# dpm-finder

Identifies high-cardinality Prometheus metrics driving up Grafana Cloud bills by ranking them by Data Points per Minute.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 4200 installs · ★ 290
- Author: grafana
- License: Apache-2.0 · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/grafana/skills/tree/HEAD/skills/grafana-cloud/dpm-finder/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-25
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/dpm-finder

## What it does

This skill guides the agent through running `dpm-finder`, a Grafana Professional Services CLI tool. It scans a Prometheus endpoint and ranks active metrics by Data Points per Minute (DPM). The output breaks down cardinality per label set, helping pinpoint noisy metric series or compare cardinality shifts around recording rules.

Running the tool requires Python 3.9+ and an API key with the `metrics:read` scope. The Prometheus username must be your numeric stack ID. Without this numeric ID, requests fail immediately with HTTP 401. The utility can calculate costs via the `--cost-per-1000-series` flag and supports a standalone Prometheus exporter mode. Multi-stack scans should stay within three concurrent tasks to avoid hitting rate limits.

## Requirements
- Works with: Grafana

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add grafana/skills --skill dpm-finder -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/dpm-finder/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/dpm-finder/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add grafana/skills --skill dpm-finder -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/dpm-finder/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add grafana/skills --skill dpm-finder -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/dpm-finder/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install grafana/skills dpm-finder
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/dpm-finder/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add grafana/skills --skill dpm-finder -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/grafana/skills --path skills/grafana-cloud/dpm-finder
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/dpm-finder/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add grafana/skills --skill dpm-finder -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/grafana/skills/tree/HEAD/skills/grafana-cloud/dpm-finder/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- rank Prometheus metrics by Data Points per Minute
- pinpoint noisy labels causing cardinality spikes
- estimate series costs with pricing flags
- compare metric cardinality before and after recording rules

## Example prompts
- Find which Prometheus metrics generate the highest DPM in my Grafana Cloud stack.
- Run dpm-finder to get the top 10 cardinality offenders in JSON format.
- Scan my Prometheus endpoint for metrics above 2.0 DPM with label breakdowns.

## Source text · SKILL.md · Apache-2.0

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 662b30c7c3cae070.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 662b30c7c3cae070
````text
---
name: dpm-finder
license: Apache-2.0
description: Find the Prometheus metrics that drive your Grafana Cloud bill. `dpm-finder` is a Grafana Professional Services CLI that ranks metrics by Data Points per Minute (DPM) with per-label-set breakdown, optional `--cost-per-1000-series` pricing, and a Prometheus-exporter mode. Use when investigating high Grafana Cloud spend, hunting noisy / high-cardinality metrics, comparing pre/post recording-rule cardinality, or feeding cost data into dashboards — even when the user says "why is my Mimir bill so high?", "find the biggest metrics", "cardinality offenders", or "optimize Prometheus cost" without naming dpm-finder.
---

# dpm-finder

Grafana PS tool ranking Prometheus metrics by DPM with per-series breakdown. Source: https://github.com/grafana-ps/dpm-finder

## Prerequisites

- Python 3.9+
- A Grafana Cloud Prometheus endpoint URL + numeric stack ID + API key (`glc_…`, `metrics:read` scope)

## Common Workflows

### One-shot analysis (most common)

```bash
# 1. Clone + venv + install
git clone https://github.com/grafana-ps/dpm-finder.git
cd dpm-finder
python3 -m venv venv && source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

# 2. Configure creds — copy .env_example → .env and fill in:
#    PROMETHEUS_ENDPOINT  https://prometheus-<cluster_slug>.grafana.net  (NOTHING after .net)
#    PROMETHEUS_USERNAME  <numeric stack id>
#    PROMETHEUS_API_KEY   glc_…

# 3. Verify creds before scanning — should return >0 series count
curl -s -u "$PROMETHEUS_USERNAME:$PROMETHEUS_API_KEY" \
  "$PROMETHEUS_ENDPOINT/api/v1/label/__name__/values" | jq '.data | length'

# 4. Run the scan (10-min lookback, 2.0 DPM minimum, top output)
./dpm-finder.py -f json -m 2.0 -t 8 --timeout 120 -l 10

# 5. Read the result — top 10 metrics by DPM
jq -r '.metrics | sort_by(-.dpm) | .[:10][] | "\(.dpm)\t\(.series_count)\t\(.metric_name)"' metric_rates.json
```

If step 5 is empty, lower `-m` or confirm the endpoint URL has no trailing path after `.net`.

### Discover stack details with `gcx`

If [gcx](https://github.com/grafana/gcx) is installed it can derive the endpoint + username:

```bash
gcx config check          # active stack context
gcx config list-contexts  # all configured stacks
gcx config view           # full config with endpoints
```

The Prometheus endpoint pattern is `https://prometheus-{cluster_slug}.grafana.net`. Username is the numeric stack ID.

Without gcx: look up in the Grafana Cloud portal, or query `grafanacloud_instance_info{name=~"STACK_NAME.*"}` on the usage datasource.

### Multi-stack runs

Limit to **max 3 concurrent** runs to avoid GCloud rate limits. Batch the stacks and wait for each batch before the next.

## Interpreting results

- **DPM** = max data points per minute across that metric's series
- **series_count** = active time-series count for that metric
- **series_detail[]** (JSON / text only) = per-label-combination DPM breakdown — use this to spot the offending label
- Sort by DPM descending → noisiest metrics; combine with `--cost-per-1000-series` to prioritize by spend
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 662b30c7c3cae070

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---
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