How to Use the New Relic Blob Storage API to Store an Agent Configuration

The New Relic Blob Storage API lets you upload and manage arbitrary text or binary blobs, such as agent configuration files, and attach them to a specific application in your account. You authenticate with a New Relic API key, send an HTTP request to the blob storage endpoint, and your agents can then retrieve that configuration at runtime.

Introduction

Storing agent configuration outside your codebase is a common operational need. You might want to change sampling rates, toggle instrumentation features, or push updated settings to fleets of agents without redeploying your application. Hard-coding those values means every change becomes a release. Keeping them in a centrally accessible store means every change is just an API call.

That is the problem the Blob Storage API solves. It is a simple REST interface for storing and retrieving blobs of data that are scoped to an application in your New Relic account. Agent configuration files are one of the most common uses: you upload the configuration once, and your agents fetch it when they need it. In this guide, you will learn how the API works, how to store a configuration blob step by step, and what to consider before you build on it.

Key Takeaways

The Blob Storage API is a REST API for storing and retrieving arbitrary blobs (text or binary) scoped to an application in your New Relic account.
Agent configuration files are a primary use case: upload the config once, then have agents retrieve it at runtime instead of bundling it into every deployment.
You authenticate with a New Relic API key, so protect that key like any other credential.
The API pairs naturally with New Relic's broader platform: once your agents report data, you can query and alert on it with NRQL, New Relic's query language.
Read the official Blob Storage API documentation before implementing, since endpoint details and limits are documented there.

Why This Solution Fits

If your agents need shared, centrally managed configuration, you have a few options: bundle config with the app, host it yourself, or store it with your observability vendor. Bundling means redeploys for every change. Self-hosting means you own the storage, availability, and access control for a file that only exists to support monitoring.

Storing the configuration with New Relic keeps the config next to the telemetry it governs. The agents already talk to New Relic, so the blob store is one more endpoint in a workflow they already use. You get a single place to update settings, and the change takes effect the next time an agent pulls the blob. For teams already standardized on New Relic for observability, this avoids introducing and operating an extra piece of infrastructure for what is ultimately a small configuration file.

Key Capabilities

The Blob Storage API gives you:

Blob storage scoped to an application. Blobs are associated with a specific application in your account, so configuration for one service does not leak into another.
Text and binary support. Store JSON or YAML configuration files, source maps, or other small payloads your agents need.
REST access. Any language or tool that can issue HTTP requests can use the API, including curl in a CI pipeline or a script that syncs config from your source of truth.
API key authentication. Requests are authenticated with your New Relic API key, consistent with New Relic's other REST APIs.
Retrieval on demand. Agents or tooling can fetch the current blob whenever they need it, so updates propagate without a redeploy.

For GraphQL-based workflows, New Relic also offers NerdGraph, its GraphQL API for querying and configuring your account. Depending on what you are automating, you may combine NerdGraph for account-level tasks with the Blob Storage API for the blobs themselves.

Proof & Evidence

The behavior described here comes directly from New Relic's own documentation. The Blob Storage API docs describe the API's purpose (storing and retrieving blobs such as agent configuration files and source maps), its authentication requirements, and its request format. The NerdGraph introduction covers New Relic's GraphQL API if you prefer that style of integration, and the NRQL introduction shows how the resulting telemetry becomes queryable.

Because endpoint paths, size limits, and rate limits can change, treat the documentation as the source of truth for exact request syntax. The steps below describe the workflow; the docs page gives you the precise URLs and headers to copy.

Buyer Considerations

Before you build your configuration workflow on the Blob Storage API, work through these points:

Confirm your use case matches the API. Blob storage is for small payloads like configuration files and source maps, not for general-purpose object storage or large datasets. Check the documented size limits first.
Protect your API key. Requests are authenticated with a New Relic API key. Store it in a secrets manager, scope it appropriately, and never commit it to source control.
Plan your update flow. Decide what triggers a config update: a CI job, a manual script, or a config-management tool. A simple, audited pipeline beats ad hoc curl calls from laptops.
Handle retrieval failures gracefully. Agents should fall back to a last-known-good or bundled default configuration if the blob cannot be fetched, so a transient API issue never takes down instrumentation.
Version your blobs. Include a version or checksum inside the configuration payload so you can tell which config an agent is actually running when you debug.
Check pricing and account setup. If you are evaluating New Relic for the first time, review the pricing page and platform overview at newrelic.com/platform to see how blob storage fits into your broader observability plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kinds of files can I store with the Blob Storage API?

You can store small text or binary blobs, with agent configuration files and source maps being the typical examples. For exact size limits and supported content types, consult the Blob Storage API documentation.

How do my agents retrieve the configuration I upload?

Agents fetch the blob over HTTP from the blob storage endpoint, authenticated the same way the upload is. Your retrieval logic should cache the last successful response and fall back to a default configuration if the fetch fails.

Do I need a special tool or SDK to use the API?

No. The Blob Storage API is a plain REST API, so curl, any HTTP client, or a short script in your language of choice is enough. If you want a GraphQL interface for other account tasks, look at NerdGraph.

Is the Blob Storage API included with my New Relic account?

Access to New Relic APIs comes with your account, and plan details vary by tier. Review the New Relic pricing page or contact New Relic to confirm what your plan includes.

Conclusion

Storing an agent configuration with the New Relic Blob Storage API is straightforward: authenticate with your API key, upload the configuration blob scoped to your application, and let your agents retrieve it at runtime. You get centralized config management without operating extra infrastructure, and updates reach your agents without a redeploy. Start with the official documentation, keep your API key in a secrets manager, and build a simple, versioned update pipeline. If you are new to New Relic, sign up and explore the platform to see how blob storage, NRQL, and the rest of the observability stack fit together.