Add Metrics API: declare/list params and metrics, query bucket values (ticket 004)

Exposes param/metric declarations and derived bucket data over HTTP:
POST /api/params and POST /api/metrics validate and declare against the
engine, persisting into the active profile (if any) so declarations survive
a restart; GET /api/metrics lists declarations; GET /api/metrics/:name
queries bucket values with label, time-range, sequence, and limit filters.
Adds a new EngineQuery::BucketValues variant that layers this filtering on
top of ticket 003's bucket_values helper.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01XFUNZwCvz3kcod3352ZR2o

Cargo.lock

@@ -601,6 +601,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "chrono",
  "clap",
  "directories",
+ "http-body-util",
  "humantime",
  "pest",
  "pest_derive",
@@ -609,6 +610,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde_json",
  "tempfile",
  "tokio",
+ "tower",
  "tower-http",
 ]
 

Cargo.toml

@@ -19,3 +19,5 @@ directories = "6.0.0"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 tempfile = "3.27.0"
+tower = { version = "0.5", features = ["util"] }
+http-body-util = "0.1"

src/api.rs

@@ -1,8 +1,16 @@
+use std::collections::BTreeMap;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
 
-use crate::engine::{EngineHandle, EngineMessage, EngineQuery, EngineResponse};
+use crate::dto::{
-use crate::dto::{CssEntryDto, ImportCssRequest, LinkCssRequest, LogsParams, TimelineParams};
+    BucketValuesParams, CssEntryDto, ErrorDto, ImportCssRequest, LinkCssRequest,
+    MetricDeclarationDto, ParamDeclarationDto, LogsParams, TimelineParams,
+};
+use crate::engine::{
+    DeclareMetricRequest, DeclareParamRequest, EngineHandle, EngineMessage, EngineQuery,
+    EngineResponse,
+};
+use crate::profile::{self, ProfileStore};
 use crate::settings::{CssError, Settings};
 use axum::extract::{Path as AxumPath, Query, State};
 use axum::http::{header, StatusCode};
@@ -32,6 +40,48 @@ impl ApiState {
             .map(Path::to_path_buf)
             .unwrap_or_else(|| PathBuf::from("."))
     }
+
+    /// Persists a newly-declared param into the active profile, if any (see
+    /// `ProfileStore::record_param_declaration`), so it survives a restart.
+    /// A no-op (not an error) when no profile is currently active — the
+    /// engine declaration above has already succeeded regardless. Failures
+    /// (e.g. I/O) are logged to stderr rather than surfaced to the caller: the
+    /// engine declaration is the source of truth for the running process, and
+    /// this is a best-effort persistence step layered on top.
+    fn persist_param_declaration(&self, request: &DeclareParamRequest) {
+        let Some((store_path, profile_name)) = self.active_profile_location() else {
+            return;
+        };
+        let mut store = ProfileStore::load(&store_path);
+        if let Err(err) = store.record_param_declaration(&store_path, &profile_name, request) {
+            eprintln!(
+                "warning: failed to persist param declaration '{}' into profile '{profile_name}': {err}",
+                request.name
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Same as `persist_param_declaration`, for metric declarations.
+    fn persist_metric_declaration(&self, request: &DeclareMetricRequest) {
+        let Some((store_path, profile_name)) = self.active_profile_location() else {
+            return;
+        };
+        let mut store = ProfileStore::load(&store_path);
+        if let Err(err) = store.record_metric_declaration(&store_path, &profile_name, request) {
+            eprintln!(
+                "warning: failed to persist metric declaration '{}' into profile '{profile_name}': {err}",
+                request.name
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// The active profile's store path and name, if a profile is currently active.
+    fn active_profile_location(&self) -> Option<(PathBuf, String)> {
+        let settings = self.settings.lock().unwrap();
+        let profile_name = settings.profiles.active_profile.clone()?;
+        let profiles_dir = profile::resolve_profiles_dir(&settings, &self.settings_path);
+        Some((profile::profiles_store_path(&profiles_dir), profile_name))
+    }
 }
 
