Windows Event Log Triage

Targets Windows servers over PowerShell Remoting (WinRM). The bundled script scripts/Invoke-EventLogTriage.ps1 collects + groups events and emits JSON; the agent (you) writes the triage narrative. The script never calls an LLM.

SCRIPT = this skill's scripts/Invoke-EventLogTriage.ps1. It requires PowerShell 7+ (pwsh) and WinRM enabled on the targets.

Credentials (important)

The script always prompts for a tier-admin credential via Get-Credential — held in memory for that run only, reused across all servers, never written to disk. The user's normal account does not need server access; the prompted credential authenticates the remoting session. Do not try to pass a password on the command line. (A -Credential parameter exists only as a testing/automation seam.)

Agent/non-interactive runners: Get-Credential needs an interactive console. If you drive this from a tool that runs PowerShell non-interactively (an AI agent's shell, CI, a background job) the prompt cannot render and the run hangs. Launch it in a visible window and then read the -OutFile — e.g. Start-Process pwsh -ArgumentList '-NoExit','-File','SCRIPT','-ComputerName','SRV01.contoso.local','-OutFile','C:\ops\triage.json'. From a non-domain-joined client, use the FQDN (so it matches a *.domain TrustedHosts entry — a short name won't) plus -Authentication Negotiate. See REFERENCE.md → Gotchas.

How to run

Always run with pwsh. Parse the JSON it prints on stdout.

Want	Pass
One server	-ComputerName SRV01
Several inline	-ComputerName SRV01,SRV02,SRV03
A list from a file	-ServerListFile C:\path\hosts.txt (one host per line; # comments + blank lines ignored)
Time window	-Hours 24 (default) · -Since '2026-06-08T00:00' · -From <dt> -To <dt>
Severity	default Critical+Error · -IncludeWarning · -Level 1,2,3
More logs	default System+Application · -IncludeSecurity · -Logs System,Application,'Microsoft-Windows-...'
Noise control	-SuppressList C:\path\suppress.json ({ "eventIds": [..], "providers": [".."] })
Save full report	-OutFile C:\path\triage.json
Transport/auth	-UseSSL (HTTPS/5986) · -Authentication Negotiate|Kerberos|CredSSP (default Default)
Tuning	-MaxEvents 5000 (cap/log) · -MaxMessageLength 1000 · -ThrottleLimit 8 · -TopCritical 20

Examples (the user will be prompted for the credential when the script starts):

# Single server, last 24h
pwsh -File SCRIPT -ComputerName SRV01

# Server list, last 12h, save full detail to a file
pwsh -File SCRIPT -ServerListFile C:\ops\hosts.txt -Hours 12 -OutFile C:\ops\triage.json

# Include warnings + the Security log for one box
pwsh -File SCRIPT -ComputerName DC01 -IncludeWarning -IncludeSecurity

Output contract

• Without -OutFile → full JSON (all hosts + groups) on stdout.
• With -OutFile → full detail JSON to the file; a compact JSON (summary + top_critical, no per-host groups) on stdout. For big sweeps, prefer -OutFile so your context stays small.

Key JSON fields: status (ok/partial/error), summary.top_critical (deterministically ranked: Critical→Error, then count, then recency), summary.failures (per-host problems), and hosts[].groups (each group = computer+log+provider+event_id+level with count, first_seen/last_seen in UTC, and one truncated sample_message). truncated: true on a host means the MaxEvents cap was hit — coverage was capped, say so. See REFERENCE.md for the full schema.

What you (the agent) do with the result

1. Run the script, parse the JSON.
2. Always give a short, critical-first summary in chat — even when full detail went to -OutFile. Lead with summary.top_critical: the most severe / highest-count / most recent issues, named by server + event id + provider, with a one-line plain-English read of likely cause and a suggested next action. Group related events (e.g. a service crash + dependent failures) rather than listing them flat.
3. Surface coverage gaps loudly (Karpathy fail-loud): list any host in summary.failures (unreachable / auth_failed / error) and any host with truncated: true. Never imply full coverage if some servers failed or were capped.
4. Only dig into hosts[].groups when the user wants detail beyond the top criticals.

Errors

• Get-Credential cancelled → script aborts with a clear message; ask the user to re-run and enter the tier-admin credential.
• Per-host auth_failed → the credential lacks rights on that box (or wrong tier), or an auth-transport config issue. unreachable → WinRM/DNS/firewall. Each failure carries a hint field — relay it. These are per-host and do not stop the sweep — report them, continue with the rest.
• Non-domain-joined client (error 0x80090311 or a TrustedHosts message): Kerberos is unavailable. Run from a domain-joined admin host, or add the targets to WinRM TrustedHosts and retry, or use -UseSSL. See REFERENCE.md.
• pwsh not found → PowerShell 7 isn't installed; the repo installer auto-installs it, or install manually: winget install Microsoft.PowerShell.