Open-Source Observability · DataDog

pup

Pup is a Rust-based CLI tool maintained by Datadog that exposes 200+ commands across 33+ Datadog products, designed primarily for AI agents to interact with Datadog's observability platform. It supports OAuth2+PKCE authentication and outputs structured JSON/YAML for machine parsing.

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Source: GitHub — github.com/DataDog/pup

943

GitHub stars

Forks

Rust

Primary language

Apache-2.0

License (OSI-approved)

Key facts

Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.

Field	Value
Repository	DataDog/pup
Owner	DataDog
Primary language	Rust
License	Apache-2.0 — OSI-approved
Stars	943
Forks	90
Open issues	21
Latest release	v1.6.2 (2026-07-03)
Last updated	2026-07-07
Source	https://github.com/DataDog/pup

What pup is

Written in Rust with a stable toolchain, Pup wraps Datadog's REST APIs (V1 and V2) into a discoverable command hierarchy covering metrics, logs, APM, RUM, security, infrastructure, incidents, and workflow automation. Commands return structured output suitable for agent consumption and shell scripting.

Quickstart

Get the pup source

Clone the repository and explore it locally.

terminalbash

1git clone https://github.com/DataDog/pup.git2cd pup3# follow the project's README for install & configuration

Need it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.

Best use cases

AI Agent Integration with Datadog

Primary use case: equip autonomous agents with CLI access to Datadog's full API surface for metric queries, log searches, alert management, and incident handling without maintaining custom API wrappers.

Infrastructure Operations Automation

Shell scripts and CI/CD pipelines can leverage Pup for monitor CRUD, downtime scheduling, host inventory queries, and tag management with structured JSON output for downstream processing.

Multi-Product Observability Workflows

Teams using multiple Datadog products (APM, logs, security, synthetics) can orchestrate cross-product workflows via runbooks, workflows, and composed CLI commands rather than multiple tool chains.

Implementation considerations

Authentication setup: Pup uses OAuth2 + PKCE, requiring initial `pup auth login` ceremony; ensure agent/service principal has Datadog API access and required scopes.
Command discoverability: Agents can invoke `pup --help` or `pup agent schema` to introspect available commands; keep pup version synchronized across environments for consistent API surface.
Output parsing: JSON/YAML output is structured but not versioned; monitor Datadog changelog and Pup release notes for breaking schema changes.
Error handling: Non-zero exit codes and stderr output vary by command; implement robust parsing of `jq`/YAML extractors in downstream scripts.
Rate limiting: Pup respects Datadog API rate limits; throttle or batch CLI invocations to avoid 429 errors in high-volume automation scenarios.

When to avoid it — and what to weigh

Real-time Streaming or Continuous Monitoring — Pup is a request-response CLI; it is not designed for streaming telemetry, continuous subscriptions, or event-driven architectures. Use Datadog agents or APIs directly for real-time ingestion.
Non-Datadog Observability Stack — Pup is tightly coupled to Datadog; it offers no abstraction for Prometheus, Grafana, New Relic, or other platforms. Do not use if your observability foundation is not Datadog.
Low-Latency or High-Throughput Bulk Operations — CLI invocation overhead and per-command authentication make Pup unsuitable for bulk ingestion or sub-second latency requirements. Use Datadog SDKs or direct API clients instead.
Offline or Air-Gapped Environments — Pup requires live network access to Datadog endpoints and OAuth2 authentication flow; it is not suitable for offline or air-gapped deployments without proxy infrastructure.

License & commercial use

Pup is licensed under Apache License 2.0 (SPDX: Apache-2.0), a permissive OSI-approved license allowing commercial use, modification, and redistribution with attribution and liability disclaimers.

Apache 2.0 is OSI-approved and explicitly permits commercial use, including in proprietary products and SaaS offerings. No additional licensing from Datadog is stated to be required for CLI use, but consult Datadog's terms of service for API access conditions and rate limiting policies applicable to your use case.

DEV.co evaluation signals

Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.

Signal	Assessment
Maintenance	Active
Documentation	Adequate
License clarity	Clear
Deployment complexity	Low
DEV.co fit	Good
Assessment confidence	High

Security considerations

Pup uses OAuth2 + PKCE for credential exchange, reducing exposure of long-lived API keys. Credentials are stored locally after login; ensure host filesystem permissions and credential rotation policies are in place. No explicit security audit, vulnerability disclosure, or SBOM information is provided. Review Datadog's authentication and data handling policies before deploying in sensitive environments. CLI commands execute on the local host; untrusted input in command arguments could pose shell injection risks if not properly escaped by calling code.

Alternatives to consider

Datadog Python SDK / Go SDK

Native language SDKs offer tighter integration, type safety, and are suitable for agents/services written in Python or Go. Require more code than CLI but offer lower invocation overhead.

Datadog MCP Server

Model Context Protocol server exposes Datadog APIs for Claude and other LLM-based agents without CLI overhead; better suited for pure AI agent consumption.

Terraform Datadog Provider

For infrastructure-as-code and drift management, Terraform provider is more mature for declarative monitor/dashboard/alert management than imperative CLI.

Software development agency

Build on pup with DEV.co software developers

If your team uses Datadog and needs CLI-driven automation, agent integration, or cross-product orchestration, review the GitHub repository, test with a small runbook, and verify OAuth2 authentication setup for your environment.

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pup FAQ

Can Pup run without interactive OAuth2 login?

Unknown. README does not detail non-interactive or service-account authentication flows. Requires review of auth plugin documentation or contact Datadog support.

What Datadog organizations/sites does Pup support?

Not clearly stated. Assumes standard Datadog REST API endpoints. Multi-site or non-US Datadog deployments may require endpoint configuration; verify with Datadog docs.

How does Pup handle rate limiting or throttling?

Not documented. Pup respects Datadog API rate limits (returns 429), but retry logic, backoff, or rate-limit headers are not described. Implement retry logic in calling code.

Is there a Windows binary or containerized Pup release?

Not documented in the provided data. Check GitHub releases or build instructions. Rust toolchain supports cross-compilation; verify availability.

Custom software development services

Adopting pup is usually one piece of a larger software development effort. As a software development agency, DEV.co provides software development services and web development expertise — pairing senior software developers and web developers with your team to design, build, and operate open-source observability software in production.

Evaluate Pup for Your Datadog Workflow

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