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docs: add textfile freshness examples (#2495)

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Signed-off-by: noqt <no_qt@outlook.com>
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noqt
2026-10-05 11:09:17 +02:00
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@@ -34,28 +34,74 @@ Name | Description | Type | Labels
`windows_textfile_mtime_seconds` | Unix epoch-formatted mtime (modified time) of textfiles successfully read | gauge | file
### Example metric
_This collector does not yet have explained examples, we would appreciate your help adding them!_
A scheduled collector should expose a completion timestamp that is updated only after a successful collection. For example:
```prometheus
# HELP example_collection_timestamp_seconds Unix time when the scheduled collection last completed successfully.
# TYPE example_collection_timestamp_seconds gauge
example_collection_timestamp_seconds 1789891200
```
If collection fails before publication, the previous value remains visible and becomes stale instead of falsely reporting a fresh success.
## Useful queries
_This collector does not yet have any useful queries added, we would appreciate your help adding them!_
Use `time() - example_collection_timestamp_seconds` to measure the age of the last successful collection. `time() - windows_textfile_mtime_seconds` measures the age of each successfully read file, but should only be used for files that are expected to be rewritten; intentionally static files would appear stale by design. `windows_textfile_scrape_error` detects files that cannot be opened or parsed, not successfully parsed files whose producer stopped updating them.
## Alerting examples
_This collector does not yet have alerting examples, we would appreciate your help adding them!_
Add one alerting-rule group:
# Example use
```yaml
groups:
- name: windows-textfile-freshness
rules:
- alert: WindowsTextfileScrapeError
expr: windows_textfile_scrape_error == 1
for: 5m
labels:
severity: warning
annotations:
description: A textfile cannot be opened or parsed.
- alert: WindowsTextfileCollectionStale
expr: time() - example_collection_timestamp_seconds > 300
for: 2m
labels:
severity: warning
annotations:
description: The scheduled collection has not completed for more than five minutes and the producer or publication step may have failed.
- alert: WindowsTextfileCollectionMissing
expr: up{job="windows-exporter"} == 1 unless on (job, instance) example_collection_timestamp_seconds
for: 5m
labels:
severity: warning
annotations:
description: The exporter is reachable but the expected completion metric is missing.
```
Exporter-down alerting (`up == 0`) remains separate; metric names, job labels and thresholds must be adapted to the deployment.
## Example use
This Powershell script, when run in the `--collector.textfile.directories` (default `C:\Program Files\windows_exporter\textfile_inputs`), generates a valid `.prom` file that should successfully ingested by windows_exporter.
```Powershell
$alpha = 42
$beta = @{ left=3.1415; right=2.718281828; }
Set-Content -Path test1.prom -Encoding Ascii -NoNewline -Value ""
Add-Content -Path test1.prom -Encoding Ascii -NoNewline -Value "# HELP test_alpha_total Some random metric.`n"
Add-Content -Path test1.prom -Encoding Ascii -NoNewline -Value "# TYPE test_alpha_total counter`n"
Add-Content -Path test1.prom -Encoding Ascii -NoNewline -Value "test_alpha_total ${alpha}`n"
Add-Content -Path test1.prom -Encoding Ascii -NoNewline -Value "# HELP test_beta_bytes Some other metric.`n"
Add-Content -Path test1.prom -Encoding Ascii -NoNewline -Value "# TYPE test_beta_bytes gauge`n"
$timestamp = [DateTimeOffset]::UtcNow.ToUnixTimeSeconds()
$lines = @(
"# HELP test_alpha_total Some random metric."
"# TYPE test_alpha_total counter"
"test_alpha_total ${alpha}"
"# HELP test_beta_bytes Some other metric."
"# TYPE test_beta_bytes gauge"
)
foreach ($k in $beta.Keys) {
Add-Content -Path test1.prom -Encoding Ascii -NoNewline -Value "test_beta_bytes{spin=""${k}""} $( $beta[$k] )`n"
$lines += "test_beta_bytes{spin=""${k}""} $( $beta[$k] )"
}
$lines += "# HELP example_collection_timestamp_seconds Unix time when the scheduled collection last completed successfully."
$lines += "# TYPE example_collection_timestamp_seconds gauge"
$lines += "example_collection_timestamp_seconds $timestamp"
Set-Content -Path test1.prom.tmp -Encoding Ascii -NoNewline -Value (($lines -join "`n") + "`n")
Move-Item -LiteralPath test1.prom.tmp -Destination test1.prom -Force
```