 pub fn router(
@@ -52,6 +102,9 @@ pub fn router(
         .route("/api/logs", get(get_logs))
         .route("/api/timeline", get(get_timeline))
         .route("/api/stats", get(get_stats))
+        .route("/api/params", post(declare_param))
+        .route("/api/metrics", get(list_metrics).post(declare_metric))
+        .route("/api/metrics/{name}", get(get_metric_bucket_values))
         .route("/api/settings/css", get(list_css).post(import_css))
         .route("/api/settings/css/link", post(link_css))
         .route("/api/settings/css/{id}", delete(remove_css))
@@ -99,6 +152,122 @@ async fn get_stats(State(state): State<ApiState>) -> impl IntoResponse {
     }
 }
 
+/// `POST /api/params` — declares a param. Body mirrors `DeclareParamRequest`:
+/// `{ "name": "...", "message_match_regex": "...", "capture_group": "...",
+/// "kind": "string" | "number" | "timestamp" }`. On success, also persists
+/// the declaration into the active profile (if any — see
+/// `ApiState::persist_param_declaration`) and returns `201 Created` with the
+/// declaration as `ParamDeclarationDto`. On a validation failure (bad regex,
+/// unknown capture group), returns `400 Bad Request` with
+/// `{ "error": "..." }`.
+async fn declare_param(
+    State(state): State<ApiState>,
+    Json(body): Json<DeclareParamRequest>,
+) -> impl IntoResponse {
+    let (respond_to, response) = oneshot::channel();
+    let request = body.clone();
+    if state
+        .engine
+        .send(EngineMessage::DeclareParam { request: body, respond_to })
+        .await
+        .is_err()
+    {
+        return StatusCode::SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE.into_response();
+    }
+    match response.await {
+        Ok(Ok(())) => {
+            state.persist_param_declaration(&request);
+            let dto = ParamDeclarationDto {
+                name: request.name,
+                message_match_regex: request.message_match_regex,
+                capture_group: request.capture_group,
+                kind: request.kind,
+            };
+            (StatusCode::CREATED, Json(dto)).into_response()
+        }
+        Ok(Err(err)) => (StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST, Json(ErrorDto { error: err })).into_response(),
+        Err(_) => StatusCode::SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE.into_response(),
+    }
+}
+
+/// `GET /api/metrics` — lists all declared metrics (name, regex, params) as
+/// `Vec<MetricDeclarationDto>`.
+async fn list_metrics(State(state): State<ApiState>) -> impl IntoResponse {
+    match ask(&state.engine, EngineQuery::MetricDeclarations).await {
+        Ok(EngineResponse::MetricDeclarations(declarations)) => Json(declarations).into_response(),
+        Ok(_) => StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR.into_response(),
+        Err(status) => status.into_response(),
+    }
+}
+
+/// `POST /api/metrics` — declares a metric. Body mirrors
+/// `DeclareMetricRequest`: `{ "name": "...", "message_match_regex": "...",
+/// "params": [{ "param_name": "...", "capture_group": "...", "kind": "..." }] }`.
+/// Same success/failure shape as `declare_param` above, persisting into the
+/// active profile via `ApiState::persist_metric_declaration`.
+async fn declare_metric(
+    State(state): State<ApiState>,
+    Json(body): Json<DeclareMetricRequest>,
+) -> impl IntoResponse {
+    let (respond_to, response) = oneshot::channel();
+    let request = body.clone();
+    if state
+        .engine
+        .send(EngineMessage::DeclareMetric { request: body, respond_to })
+        .await
+        .is_err()
+    {
+        return StatusCode::SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE.into_response();
+    }
+    match response.await {
+        Ok(Ok(())) => {
+            state.persist_metric_declaration(&request);
+            let dto = MetricDeclarationDto {
+                name: request.name,
+                message_match_regex: request.message_match_regex,
+                params: request.params,
+            };
+            (StatusCode::CREATED, Json(dto)).into_response()
+        }
+        Ok(Err(err)) => (StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST, Json(ErrorDto { error: err })).into_response(),
+        Err(_) => StatusCode::SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE.into_response(),
+    }
+}
+
+/// Parses the `labels` query param (`"foo=bar,baz=qux"`) into a
+/// `key -> expected value` map. Malformed pairs (no `=`) are skipped rather
+/// than rejected — see `BucketValuesParams` doc comment for the format.
+fn parse_labels_filter(raw: &str) -> BTreeMap<String, String> {
+    raw.split(',')
+        .filter_map(|pair| pair.split_once('='))
+        .map(|(name, value)| (name.trim().to_string(), value.trim().to_string()))
+        .collect()
+}
+
+/// `GET /api/metrics/:name` — queries bucket values for one metric. Query
+/// params: `labels` (see `parse_labels_filter`), `start_ms`, `end_ms`,
+/// `since_sequence`, `limit` (mirroring `/api/logs`/`/api/timeline`).
+async fn get_metric_bucket_values(
+    State(state): State<ApiState>,
+    AxumPath(metric_name): AxumPath<String>,
+    Query(params): Query<BucketValuesParams>,
+) -> impl IntoResponse {
+    let labels_filter = params.labels.as_deref().map(parse_labels_filter);
+    let query = EngineQuery::BucketValues {
