV?]  [-a archive] [-o index]

that's it. that's the whole vibe. three optional things and two flags, no cap. 💅

---

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

pmsearch_daily rebuilds the runtime full-text search index that pmsearch(1) and the pmproxy(1) /search REST API endpoint are out here using. it's giving infrastructure, it's giving overnight cron energy. 👑

its main character purpose is to capture instance names — think disk devices, network interfaces, filesystems, etc. — the stuff that only exists on a running system. like, you can't know what network interfaces a machine has until it's actually up and living its life, right? so this script goes and asks.

it queries the running pmcd(1) — or a PCP archive instead, if you pass -a — for all the metric names, all the help text, and all the instance domain members. then it builds a SQLite FTS5 search index using newhelp(1). the resulting index file lands at $PCP_VAR_DIR/lib/pmsearch.index by default. 🌸

every night, the script copies the base index that shipped with the PCP package and extends that copy with instance data from the running system. which means the nightly index always starts fresh from the complete set of metric help text. no stale leftovers, no half-eaten data, we love a clean slate. ✨

this command is typically invoked nightly via a systemd timer or cron job. it's a set-it-and-forget-it icon.

and here's the safety bit, so listen up: if pmcd isn't running, or if no metrics are found, the command exits without modifying any existing index file. your index stays untouched, bestie. the base index at $PCP_SHARE_DIR/lib/pmsearch.index remains available as a fallback. 💖

---

✨ OPTIONS ✨

• -a archive, --archive=archive — use archive as the source of metric metadata and instance data instead of querying the running pmcd(1). perfect for testing, or for building an index on a system where pmcd isn't even running. no live daemon, no problem. 🦋
• -N, --showme — dry-run mode. shows you what would be done without writing any files. window shopping, but for filesystems. 🎀
• -o index, --output=index — write the index to index instead of the default $PCP_VAR_DIR/lib/pmsearch.index. you pick the destination, you're the main character. 💅
• -V, --verbose — verbose diagnostics. reports the number of metrics extracted and the output path. nosy in the best way. 🔥
• -?, --help — display usage message and exit. the classic "wait what were the flags again" button.

---

✨ FILES ✨

• $PCP_VAR_DIR/lib/pmsearch.index — the default output path for the runtime search index. this one is a copy of the base index, extended with instance data. when it's present, it gets preferred over the base index. it's the upgraded version, obviously. 👑
• $PCP_SHARE_DIR/lib/pmsearch.index — the base search index that ships with the PCP package, built at package build time from help text source files. it gets copied as the starting point for each nightly rebuild, and it's used directly as a fallback when the runtime index doesn't exist. the reliable bestie that's always there. 🫶

---

✨ PCP ENVIRONMENT ✨

environment variables with the prefix PCP_ are what parameterize the file and directory names PCP uses. on each installation, the file /etc/pcp.conf contains the local values for these variables. and the $PCP_CONF variable can be used to specify an alternative configuration file — as described in pcp.conf(5). so if you want to point things somewhere else, that's your girl. 🌈

---

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

PCPIntro(1), newhelp(1), pmcd(1), pminfo(1), pmsearch(1) and pmproxy(1).

go read those too, iykyk. 📚✨

---

heads up bestie: if pmcd isn't up and you didn't pass -a, nothing gets written — that's a feature, not a bug, and your existing index is safe. 💖

---

and that's the whole page, no cap. this came to you from the Performance Co-Pilot girlies at PCP — PMSEARCH_DAILY(1), signed, sealed, slayed. 💅👑🎀