# Create a Monitoring Pipeline Instance

To create or update a Pipeline, you need to provide the complete Pipeline configuration. If you wish to create a new Pipeline or modify an existing one with a specified ID, you should include all necessary details in your request. Optional fields will be automatically populated with default values or left empty if not provided. To ensure that the Pipeline is created or updated correctly, perform a `PUT` request with the full Pipeline data.

## Pipeline authentication for secure metric ingestion

To ensure secure and authorized metric data submission, each Monitoring Pipeline is assigned a unique `key` upon creation. This key acts as a credential for metric exporters or agents pushing data to the pipeline's HTTP endpoint.

{% hint style="warning" %}
For security reasons, the API key is not returned in the response after creating a pipeline. It's crucial to store the key securely during pipeline creation for future reference.
{% endhint %}

**Key points**

* The `key` is included in the `metadata` section of the pipeline response (see `"key": "momSrlgAAEmaYEvBsMr^HsYn"` in the example).
* Metric exporters or agents must be configured to include this key in their requests to the pipeline's HTTP endpoint for successful data ingestion.
* This mechanism safeguards the pipeline from unauthorized data submissions and maintains data integrity within the Monitoring Service.

**Best practices**

* Store the pipeline key securely for authorized metric sources only.
* Avoid sharing or exposing the key publicly.
* Consider [<mark style="color:blue;">**rotating pipeline keys**</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/sections-test/guides/observability/monitoring-service/api-how-tos/obtain-key) periodically for enhanced security.

To create a Monitoring Pipeline, perform a `POST` request.

## Request

```bash
curl --location \
--request POST 'https://monitoring.de-txl.ionos.com/pipelines' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN' \
--data '{
  "metadata": {},
  "properties": {
    "name": "Pipeline1"
  }
}'
```

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Request Body Parameters" %}
Below is the list of mandatory body parameters for creating a Pipeline:

| Body Parameters   | Required | Type   | Description                                                                                    | Example                   |
| ----------------- | -------- | ------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| `metadata`        | no       | object | Metadata                                                                                       | `{}`                      |
| `properties`      | yes      | object | A pipeline consists of the generic rules and configurations of a monitoring pipeline instance. | `{ "name": "Pipeline1" }` |
| `properties.name` | yes      | string | Name of your Pipeline.                                                                         | `Pipeline1`               |
| {% endtab %}      |          |        |                                                                                                |                           |

{% tab title="Request Header Parameters" %}
To make authenticated requests to the API, the following fields are mandatory in the request header:

| Header Parameters | Required | Type   | Description                                                                                                                              |
| ----------------- | -------- | ------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `Authorization`   | yes      | string | The Bearer token enables requests to authenticate using a JSON Web Token (JWT). The token can be generated using the Authentication API. |
| `Content-Type`    | yes      | string | Set this to `application/json`.                                                                                                          |
| {% endtab %}      |          |        |                                                                                                                                          |
| {% endtabs %}     |          |        |                                                                                                                                          |

## Response

The following is a sample response. The values returned by each response differ based on the request.

```json
{
  "id": "f72521ba-1590-5998-bf96-6eb997a5887d",
  "type": "pipeline",
  "href": "/pipelines/f72521ba-1590-5998-bf96-6eb997a5887d",
  "metadata": {
    "createdDate": "2020-12-10T13:37:50+01:00",
    "createdBy": "ionos:identity:::users/87f9a82e-b28d-49ed-9d04-fba2c0459cd3",
    "createdByUserId": "87f9a82e-b28d-49ed-9d04-fba2c0459cd3",
    "lastModifiedDate": "2020-12-11T13:37:50+01:00",
    "lastModifiedBy": "ionos:identity:::users/87f9a82e-b28d-49ed-9d04-fba2c0459cd3",
    "lastModifiedByUserId": "87f9a82e-b28d-49ed-9d04-fba2c0459cd3",
    "resourceURN": "ionos:<product>:<location>:<contract>:<resource-path>",
    "status": "AVAILABLE",
    "statusMessage": null,
    "key": "momSrlgAAEmaYEvBsMr^HsYn",
    "grafanaEndpoint": "https://grafana.logging.de-txl.ionos.com",
    "httpEndpoint": "https://f8ss7fgr7s-metrics.jf9ejf8t6hrt.monitoring.de-txl.ionos.com"
  },
  "properties": {
    "name": "Pipeline1"
  }
}
```

{% hint style="success" %}
**Result:** A Monitoring Pipeline is successfully created.
{% endhint %}