Skip to content
Yoichi Takizawa edited this page Feb 14, 2026 · 1 revision

FAQ

General

Q: Does this work with PowerChute Network Shutdown?

A: No. This tool is designed specifically for PowerChute Serial Shutdown for Business. PowerChute Network Shutdown uses a different web interface and authentication mechanism.

Q: Does this work with PowerChute Business Edition?

A: It has been tested with PowerChute Serial Shutdown for Business v1.4.0.601. Other editions may have different web interfaces and are not supported.

Q: Which UPS models are supported?

A: Any UPS managed by PowerChute Serial Shutdown for Business should work. Tested with APC RS 550S.

Q: Does this require any external Python packages?

A: No. It uses only the Python standard library (urllib, http.cookiejar, ssl, re, configparser, argparse, subprocess).

Usage

Q: Can I monitor multiple UPS units?

A: Yes. Create separate config files for each UPS and run the script multiple times:

python3 apcget.py --config ~/.apcget-ups1.conf --zabbix-send 10.0.0.1 --zabbix-host ups-1
python3 apcget.py --config ~/.apcget-ups2.conf --zabbix-send 10.0.0.1 --zabbix-host ups-2

Q: What is the recommended polling interval?

A: 1 minute (via cron) works well. UPS data does not change frequently, so more frequent polling is unnecessary.

Q: Can I use this without Zabbix?

A: Yes. Without --zabbix-send, the script simply outputs values to stdout. You can use it with any monitoring tool or shell script:

# Get load and act on it
LOAD=$(python3 apcget.py --load)
echo "Current UPS load: ${LOAD}%"

Q: Why is the output language sometimes Japanese?

A: The --status option returns the device status text as-is from PowerChute. If PowerChute is set to Japanese, it returns Japanese text (e.g., "オンライン" instead of "Online"). Numeric values are not affected.

Security

Q: Why is SSL certificate verification disabled?

A: PowerChute Serial Shutdown for Business uses a self-signed SSL certificate. Disabling verification is necessary to connect. The connection is still encrypted via HTTPS.

Q: Is it safe to store passwords in a config file?

A: Yes, as long as you set proper file permissions:

chmod 600 ~/.apcget.conf

This ensures only the file owner can read it. This is more secure than passing passwords as command-line arguments.

Q: Can I use this tool from a different network?

A: PowerChute typically runs on the local network. Accessing it from a different network requires proper network routing/VPN. The script connects to port 6547 via HTTPS.

Clone this wiki locally