+        metric_name,
+        labels_filter,
+        start_ms: params.start_ms,
+        end_ms: params.end_ms,
+        since_sequence: params.since_sequence,
+        limit: params.limit,
+    };
+    match ask(&state.engine, query).await {
+        Ok(EngineResponse::BucketValues(values)) => Json(values).into_response(),
+        Ok(_) => StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR.into_response(),
+        Err(status) => status.into_response(),
+    }
+}
+
 /// Maps a `CssError` from a settings mutation/lookup to a response status
 /// and message: `NotFound` -> 404, `NotImported` -> 400 (the id is valid but
 /// refers to a linked entry, which this operation doesn't apply to), `Io` ->
@@ -200,3 +369,259 @@ async fn get_css_content(
         Err(err) => css_error_response(err),
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use crate::engine::{self, IngestedLine};
+    use crate::timestamp::Timestamp;
+    use axum::body::Body;
+    use axum::http::Request;
+    use http_body_util::BodyExt;
+    use serde_json::{json, Value};
+    use tokio::sync::mpsc;
+    use tower::ServiceExt;
+
+    /// Spins up a fresh engine + router pair, backed by a temp settings file
+    /// (and empty static dir), for one test. Returns the router, the engine
+    /// handle (so a test can ingest lines directly without an HTTP route for
+    /// it), and the `TempDir` guard (kept alive for the test's duration).
+    fn test_app() -> (Router, EngineHandle, SettingsHandle, tempfile::TempDir) {
+        let (engine_tx, engine_rx) = mpsc::channel(128);
+        tokio::spawn(engine::run(engine_rx));
+
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let settings_path = dir.path().join("settings.json");
+        let settings = Arc::new(Mutex::new(Settings::load(&settings_path)));
+        let static_dir = dir.path().join("static");
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(&static_dir).unwrap();
+
+        let app = router(
+            engine_tx.clone(),
+            static_dir.to_str().unwrap(),
+            settings.clone(),
+            settings_path,
+        );
+        (app, engine_tx, settings, dir)
+    }
+
+    async fn send_json(app: &Router, method: &str, uri: &str, body: Value) -> (StatusCode, Value) {
+        let request = Request::builder()
+            .method(method)
+            .uri(uri)
+            .header(header::CONTENT_TYPE, "application/json")
+            .body(Body::from(body.to_string()))
+            .unwrap();
+        let response = app.clone().oneshot(request).await.unwrap();
+        let status = response.status();
+        let bytes = response.into_body().collect().await.unwrap().to_bytes();
+        let value = if bytes.is_empty() {
+            Value::Null
+        } else {
+            serde_json::from_slice(&bytes).unwrap()
+        };
+        (status, value)
+    }
+
+    async fn get_json(app: &Router, uri: &str) -> (StatusCode, Value) {
+        let request = Request::builder().method("GET").uri(uri).body(Body::empty()).unwrap();
+        let response = app.clone().oneshot(request).await.unwrap();
+        let status = response.status();
+        let bytes = response.into_body().collect().await.unwrap().to_bytes();
+        let value = if bytes.is_empty() {
+            Value::Null
+        } else {
+            serde_json::from_slice(&bytes).unwrap()
+        };
+        (status, value)
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn declares_param_and_returns_201() {
+        let (app, _engine, _settings, _dir) = test_app();
+        let (status, body) = send_json(
+            &app,
+            "POST",
+            "/api/params",
+            json!({
+                "name": "level",
+                "message_match_regex": r"level=(?P<level>\w+)",
+                "capture_group": "level",
+                "kind": "string"
+            }),
+        )
+        .await;
+        assert_eq!(status, StatusCode::CREATED);
+        assert_eq!(body["name"], "level");
+        assert_eq!(body["capture_group"], "level");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn rejects_invalid_param_regex_with_400_and_error_body() {
+        let (app, _engine, _settings, _dir) = test_app();
+        let (status, body) = send_json(
+            &app,
+            "POST",
+            "/api/params",
+            json!({
+                "name": "level",
+                "message_match_regex": "level=(",
+                "capture_group": "level",
+                "kind": "string"
+            }),
+        )
+        .await;
+        assert_eq!(status, StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST);
+        assert!(body["error"].as_str().unwrap().contains("invalid regex"));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn declares_metric_and_shows_up_in_list() {
+        let (app, _engine, _settings, _dir) = test_app();
+        let (status, body) = send_json(
+            &app,
+            "POST",
+            "/api/metrics",
+            json!({
+                "name": "requests",
+                "message_match_regex": r"request path=(?P<path>\S+)",
+                "params": [
+                    { "param_name": "path", "capture_group": "path", "kind": "string" }
+                ]
+            }),
+        )
+        .await;
+        assert_eq!(status, StatusCode::CREATED);
