<!--
---
title: "Get started guide"
date: 2020-05-04
custom_edit_url: https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/docs/getting-started.md
---
-->

# Get started guide

Thanks for trying the Netdata Agent! In this getting started guide, we'll quickly walk you through the first steps you
should take after installing the Agent.

The Agent can collect thousands of metrics in real-time and use its database for long-term metrics storage without any
configuration, but there are some valuable things to know to get the most out of Netdata based on your needs.

We'll skip right into some technical details, so if you're brand-new to monitoring the health and performance of systems
and applications, our [**step-by-step tutorial**](/docs/step-by-step/step-00.md) might be a better fit.

> If you haven't installed Netdata yet, visit the [installation instructions](/packaging/installer/README.md) for
> details, including our one-liner script, which automatically installs Netdata on almost all Linux distributions.

## Access the dashboard

Open up your web browser of choice and navigate to `http://NODE:19999`, replacing `NODE` with the IP address or hostname
of your Agent. Hit **Enter**. Welcome to Netdata!

![Animated GIF of navigating to the
dashboard](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1153921/80825153-abaec600-8b94-11ea-8b17-1b770a2abaa9.gif)

**What's next?**: 

-   Read more about the [standard Netdata dashboard](/web/gui/).
-   Learn all the specifics of [using charts](/web/README.md#using-charts) or the differences between [charts,
    context, and families](/web/README.md#charts-contexts-families).

## Configuration basics

Netdata primarily uses the `netdata.conf` file for custom configurations.

On most systems, you can find that file at `/etc/netdata/netdata.conf`.

> Some operating systems will place your `netdata.conf` at `/opt/netdata/etc/netdata/netdata.conf`, so check there if
> you find nothing at `/etc/netdata/netdata.conf`.

The `netdata.conf` file is broken up into various sections, such as `[global]`, `[web]`, `[registry]`, and more. By
default, most options are commented, so you'll have to uncomment them (remove the `#`) for Netdata to recognize your
change.

Once you save your changes, [restart Netdata](#start-stop-and-restart-netdata) to load your new configuration.

**What's next?**:

-   [Change how long Netdata stores metrics](#change-how-long-netdata-stores-metrics) by changing the `page cache size`
    and `dbengine disk space` settings in `netdata.conf`.
-   Move Netdata's dashboard to a [different port](/web/server/) or enable TLS/HTTPS
    encryption.
-   See all the `netdata.conf` options in our [daemon configuration documentation](/daemon/config/).
-   Run your own [registry](/registry/README.md#run-your-own-registry).

## Change how long Netdata stores metrics

Netdata can store long-term, historical metrics out of the box. A custom database uses RAM to store recent metrics,
ensuring dashboards and API queries are extremely responsive, while "spilling" historical metrics to disk. This
configuration keeps RAM usage low while allowing for long-term, on-disk metrics storage.

You can tweak this custom _database engine_ to store a much larger dataset than your system's available RAM,
particularly if you allow Netdata to use slightly more RAM and disk space than the default configuration.

Read our guide on [changing how long Netdata stores metrics](/docs/tutorials/longer-metrics-storage.md) to learn more
and use our [database engine calculator](https://learn.netdata.cloud/docs/agent/database/calculator) to figure
out the exact settings you'll need to store historical metrics right in the Agent's database.

**What's next?**:

-   Learn more about the [memory requirements for the database
    engine](/database/engine/README.md#memory-requirements) to understand how much RAM/disk space you should commit
    to storing historical metrics.

## Collect data from more sources

When Netdata _starts_, it auto-detects dozens of **data sources**, such as database servers, web servers, and more. To
auto-detect and collect metrics from a service or application you just installed, you need to [restart
Netdata](#start-stop-and-restart-netdata).

> There is one exception: When Netdata is running on the host (as in not in a container itself), it will always
> auto-detect containers and VMs.

However, auto-detection only works if you installed the source using its standard installation procedure. If Netdata
isn't collecting metrics after a restart, your source probably isn't configured correctly. Look at the [external plugin
documentation](/collectors/plugins.d/) to find the appropriate module for your source. Those pages will contain
more information about how to configure your source for auto-detection.

Some modules, like `chrony`, are disabled by default and must be enabled manually for auto-detection to work.

Once Netdata detects a valid source of data, it will continue trying to collect data from it. For example, if
Netdata is collecting data from an Nginx web server, and you shut Nginx down, Netdata will collect new data as soon as
you start the web server back up&mdash;no restart necessary.

### Configure plugins

Even if Netdata auto-detects your service/application, you might want to configure what, or how often, Netdata is
collecting data.

Netdata uses **internal** and **external** plugins to collect data. Internal plugins run within the Netdata dæmon, while
external plugins are independent processes that send metrics to Netdata over pipes. There are also plugin
**orchestrators**, which are external plugins with one or more data collection **modules**.

You can configure both internal and external plugins, along with the individual modules. There are many ways to do so:

-   In `netdata.conf`, `[plugins]` section: Enable or disable internal or external plugins with `yes` or `no`.
-   In `netdata.conf`, `[plugin:XXX]` sections: Each plugin has a section for changing collection frequency or passing
    options to the plugin.
-   In `.conf` files for each external plugin: For example, at `/etc/netdata/python.d.conf`.
-   In `.conf` files for each module : For example, at `/etc/netdata/python.d/nginx.conf`.

