---
title: "groundcover"
---

Investigate incidents with [groundcover](https://groundcover.com) logs and traces,
queried with **gcQL** (groundcover Query Language) over groundcover's public,
read-only **MCP** endpoint.

This is the initial integration: configuration, verification, and three read-only
tools (logs, traces, and the gcQL reference). More signals (metrics, APM,
Kubernetes events/entities, monitors, monitor issues) and alert-source routing
land in follow-up releases. v1 is read-only — no monitor creation, silencing, or
other mutating actions.

## Commands

| Command | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `opensre integrations setup groundcover` | Store a groundcover service-account token and routing settings |
| `opensre integrations verify groundcover` | Connect to the MCP endpoint, list tools, and check workspace routing |

## 1. Create a read-only service-account token

In groundcover: **Settings → Access → Service Accounts** → create a service
account with a **read-only** policy → create an **API key** and copy it (shown
once). OpenSRE never performs write actions.

## 2. Configure

Run the interactive setup:

```bash
opensre integrations setup groundcover
```

…or set environment variables:

```bash
export GROUNDCOVER_API_KEY="<service-account-token>"   # alias: GROUNDCOVER_MCP_TOKEN
# Optional — defaults shown:
export GROUNDCOVER_MCP_URL="https://mcp.groundcover.com/api/mcp"
export GROUNDCOVER_TIMEZONE="UTC"
# Only for multi-workspace / multi-backend accounts:
export GROUNDCOVER_TENANT_UUID="<tenant-uuid>"
export GROUNDCOVER_BACKEND_ID="<backend-id>"
```

Single-workspace accounts need only the token. If your account has multiple
workspaces or backends, verification tells you exactly which value to set.

Multiple instances:

```bash
export GROUNDCOVER_INSTANCES='[
  {"name":"prod","api_key":"...","tenant_uuid":"...","backend_id":"prod"},
  {"name":"staging","api_key":"...","tenant_uuid":"...","backend_id":"staging"}
]'
```

`opensre integrations list` shows integrations saved to the local store (via
`setup`); environment-variable configuration is still picked up by `verify` and
at runtime.

## 3. Verify

```bash
opensre integrations verify groundcover
```

Verification connects to the MCP endpoint, confirms the expected read-only tool
surface is present, and lists your workspaces. It returns `passed`, `missing`
(token not configured), or `failed` with an actionable message — for example,
naming the missing or mistyped `GROUNDCOVER_TENANT_UUID` / `GROUNDCOVER_BACKEND_ID`
when the account is ambiguous. Tokens are never printed.

## Tools

| Tool | Use it for |
| --- | --- |
| `get_groundcover_query_reference` | The gcQL syntax reference — call once before writing queries |
| `query_groundcover_logs` | Application errors, exceptions, and log events |
| `query_groundcover_traces` | Slow/failing spans and request correlations |

## Writing efficient gcQL

gcQL is a pipe-based language: a query starts with a filter (or `*`) and pipes
through operators. These rules keep queries fast and valid:

- **Lead with the filter directly** — `level:error | …`, not `* | filter level:error`.
  The `| filter` pipe is for post-aggregation conditions on computed aliases.
- **Project or aggregate — don't pull raw rows blindly.** Use `| fields a, b, …`
  to select columns, or `| stats …` to aggregate. A bare select-all
  (`<filter> | limit N`) can be rejected by the backend.
- **Keep the time window narrow.** The default is the last 1 hour; widen only
  after an empty or inconclusive result.
- **Always include `| limit N`** — it caps rows returned (not data scanned), so
  for wide ranges prefer `stats`/aggregations.
- **Discover fields** with `* | field_names` (or `get_groundcover_query_reference`).

Examples:

```text
# Recent error logs for a workload (projected)
level:error workload:checkout | fields _time, instance, content | limit 50

# Error count per workload in one query
level:error | stats by (env, cluster, namespace, workload) count() as errors
  | sort by (errors desc) | limit 20

# Slowest spans for a service (projected)
duration_seconds>0.5 workload:checkout
  | fields _time, span_name, duration_seconds, status_code | limit 50

# 5xx rate per workload (HTTP spans use status_code; status:error is universal)
status_code>=500 | stats by (workload) count() as errors | sort by (errors desc) | limit 20
```

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Fix |
| --- | --- |
| `missing` on verify | Set `GROUNDCOVER_API_KEY` (or `GROUNDCOVER_MCP_TOKEN`). |
| `401 Unauthorized` | Regenerate the service-account token; ensure it has read access. |
| `Account has N workspaces…` | Set `GROUNDCOVER_TENANT_UUID` to the listed tenant. |
| `…has N backends…` | Set `GROUNDCOVER_BACKEND_ID` to the listed backend. |
| `failed to query …` | Project with `| fields …` or aggregate with `| stats …`; narrow the time window; avoid a bare raw select-all. |
| Empty results | Run `* | field_names` to find real field names; avoid leading-wildcard globs. |
| Not shown in `integrations list` | `list` shows the local store — run `opensre integrations setup groundcover` (env vars still work for `verify`/runtime). |