+        assert_eq!(body["name"], "requests");
+
+        let (status, body) = get_json(&app, "/api/metrics").await;
+        assert_eq!(status, StatusCode::OK);
+        let metrics = body.as_array().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(metrics.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(metrics[0]["name"], "requests");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn rejects_metric_with_unknown_capture_group() {
+        let (app, _engine, _settings, _dir) = test_app();
+        let (status, body) = send_json(
+            &app,
+            "POST",
+            "/api/metrics",
+            json!({
+                "name": "requests",
+                "message_match_regex": r"request path=(?P<path>\S+)",
+                "params": [
+                    { "param_name": "duration", "capture_group": "duration", "kind": "number" }
+                ]
+            }),
+        )
+        .await;
+        assert_eq!(status, StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST);
+        assert!(body["error"].as_str().unwrap().contains("duration"));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn queries_bucket_values_with_label_filter_and_range() {
+        let (app, engine, _settings, _dir) = test_app();
+
+        send_json(
+            &app,
+            "POST",
+            "/api/metrics",
+            json!({
+                "name": "requests",
+                "message_match_regex": r"request path=(?P<path>\S+)",
+                "params": [
+                    { "param_name": "path", "capture_group": "path", "kind": "string" }
+                ]
+            }),
+        )
+        .await;
+
+        for (sequence, text) in [
+            (0u64, "request path=/a"),
+            (1u64, "request path=/b"),
+            (2u64, "request path=/a"),
+        ] {
+            engine
+                .send(EngineMessage::Ingest(IngestedLine {
+                    sequence,
+                    timestamp: Timestamp::from_millis(sequence as i64 * 1000),
+                    text: text.to_string(),
+                }))
+                .await
+                .unwrap();
+        }
+
+        let (status, body) = get_json(&app, "/api/metrics/requests").await;
+        assert_eq!(status, StatusCode::OK);
+        assert_eq!(body.as_array().unwrap().len(), 3);
+
+        let (status, body) = get_json(&app, "/api/metrics/requests?labels=path=/a").await;
+        assert_eq!(status, StatusCode::OK);
+        let values = body.as_array().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(values.len(), 2);
+        for value in values {
+            // `MetricPrimitive` is a Rust enum with derived `Serialize`, so its
+            // JSON form is externally tagged: `{"String": "/a"}`.
+            assert_eq!(value["labels"]["path"]["String"], "/a");
+        }
+
+        // Bucket values are grouped by label combination (ordered by the
+        // labels' `BTreeMap` key, i.e. "/a" before "/b"), not globally by
+        // sequence — so filtering to sequence > 0 leaves sequence 2 (from the
+        // "/a" bucket) ahead of sequence 1 (from the "/b" bucket), and a
+        // limit of 1 picks the former.
+        let (status, body) = get_json(&app, "/api/metrics/requests?since_sequence=0&limit=1").await;
+        assert_eq!(status, StatusCode::OK);
+        let values = body.as_array().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(values.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(values[0]["sequence"], 2);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn declaring_param_persists_into_active_profile() {
+        let (app, _engine, settings_handle, dir) = test_app();
+
+        // Set up an active profile against the *same* shared `settings`
+        // handle the router was built with — mutating a separate `Settings`
+        // loaded fresh from disk wouldn't be visible to the running app's
+        // in-memory settings.
+        let settings_path = dir.path().join("settings.json");
+        let profiles_dir = {
+            let settings = settings_handle.lock().unwrap();
+            profile::resolve_profiles_dir(&settings, &settings_path)
+        };
+        let store_path = profile::profiles_store_path(&profiles_dir);
+        let mut store = ProfileStore::load(&store_path);
+        {
+            let mut settings = settings_handle.lock().unwrap();
+            store
+                .create(&store_path, &mut settings, &settings_path, "web".to_string())
+                .unwrap();
+            store
+                .set_active(&mut settings, &settings_path, Some("web".to_string()))
+                .unwrap();
+        }
+
+        let (status, _body) = send_json(
+            &app,
+            "POST",
+            "/api/params",
+            json!({
+                "name": "level",
+                "message_match_regex": r"level=(?P<level>\w+)",
+                "capture_group": "level",
+                "kind": "string"
+            }),
+        )
+        .await;
+        assert_eq!(status, StatusCode::CREATED);
+
+        let reloaded_store = ProfileStore::load(&store_path);
+        let profile = reloaded_store.get("web").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(profile.params.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(profile.params[0].name, "level");
+    }
+}

