The problem I’m encountering is a JSONDecodeError in Python when trying to parse a response from a Kibana API request. The error occurs when I attempt to convert the response into JSON using the response.json() method from the requests library. The traceback points to the issue arising because the response body does not contain valid JSON, specifically giving the error message: “Expecting value: line 1 column 1 (char 0).”

Key Details:

• Environment: Python script running locally.
• Libraries: Using the requests library to interact with Kibana’s API.
• API Request: Sending a POST request to Kibana’s URL with a JSON payload.
• Expected Response: I expect the response from Kibana to be in JSON format, containing metrics data.
• Actual Issue: When the response is processed, the script fails to parse it as JSON, suggesting that Kibana’s response might be empty, malformed, or not JSON at all.

Code Context:

1. Config: I have Kibana’s URL, an authorization token, and an index pattern set up in a configuration file (config.py).
2. Data Extraction: The DataExtractor class handles the API request. It constructs a query and sends it using a POST request to Kibana’s /search endpoint.
3. Error Trigger: The error is triggered when the script attempts to parse the response using response.json() in the query_kibana method.

Troubleshooting Steps:

• I need to determine whether the response from Kibana is empty, contains an error, or is returned in an unexpected format.
• Possible causes might include:
  • Authentication issues: The token might be incorrect or expired.
  • Network issues: The request might not be reaching the server correctly.
  • Server-side issues: Kibana might be returning a non-JSON error message or no content at all.

I’m seeking help to identify why Kibana might be returning a response that can’t be parsed as JSON and how to fix or handle this issue properly.

Code Files:
config.py

# Configuration for Kibana URL and Github Token under the Config Class
class Config:
    # Kibana URL and Github Token to extract the data  and Kibana Index Pattern
    KIBANA_URL = <mykibanaURL>
    GITHUB_TOKEN = <my token>
    KIBANA_INDEX_PATTERN = "IP*"

data_extractor.py

import requests
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
from config import Config

class DataExtractor:
    def __init__(self):
        self.kibana_url = Config.KIBANA_URL
        self.token = Config.GITHUB_TOKEN
        self.index_pattern = Config.KIBANA_INDEX_PATTERN
        self.headers = {
            "Authorization": f"Bearer {self.token}",
            "Content-Type": "application/json"
        }

    def query_kibana(self, query):
        response = requests.post(f'{self.kibana_url}/search', headers=self.headers, json=query)
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()

    def get_request_metrics(self, start_date, end_date):
        query = {
            "index": self.index_pattern,
            "body": {
                "query": {
                    "range": {
                        "@timestamp": {
                            "gte": start_date,
                            "lte": end_date,
                            "format": "strict_date_optional_time"
                        }
                    }
                },
                "aggs": {
                    "total_requests": {
                        "value_count": {"field": "_id"}
                    },
                    "requests_per_second": {
                        "date_histogram": {
                            "field": "@timestamp",
                            "fixed_interval": "1s"
                        }
                    },
                    "request_distribution": {
                        "terms": {"field": "kubernetes.container_name"}
                    },
                    "top_endpoints": {
                        "terms": {"field": "kubernetes.pod_name", "size": 10}
                    }
                },
                "size": 0
            }
        }

        result = self.query_kibana(query)
        metrics = {
            "total_requests": result["aggregations"]["total_requests"]["value"],
            "requests_per_second": result["aggregations"]["requests_per_second"]["buckets"],
            "request_distribution": result["aggregations"]["request_distribution"]["buckets"],
            "top_endpoints": result["aggregations"]["top_endpoints"]["buckets"]
        }
        return metrics

main.py

from data_extractor import DataExtractor
import datetime as dt

def main():
    extractor = DataExtractor()

    # Define your date range for the query
    end_date = dt.datetime.now(dt.timezone.utc).isoformat()
    start_date = (dt.datetime.now(dt.timezone.utc) - dt.timedelta(days=1)).isoformat()

    # Fetch the metrics
    metrics = extractor.get_request_metrics(start_date, end_date)

    # Display the metrics
    print(f"Total Requests: {metrics['total_requests']}")
    print("Requests Per Second:")
    for rps in metrics['requests_per_second']:
        print(f"  Time: {rps['key_as_string']} - Count: {rps['doc_count']}")
    print("Request Distribution by Container:")
    for dist in metrics['request_distribution']:
        print(f"  Container: {dist['key']} - Count: {dist['doc_count']}")
    print("Top Endpoints:")
    for endpoint in metrics['top_endpoints']:
        print(f"  Endpoint: {endpoint['key']} - Count: {endpoint['doc_count']}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

What I Tried:

1. Basic Debugging: I reviewed the traceback to pinpoint where the error occurs in the code, which led me to the response.json() call in the query_kibana method.

2. Response Inspection:

   • I added a print statement before the return response.json() line to log the raw response text:

     print(response.text)  # Log the response content
     

   • This helps me check if the response is empty or contains an error message that isn’t JSON.

3. Check Response Status:

   • I confirmed that the request is successful (HTTP status code 200) by inspecting the response status code before attempting to parse it:

     if response.status_code != 200:
         print(f"Error: {response.status_code}, Response: {response.text}")
     

4. Verify the Query:

   • I ensured that the query sent to Kibana is well-formed according to the Kibana API documentation.
   • I tested simpler queries in Kibana directly (via its web interface) to verify they return expected results.

5. Check API Endpoint:

   • I verified that the endpoint I’m calling (/search) is correct and that it is available on the server.

What I Expected:

• Successful Response: I expected to receive a well-structured JSON response from Kibana containing the metrics data I requested, which I could then parse without issues.

• Error Handling: If there was an error with the request (e.g., invalid token, malformed query), I anticipated receiving a JSON error message that I could handle gracefully.

• Useful Debug Output: By logging the raw response text, I expected to gain insight into what the server returned, which would help me understand if the response was empty, incorrect, or in a non-JSON format.

Ultimately, I am trying to determine the root cause of the JSONDecodeError and resolve the issue so I can successfully retrieve and process the metrics data from Kibana.