Content overview

In a Tanium™ deployment, content refers to sensors, packages, saved questions, dashboards, categories, filter groups, and plugins. Tanium provides predefined content through solutions that you manually import or that the Tanium Server imports automatically (see Managing Tanium solutions). You can create custom content to extend Tanium solutions for particular environments or objectives. For example, if users start using a new application in your environment, a content developer can write a sensor script that maintains data about the application and write a package script that starts or stops the application.

Contact Tanium Support if you want to create custom sensors.

Custom content development

Content developers require the following knowledge and experience:

  • Understand the Tanium platform
  • Expert knowledge of the endpoint operating system
  • Experience writing and testing scripts written in VBScript (Windows), shell script (non-Windows), or Python

Your team might include content developers who create saved questions that you can reissue at scheduled intervals or that you can associate with packages for Deploying actions. These content developers do not necessarily write scripts, but they must be aware of the systems and processes running on endpoints, understand the impact that scheduled questions and actions might have on endpoints, and make any necessary adjustments. Most customers leverage the content that is provided in Tanium solutions as much as possible, and work with Tanium Support (see Contact Tanium Support) on customizations and new use cases.

When developing custom content for the Tanium Core Platform, examine Tanium-defined content for examples of code and settings that were tested for best results. Use the tested sensors and packages as models for your custom content. As a best practice, create custom content instead of editing content that is provided through Tanium solutions. For details, see Tip 4: Limit customizations to Tanium content.

Another best practice is to develop and test custom content in your lab environment before distributing the content to the production servers in your Tanium Core Platform deployment. You can use the Tanium Console to export and import content between Tanium Servers. See Managing Tanium solutions.

Packages with third-party files

Tanium might deliver package files from third-party providers. For more information on each package, see the README.txt file that is referenced with the package.

Content sets

All content is assigned to content sets. To grant users access to the content sets, you specify content set permissions in custom roles, and then assign those roles to users and user groups. For details, see Managing content sets.

Content-only solutions

Some Tanium solutions provide only content and do not have a workbench or service. For details, see Tanium content-only solutions.

To see documentation for content-only solutions, sign in to the Tanium KB and view the Tanium Core Content Documentation.

Content ownership

By default, the user account or persona that a user selects for a Tanium session is the owner of any content that the user creates during the session. However, you can transfer ownership from a non-active user when necessary. For details, see Delete or transfer content for a non-active user.

Content exports and imports

You can export content as a file in one of the following formats:

  • CSV: When you open the file in an application that supports CSV format, it lists the content with the same attributes (columns) as the page from which you perform the export. For example, a CSV file for sensors displays the same attributes as the Sensors page.

  • JSON: If you are assigned a role with the Export Content permission, you can export content configurations as a JSON file to import them into another Tanium Server. The Administrator reserved role has that permission.

For the export and import procedures, see Export content files.: