Can you imagine being able to schedule maintenance in Zabbix by simply telling a program: “I need to put the web server in maintenance tomorrow from 8 to 10 with ticket 100-178306”? That’s exactly what the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scheduler Zabbix project I’ve developed does!
What problem does it solve?
Anyone who has worked with Zabbix knows that scheduling maintenance can sometimes be tedious, especially when you need to:
- Configure complex routine maintenance
- Handle Zabbix API bitmasks for specific days of the week or month
- Search for specific hosts or groups
- Document associated tickets
This project eliminates that friction by allowing the use of natural language to create both one-time and routine maintenance.
The magic behind the code
Conversational artificial intelligence
The system integrates both OpenAI GPT-4 and Google Gemini to interpret natural language requests. The AI doesn’t just understand what you want to do, but automatically:
- Detects servers, groups, and dates
- Identifies ticket numbers (XXX-XXXXXX format)
- Automatically calculates complex Zabbix bitmasks
- Generates contextual responses with examples
Advanced routine maintenance
What really stands out is its ability to handle complex patterns. Here are some practical examples that work:
- “Daily backup for srv-backup from 2 to 4 AM with ticket 200-8341 until February 2027”
- “Thursday and Friday maintenance from 5 to 7 AM until January 2027”
- “Cleanup on the first Sunday of each month with ticket 100-178306 until December 2026”
Elegant architecture
The project uses a three-layer architecture:
- Frontend: Custom widget for Zabbix
- Backend: Flask API with AI integration
- Zabbix: Native API to create maintenance
Super-simple installation
One of the best features is how easy it is to get it running:
cp .env.example .env
You only need to configure your Zabbix URL and AI API key:
docker compose up -d --build
And that’s it! You have an AI assistant working.
Multi-instance support
For organizations with multiple Zabbix servers, the project includes configuration for up to 5 simultaneous instances, each with its own configuration.
What impresses me most
Intelligent date detection
The system understands natural expressions like:
- “Tomorrow from 8 to 10” → Next date with specific schedule
- “Sunday from 2 to 4 AM” → Next Sunday at those hours
- “24/08/25 10:00am” → Automatically converts the format
Automatic Bitmask management
Zabbix API bitmasks can be notoriously complicated. This system calculates them automatically:
- Thursday and Friday = 8 + 16 = 24
- Sundays only = 64
- First week of the month with specific configuration
Why is it important?
This project represents a natural evolution in systems administration. Instead of memorizing complex syntax or navigating multiple menus, you simply describe what you need in natural language. It’s especially valuable for:
- Operations teams handling multiple maintenance tasks
- Companies that need to document associated tickets
- Organizations with complex maintenance patterns
The future is here
Projects like this demonstrate how artificial intelligence can make complex technical tools more accessible without sacrificing functionality. It’s not just automation – it’s intelligence applied to real infrastructure problems. If you work with Zabbix and are tired of manually configuring maintenance, this project is definitely worth checking out. It’s open source, well documented, and solves a real problem that many of us face every day. You can find the complete project on GitHub.