src/data_value.rs

@@ -1,18 +1,23 @@
 use crate::metric_primitive::MetricPrimitive;
 use crate::timestamp::Timestamp;
-use serde::Serialize;
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 
 /// A single parsed metric primitive extracted from a regex capture group.
 #[allow(dead_code)]
-#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize)]
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct RegexToMetricPrimitiveMatcher {
     pub param_name: String,
     pub capture_group: String,
     pub kind: MetricPrimitiveKind,
 }
 
+/// `rename_all = "lowercase"` matches every other `kind`-style enum exposed
+/// over the API/settings JSON (`ColorScheme`, `CssEntryKind`,
+/// `ProfileMetricPrimitiveKind`), so `POST /api/params`/`POST /api/metrics`
+/// bodies use `"string"`/`"number"`/`"timestamp"`.
 #[allow(dead_code)]
-#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, Serialize)]
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+#[serde(rename_all = "lowercase")]
 pub enum MetricPrimitiveKind {
     String,
     Number,

src/dto.rs

@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 use crate::data_value::{MetricPrimitiveKind, RegexToMetricPrimitiveMatcher};
+use crate::metric_primitive::MetricPrimitive;
 use crate::settings::CssEntry;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+use std::collections::BTreeMap;
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize)]
 pub struct LogEntryDto {
@@ -54,6 +56,40 @@ pub struct TimelineParams {
     pub bucket_ms: Option<i64>,
 }
 
