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Investigate An Endpoint

Use this walkthrough when you already know the shell basics and need a realistic endpoint investigation path: narrow the inventory, open the detail page, review static context, and decide whether to continue into a live session.

By the end, you will know how to move from the endpoint list into the detail and session views that answer most first-look investigation questions.

  • You are signed in.
  • At least one endpoint is visible on the Endpoints page.
  • You know one searchable detail, such as hostname, computer ID, operating system, owner, or ticket context.

Open Endpoints.

Use the controls in this order:

  1. Enter the most specific hostname or computer ID you know in Search.
  2. Choose an OS filter when the fleet is noisy.
  3. Select Apply.
  4. Sort by Last Seen if several rows look similar.

The page applies filters before paginating the table, so the visible rows should already reflect the backend result set.

Filtered endpoint inventory showing a narrowed Linux workstation result before opening a machine.

If no endpoint matches, clear filters and search by a broader identifier. If the endpoint still does not appear, switch to enrollment troubleshooting instead of starting an investigation from the wrong machine.

Select View on the matching row.

Start with the header and identity summary:

  • hostname
  • Computer ID
  • OS, architecture, and agent version badges
  • Last Seen
  • Open Sessions

Endpoint details page showing identity, Last Seen, Sentinel context, tabs, and the Open Sessions action.

If the hostname or computer ID does not match your incident context, go back to Endpoints and choose another row.

Read the Sentinel panel before you move through the detail tabs.

Use it to answer:

  • Is Sentinel configured for this endpoint?
  • When did the last check run?
  • Did it pass, fail, time out, or go stale?
  • Are there pending escalations, knowledge entries, proposals, sessions, or threads?

Use Self-healing when the Sentinel status is part of the investigation. Use History when you need the endpoint self-healing page focused on prior Sentinel runs.

Use the endpoint detail page before opening a live session:

  • Overview for identity, operating system, hardware, network, storage, observation runtime, security posture, and software inventory.
  • Diagnostics for collection freshness, domain status, and collector errors.

Stop here if static details answer the question. For example, a stale Last Seen, missing collector data, or wrong architecture badge can be enough to route the incident without launching live work.

Step 5: Decide Whether Live Context Is Needed

Section titled “Step 5: Decide Whether Live Context Is Needed”

Open a live session when the investigation needs active endpoint context:

  • you need Pharaoh to inspect or explain a current condition
  • you need fresh visual or transport evidence
  • you need guarded commands or remediation
  • you need an auditable session worklog

Stay on the details page when you only need inventory state, historical freshness, or Sentinel context.

Select Open Sessions.

The endpoint session workspace adds the live investigation surface:

  • Agent worklog for turn-grouped conversation and execution output
  • Follow-up for the next operator prompt
  • Live endpoint intelligence for the latest frame, evidence ledger, transport state, and policy posture
  • lifecycle controls such as Stop active turn and Close session

Dark endpoint session workspace showing the agent worklog beside live endpoint intelligence and session lifecycle controls.

Before sending a prompt, compare the session state with the details page. If the details page looked stale and the workspace is still waiting for a frame, treat the live evidence as unavailable until Pharaoh reports fresh context.

End the walkthrough by recording the result in plain operational terms:

  • static endpoint details answered the question
  • Sentinel or self-healing already owns the next action
  • the endpoint appears stale or offline
  • a live session is active and has fresh evidence
  • a live session was attempted but transport or endpoint lookup failed

Close the session when live work is complete. Keep the session open only when another operator will continue from the same worklog.