A boilerplate nagios check script.

#!/usr/bin/env python

"""
Boilerplate Nagios check script.
"""

import os, os.path, sys, getopt, datetime
import yaml

nagios_codes = {'OK': 0, 
                'WARNING': 1, 
                'CRITICAL': 2,
                'UNKNOWN': 3,
                'DEPENDENT': 4}

def main():
    """ example options processing
        here we're expecting 1 option "-h"
        with a parameter
    """
    try:
        opts, args = getopt.getopt(sys.argv[1:], "h:")
    except getopt.GetoptError, err:
        usage()

    host = None
    for o, value in opts:
        if o == "-h":
            host = value
        else:
            usage()

    result = check_condition(host)
    nagios_return(result['code'], result['message'])

def usage():
    """ returns nagios status UNKNOWN with 
        a one line usage description
        usage() calls nagios_return()
    """
    nagios_return('UNKNOWN', 
            "usage: {0} -h host".format(sys.argv[0]))

def nagios_return(code, response):
    """ prints the response message
        and exits the script with one
        of the defined exit codes
        DOES NOT RETURN 
    """
    print code + ": " + response
    sys.exit(nagios_codes[code])

def check_condition(host=None):
  return dict(
    code = "OK" # or "CRITICAL" or "WARNING"
    message = "This host or service is okay."
  )

if(__name__ == '__main__'):
    main()