+/// One entry from a metric's derived bucket timeseries: the label combination
+/// that bucket represents, plus one `(sequence, timestamp, value)` occurrence
+/// within it.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize)]
+pub struct BucketValueDto {
+    pub labels: BTreeMap<String, MetricPrimitive>,
+    pub sequence: u64,
+    pub timestamp_ms: i64,
+    pub value: MetricPrimitive,
+}
+
+/// Query params for `GET /api/metrics/:name`. `labels` is a single
+/// comma-separated `key=value` list (e.g. `?labels=path=/a,duration=5`)
+/// rather than repeated `label.foo=bar` params, since axum's `Query`
+/// extractor needs a fixed/known set of field names — an arbitrary label set
+/// doesn't fit that without a custom deserializer. Every listed label must
+/// match (compared against each label value's `Display` form, see
+/// `MetricPrimitive`); unlisted labels on a bucket are ignored.
+#[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
+pub struct BucketValuesParams {
+    pub labels: Option<String>,
+    pub since_sequence: Option<u64>,
+    pub start_ms: Option<i64>,
+    pub end_ms: Option<i64>,
+    pub limit: Option<usize>,
+}
+
+/// JSON error body returned by API handlers on a 4xx/5xx response, e.g.
+/// `{ "error": "invalid regex: ..." }`.
+#[derive(Debug, Serialize)]
+pub struct ErrorDto {
+    pub error: String,
+}
+
 /// Request body for `POST /api/settings/css`: raw CSS content to import and
 /// store alongside the settings file.
 #[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]

src/engine.rs

@@ -1,12 +1,13 @@
 use crate::data_value::{DataValue, MetricPrimitiveKind, RegexToMetricPrimitiveMatcher};
 use crate::dto::{
-    LogEntryDto, LogsParams, MetricDeclarationDto, ParamDeclarationDto, StatsDto,
+    BucketValueDto, LogEntryDto, LogsParams, MetricDeclarationDto, ParamDeclarationDto, StatsDto,
     TimelineBucketDto, TimelineParams,
 };
 use crate::index_key::IndexKey;
 use crate::metric_primitive::{MetricPrimitive, Number};
 use crate::timestamp::Timestamp;
 use regex::Regex;
+use serde::Deserialize;
 use std::collections::BTreeMap;
 use tokio::sync::{mpsc, oneshot};
 
@@ -16,6 +17,10 @@ pub struct IngestedLine {
     pub text: String,
 }
 
+/// Also the request body for `POST /api/params` (ticket 004): `Deserialize` is
+/// derived directly on this engine type rather than adding a separate DTO,
+/// since its shape is already exactly what the API needs.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Deserialize)]
 pub struct DeclareParamRequest {
     pub name: String,
     pub message_match_regex: String,
@@ -28,6 +33,11 @@ pub struct DeclareParamRequest {
 /// `RegexToMetricPrimitiveMatcher::capture_group` must name a capture group on that
 /// regex). Referencing an already-declared `ParamDeclaration` (001) by name is not
 /// supported yet — that's left for a future ticket.
+///
+/// Also the request body for `POST /api/metrics` (ticket 004) — see
+/// `DeclareParamRequest`'s doc comment for why `Deserialize` lives here rather
+/// than on a separate DTO.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Deserialize)]
 pub struct DeclareMetricRequest {
     pub name: String,
     pub message_match_regex: String,
@@ -41,6 +51,19 @@ pub enum EngineQuery {
     Stats,
     ParamDeclarations,
     MetricDeclarations,
+    /// Bucket values for one metric (ticket 004's `GET /api/metrics/:name`).
+    /// `labels_filter`, when present, keeps only buckets where every listed
+    /// label matches — compared against each label value's `Display` form
+    /// (see `MetricPrimitive`) rather than a typed value, since the filter
+    /// arrives as plain strings off the query string.
+    BucketValues {
+        metric_name: String,
+        labels_filter: Option<BTreeMap<String, String>>,
+        start_ms: Option<i64>,
+        end_ms: Option<i64>,
+        since_sequence: Option<u64>,
+        limit: Option<usize>,
+    },
 }
 
