Managing Bmc Helix

BMC Helix ITSM Management Skill

Manage and analyze BMC Helix incidents, problems, changes, and CMDB.

API Conventions

Authentication

All API calls use JWT token obtained via /api/jwt/login. Token is injected automatically.

Base URL

https://{{server}}/api/arsys/v1

Core Helper Function

#!/bin/bash

bmc_api() {
    local method="$1"
    local endpoint="$2"
    local data="${3:-}"

    if [ -n "$data" ]; then
        curl -s -X "$method" \
            -H "Authorization: AR-JWT $BMC_TOKEN" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            "${BMC_HELIX_URL}/api/arsys/v1${endpoint}" \
            -d "$data"
    else
        curl -s -X "$method" \
            -H "Authorization: AR-JWT $BMC_TOKEN" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            "${BMC_HELIX_URL}/api/arsys/v1${endpoint}"
    fi
}

Common Operations

Incident Management

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Open Incidents by Priority ==="
bmc_api GET "/entry/HPD:IncidentInterface?q='Status'<\"Resolved\"&sort=Priority.asc&limit=25&fields=values(Incident Number,Description,Priority,Status,Assignee)" \
    | jq -r '.entries[] | .values | "\(.["Incident Number"])\t\(.Priority)\t\(.Status)\t\(.Description[0:60])"' \
    | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Critical Incidents ==="
bmc_api GET "/entry/HPD:IncidentInterface?q='Priority'=\"Critical\" AND 'Status'<\"Resolved\"&limit=10" \
    | jq -r '.entries[] | .values | "\(.["Incident Number"])\t\(.Status)\t\(.Description[0:60])"' \
    | column -t

Problem Management

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Open Problems ==="
bmc_api GET "/entry/PBM:ProblemInterface?q='Status'<\"Closed\"&sort=Priority.asc&limit=20&fields=values(Problem Investigation ID,Description,Priority,Status,Assignee)" \
    | jq -r '.entries[] | .values | "\(.["Problem Investigation ID"])\t\(.Priority)\t\(.Status)\t\(.Description[0:50])"' \
    | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Known Errors ==="
bmc_api GET "/entry/PBM:KnownErrorInterface?q='Status'=\"Known Error\"&limit=15" \
    | jq -r '.entries[] | .values | "\(.["Known Error ID"])\t\(.Description[0:60])"' \
    | column -t

Change Management

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Pending Change Requests ==="
bmc_api GET "/entry/CHG:ChangeInterface?q='Change Request Status'<\"Completed\"&sort=Risk Level.desc&limit=20" \
    | jq -r '.entries[] | .values | "\(.["Infrastructure Change Id"])\t\(.["Risk Level"])\t\(.["Change Request Status"])\t\(.Description[0:50])"' \
    | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Scheduled Changes (next 7 days) ==="
bmc_api GET "/entry/CHG:ChangeInterface?q='Change Request Status'=\"Scheduled\" AND 'Scheduled Start Date'>=\"$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)\"&limit=15" \
    | jq -r '.entries[] | .values | "\(.["Infrastructure Change Id"])\t\(.["Scheduled Start Date"])\t\(.Description[0:50])"' \
    | column -t

CMDB Operations

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Configuration Items ==="
bmc_api GET "/entry/BMC.CORE:BMC_BaseElement?q='DatasetId'=\"BMC.ASSET\"&limit=25&fields=values(Name,ClassId,Category,Item,MarkAsDeleted)" \
    | jq -r '.entries[] | .values | "\(.Name)\t\(.ClassId)\t\(.Category)\t\(.Item)"' \
    | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== CI Relationships ==="
CI_ID="${1:?CI ReconciliationIdentity required}"
bmc_api GET "/entry/BMC.CORE:BMC_BaseRelationship?q='Source.ReconciliationIdentity'=\"${CI_ID}\" OR 'Destination.ReconciliationIdentity'=\"${CI_ID}\"&limit=20" \
    | jq -r '.entries[] | .values | "\(.Name)\t\(.Source.Name) -> \(.Destination.Name)"' \
    | column -t

Output Format

Present results as a structured report:

Managing Bmc Helix Report
═════════════════════════
Resources discovered: [count]

Resource       Status    Key Metric    Issues
──────────────────────────────────────────────
[name]         [ok/warn] [value]       [findings]

Summary: [total] resources | [ok] healthy | [warn] warnings | [crit] critical
Action Items: [list of prioritized findings]

Target ≤50 lines of output. Use tables for multi-resource comparisons.

Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or --help output.
3. NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

Counter-Rationalizations

Common Pitfalls

• AR-JWT tokens: Tokens expire — handle 401 responses with re-authentication
• Qualification syntax: Uses AR System qualification syntax — strings need double quotes inside single-quoted query
• Form names: Use full form names like HPD:IncidentInterface — case-sensitive
• Field names: Field names are case-sensitive and may contain spaces — always quote with brackets
• Rate limits: Configurable per server — check with your admin
• Pagination: Use offset and limit parameters — default limit varies
• CMDB datasets: Filter by DatasetId to separate asset data from other CI sources