What is Probe?

Probe is a free, open-source tool that allows you to declaratively define workflows in YAML. It operates as a lightweight, single binary without requiring complex installation or configuration.

What Can It Do?

Probe can be utilized for the following purposes:

• API Testing: Automated end-to-end testing of REST APIs
• Website Monitoring: Monitoring site uptime and performance
• Health Checks: System and service health verification
• Data Processing: Periodic data retrieval and transformation
• Notification Sending: Automated notifications to email, Slack, etc.
• Task Automation: Automation of repetitive tasks

Key Features

Here are the five main features that make Probe the preferred choice.

Simple and Intuitive

Create workflows easily with YAML-based configuration, no programming knowledge required.

Lightweight and Fast

Developed in Go as a single binary, runs without dependencies.

Extensible

Plugin-based architecture allows easy addition of custom actions.

Concurrent Execution

Efficiently processes workflows by running multiple jobs in parallel.

Rich Features

Equipped with practical features including conditional branching, data sharing, error handling, and environment variable support.

Simple Workflow Examples

Let's understand how to use Probe through actual code examples.

Basic Hello World Workflow

Let's start with the simplest example. Create the following YAML file:

name: Hello World Workflow

jobs:
- name: My First Job
  steps:
  - name: Say Hello
    uses: hello
    wait: 1s
    echo: "Hello, World!"

Save this workflow to a file and run it:

$ probe hello-world.yml
Hello World Workflow

⏺ My First Job (Completed in 1.04s)
  ⎿  0. ▲  1s → Say Hello
           Hello, World!

Total workflow time: 1.07s ✔︎ All jobs succeeded

More Practical Example: API Monitoring

Here's a real-world example of a workflow that monitors API uptime:

name: API Health Check

defaults:
  http:
    url: https://httpbin.org

jobs:
- name: Monitor API Health
  steps:
  - name: Check Homepage
    uses: http
    with:
      get: /status/200
    test: res.status == 200

  - name: Check API Response
    uses: http
    with:
      get: /json
    test: res.status == 200 && res.json != null

As you can see, Probe enables you to create and execute workflows in a simple, quick, and enjoyable way.

Available Actions

Probe comes with the following built-in actions that you can use immediately. Here are the currently available actions and future development plans.

HTTP Action

Used for REST API calls, website monitoring, and API testing.

• Supports HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE
• Configurable request headers and body
• Response validation and testing capabilities

SMTP Action

Used for notifications and reporting via email sending.

• Support for HTML/text emails
• Email sending via SMTP server
• Attachment sending capabilities

Shell Action

Enables integration with external software through shell command execution.

• Execute commands in any shell such as bash or zsh
• Configurable working directory and environment variables
• Retrieve exit codes, stdout, and stderr
• Control execution time with timeout settings

Browser Action

Control Chrome using Chrome DevTools Protocol.

• Automate page loading, element clicking, text input, etc.
• Screenshot capture functionality
• Wait for element visibility/invisibility
• Choose between headless and full browser modes

Embedded Job Action

Simplify workflow management by sharing and reusing jobs.

• Call jobs defined in other workflows
• Parameter passing capabilities
• Split and reuse complex workflows
• Efficient workflow design based on DRY principles

Database Action

Perform database operations.

• Support for MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite
• Execute SQL operations like SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE
• Safe query execution using prepared statements
• Retrieve result row count and affected row count

Planned Actions for Development:

• SSH Action - Execute commands on remote servers
• gRPC Action - Communication with gRPC services
• FTP Action - File transfer with FTP servers
• IMAP Action - Email reception and processing

Custom Actions

When built-in actions don't meet your requirements, you can develop custom actions as plugins. They can be implemented in Go and seamlessly integrate into Probe's architecture.

Let's Get Started

Getting started with Probe is easy. You can create and run workflows immediately with these three steps:

1. Installation - Install Probe using the method appropriate for your environment
2. Quick Start - Create and run your first workflow in 5 minutes
3. Understanding Probe - Learn about workflows, jobs, and steps

Use Cases

Probe can be applied across various business domains. Here are the main use cases.

DevOps & SRE

• Smoke testing in CI/CD pipelines
• Service monitoring and alerting
• Infrastructure health checks

API Development & Testing

• REST API integration testing
• Performance testing
• End-to-end test automation

Operations & Maintenance

• Regular health checks
• Inter-system integration verification
• Automated recovery processes during failures

Need Help?

Here are the support resources available when you encounter problems or have questions while using Probe.

Documentation

This website provides comprehensive documentation covering everything from basic usage to advanced features.

Community Support

Use GitHub Discussions for questions, feedback, and idea discussions. Feel free to start a discussion.

Bug Reports

If you discover bugs, please report them at GitHub Issues.

Support the Project

If this project has been helpful, please consider supporting it! Your support provides great encouragement to the developers.

• Give a star on GitHub
• Tweet about it on X and introduce it to friends
• Write about it in blogs or articles
• Suggest ideas for feature improvements

Contributing to Open Source

Interested in contributing to open source projects? Now's your chance! We welcome all forms of contribution including code contributions, documentation improvements, and bug reports.