 #[allow(dead_code)]
@@ -75,6 +98,7 @@ pub enum EngineResponse {
     Stats(StatsDto),
     ParamDeclarations(Vec<ParamDeclarationDto>),
     MetricDeclarations(Vec<MetricDeclarationDto>),
+    BucketValues(Vec<BucketValueDto>),
 }
 
 pub type EngineHandle = mpsc::Sender<EngineMessage>;
@@ -289,10 +313,10 @@ fn apply_all_metrics(
 }
 
 /// Bucket values for one metric, in insertion order, optionally filtered to a single
-/// label combination. Internal helper for now — the metrics-API ticket ([004]) will
+/// exact label combination. Used directly by tests (exact-match filtering) and, via
-/// wrap this (or an `EngineQuery` built on it) with time/sequence-range filtering and
+/// `EngineQuery::BucketValues` in `handle_query` below, by the metrics API (ticket
-/// HTTP plumbing.
+/// 004) — which layers its own textual label-filter and time/sequence-range
-#[allow(dead_code)]
+/// filtering on top rather than using this function's `labels_filter` parameter.
 fn bucket_values<'a>(
     index: &'a BTreeMap<IndexKey, DataValue>,
     metric_name: &'a str,
@@ -428,6 +452,40 @@ fn handle_query(index: &BTreeMap<IndexKey, DataValue>, query: EngineQuery) -> En
                 .collect();
             EngineResponse::MetricDeclarations(declarations)
         }
+        EngineQuery::BucketValues {
+            metric_name,
+            labels_filter,
+            start_ms,
+            end_ms,
+            since_sequence,
+            limit,
+        } => {
+            let limit = limit.unwrap_or(500).min(10_000);
+            let values: Vec<BucketValueDto> = bucket_values(index, &metric_name, None)
+                .filter(|(labels, _)| {
+                    labels_filter.as_ref().is_none_or(|filter| {
+                        filter.iter().all(|(name, expected)| {
+                            labels
+                                .get(name)
+                                .is_some_and(|value| &value.to_string() == expected)
+                        })
+                    })
+                })
+                .filter(|(_, (sequence, timestamp, _))| {
+                    since_sequence.is_none_or(|since| *sequence > since)
+                        && start_ms.is_none_or(|start| timestamp.as_millis() >= start)
+                        && end_ms.is_none_or(|end| timestamp.as_millis() <= end)
+                })
+                .take(limit)
+                .map(|(labels, (sequence, timestamp, value))| BucketValueDto {
+                    labels: labels.clone(),
+                    sequence: *sequence,
+                    timestamp_ms: timestamp.as_millis(),
+                    value: value.clone(),
+                })
+                .collect();
+            EngineResponse::BucketValues(values)
+        }
     }
 }
 

src/metric_primitive.rs

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 use crate::timestamp::Timestamp;
 use serde::Serialize;
 use std::cmp::Ordering;
+use std::fmt;
 
 /// A simple, self-describing value used by metrics/labels without pulling in JSON.
 #[allow(dead_code)]
@@ -42,6 +43,21 @@ impl Ord for MetricPrimitive {
     }
 }
 
+/// Textual form used for label-filter comparisons over the metrics API
+/// (`GET /api/metrics/:name?labels=foo=bar`): query-string values are plain
+/// strings, so a label filter is compared against this formatted form rather
+/// than trying to parse the filter value into a typed `MetricPrimitive`.
+impl fmt::Display for MetricPrimitive {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
+        match self {
+            MetricPrimitive::String(s) => write!(f, "{s}"),
+            MetricPrimitive::Number(Number::Int(n)) => write!(f, "{n}"),
+            MetricPrimitive::Number(Number::Float(n)) => write!(f, "{n}"),
+            MetricPrimitive::Timestamp(ts) => write!(f, "{}", ts.as_millis()),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// Numbers are kept as a tagged int/float pair so exact integers stay exact.
 #[allow(dead_code)]
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, Serialize)]