history_get
Retrieve historical item data (collected metric values) from Zabbix by item or host ID, with time range, data type, sorting and filtering. Use it to inspect raw metric values over a period.
Instructions
Retrieve historical item data (collected metric values). History stores every collected value and is the most granular data source in Zabbix. Always specify the 'history' parameter to select the correct data type (0=numeric float, 1=character/string, 2=log, 3=numeric unsigned, 4=text, 5=binary on 7.0+, 6=JSON on 8.0+; Zabbix assumes 3 when omitted). Use 'time_from' and 'time_till' (Unix timestamp, ISO 8601 or a relative time such as now-1h) to bound the time range. Combine with 'itemids' or 'hostids' to target specific metrics. For long time ranges, consider using trend.get instead as it returns aggregated min/avg/max values and is more efficient. With 'itemids' the newest values come first unless a sort is given, so 'limit' keeps the latest ones. Identifiers come first: an item ID cannot be derived from a host name or a metric name, it has to be looked up. Resolve it with item_get (hostids or a host filter plus search on key_ or name; output itemid, name, key_, value_type, units), then pass the IDs as 'itemids' and the item's value_type as 'history'. For one item known by host name and key, item_history_summary_get does the lookup itself and returns the values with min / avg / max in one call.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| limit | No | Maximum number of results to return. | |
| filter | No | Return only results whose properties exactly match the given values (a single value or a list of values per key). Example: {"status": 0} or {"status": [0, 1]}. Keys: clock, itemid, ns, value. Text properties cannot be filtered; use 'search' for them. | |
| output | No | Properties of the history object to return. Pass 'extend' for all, 'count' for the number of matches only, or a list of property names. Default when omitted: 'extend'. Properties: clock, itemid, ns, value. | |
| search | No | Return results that match the given pattern (case-insensitive by default). Example: {"name": "web"} finds 'Web Server', 'my-web-app', etc. | |
| server | No | Target Zabbix server. Available: default. Defaults to 'default' if omitted. | |
| history | No | History data type to retrieve: 0=numeric float, 1=character/string, 2=log, 3=numeric unsigned (Zabbix default when omitted), 4=text, 5=binary (7.0+), 6=JSON (8.0+). Must match the item's value_type, otherwise the result is empty. | |
| hostids | No | Return only history for the given host IDs. | |
| itemids | No | Return only history for the given item IDs (from item_get; never guessed). Needed for a scoped answer: without itemids or hostids the call returns the values of every item of the selected type. | |
| raw_json | No | Strips the security disclaimer preamble from the response so it is pure JSON. Default: false. Requires the bearer token to have 'allow_raw_json' explicitly enabled by an operator in the admin portal - tokens without that policy receive a PolicyError instead. WARNING: setting true bypasses the prompt-injection mitigation marker that wraps untrusted Zabbix data (host names, item descriptions, problem text). LLM clients (Claude, GPT, Cursor, ...) should leave this false; only programmatic non-LLM consumers (Python scripts, n8n workflows that json.loads the result) should set true. | |
| sortfield | No | Sort by one or more of: itemid, clock, ns (7.0+) (a list for several; pair with 'sortorder'). No other property is sortable. When omitted and 'itemids' is given, the result is sorted by clock with the newest first. Without 'itemids' nothing is sorted. | |
| sortorder | No | Sort order: 'ASC' (ascending) or 'DESC' (descending). 'DESC' while 'sortfield' is omitted (newest first); 'ASC' alone returns the oldest first. | |
| time_from | No | Return only data collected after this time (Unix timestamp, ISO 8601 date-time such as 2026-04-01T08:00:00Z, or a relative time such as now-1h, now/d or now-7d/d; a value without a zone is read in the zone resolved for the call) (inclusive). | |
| time_till | No | Return only data collected before this time (Unix timestamp, ISO 8601 date-time such as 2026-04-01T08:00:00Z, or a relative time such as now-1h, now/d or now-7d/d; a value without a zone is read in the zone resolved for the call) (inclusive). | |
| countOutput | No | Return the count of matching results instead of the actual data. | |
| searchByAny | No | If true, return results matching ANY search field (OR). Default is ALL fields (AND). | |
| extra_params | No | Other native history.get parameters, merged into the request as-is. Parameters: maxValueSize (8.0+). Any other key is refused here, because Zabbix would silently ignore it. For a parameter you are sure exists on your release but is not listed, use zabbix_raw_api_call. | |
| searchWildcardsEnabled | No | If true, enable * and ? wildcards in search patterns. |