It's complex, so let's walk through an example of the various `.conf` files responsible for collecting data from an
Nginx web server using the `nginx` module and the `python.d` plugin orchestrator.

First, you can enable or disable the `python.d` plugin entirely in `netdata.conf`.

```conf
[plugins]
    # Enabled
    python.d = yes
    # Disabled
    python.d = no
```

You can also configure the entire `python.d` external plugin via the `[plugin:python.d]` section in `netdata.conf`.
Here, you can change how often Netdata uses `python.d` to collect metrics or pass other command options:

```conf
[plugin:python.d]
    update every = 1
    command options = 
```

The `python.d` plugin has a separate configuration file at `/etc/netdata/python.d.conf` for enabling and disabling
modules. You can use the `edit-config` script to edit the file, or open it with your text editor of choice:

```bash
sudo /etc/netdata/edit-config python.d.conf
```

Finally, the `nginx` module has a configuration file called `nginx.conf` in the `python.d` folder. Again, use
`edit-config` or your editor of choice:

```bash
sudo /etc/netdata/edit-config python.d/nginx.conf
```

In the `nginx.conf` file, you'll find additional options. The default works in most situations, but you may need to make
changes based on your particular Nginx setup.

**What's next?**:

-   Look at the [full list of data collection modules](/collectors/COLLECTORS.md)
    to configure your sources for auto-detection and monitoring.
-   Improve the [performance](/docs/Performance.md) of Netdata on low-memory systems.
-   Configure `systemd` to expose [systemd services
    utilization](/collectors/cgroups.plugin/README.md#monitoring-systemd-services) metrics automatically.
-   [Reconfigure individual charts](/daemon/config/README.md#per-chart-configuration) in `netdata.conf`.

## Health monitoring and alarms

Netdata comes with hundreds of health monitoring alarms for detecting anomalies on production servers. If you're running
Netdata on a workstation, you might want to disable Netdata's alarms.

Edit your `/etc/netdata/netdata.conf` file and set the following:

```conf
[health]
    enabled = no
```

If you want to keep health monitoring enabled, but turn email notifications off, edit your `health_alarm_notify.conf`
file with `edit-config`, or with the text editor of your choice:

```bash
sudo /etc/netdata/edit-config health_alarm_notify.conf
```

Find the `SEND_EMAIL="YES"` line and change it to `SEND_EMAIL="NO"`.

**What's next?**:

-   Follow the [health quickstart](/health/QUICKSTART.md) to locate and edit existing health entities, and then
    create your own.
-   See all the alarm options via the [health configuration reference](/health/REFERENCE.md).
-   Add a new notification method, like [Slack](/health/notifications/slack/).

## Monitor multiple systems with Netdata Cloud

If you have the Agent installed on multiple nodes, you can use Netdata Cloud in two ways: Monitor the health and
performance of an entire infrastructure via the Cloud web interface, or use the Visited Nodes menu that's built into
every dashboard.

For example, a small infrastructure monitored via Netdata Cloud:

![Animated GIF of Netdata
Cloud](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1153921/80828986-1ebb3b00-8b9b-11ea-957f-2c8d0d009e44.gif)

And the process of using the Visited nodes menu to move between Agent dashboards running on various systems, both local
and remote:

![Switching between dashboards with Visited
nodes](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1153921/80831018-e158ac80-8b9e-11ea-882e-1d82cdc028cd.gif)

You can use these features together or separately&mdash;the decision is up to you and the needs of your infrastructure.

**What's next?**:

-   Read about the [Agent-Cloud integration]().
-   Get an overview of Cloud's features by reading [Cloud documentation](https://learn.netdata.cloud/docs/cloud/).
-   Follow the 5-minute [get started with Cloud](https://learn.netdata.cloud/docs/cloud/get-started/) guide to finish
    onboarding and claim your first nodes.
-   Better understand how agents connect securely to the Cloud with [claiming](/claim/README.md) and [Agent-Cloud
    link](/aclk/README.md) documentation.

## Start, stop, and restart Netdata

When you install Netdata, it's configured to start at boot, and stop and restart/shutdown. You shouldn't need to start
or stop Netdata manually, but you will probably need to restart Netdata at some point.

-   To **start** Netdata, open a terminal and run `service netdata start`.
-   To **stop** Netdata, run `service netdata stop`.
-   To **restart** Netdata, run `service netdata restart`.

The `service` command is a wrapper script that tries to use your system's preferred method of starting or stopping
Netdata based on your system. But, if either of those commands fails, try using the equivalent commands for `systemd`
and `init.d`:

-   **systemd**: `systemctl start netdata`, `systemctl stop netdata`, `systemctl restart netdata`
-   **init.d**: `/etc/init.d/netdata start`, `/etc/init.d/netdata stop`, `/etc/init.d/netdata restart`

## What's next?

Even after you've configured `netdata.conf`, tweaked alarms, learned the basics of performance troubleshooting, and
claimed all your systems in Netdata Cloud or added them to the Visited nodes menu, you've just gotten started with
Netdata.

Take a look at some more advanced features and configurations:

-   Centralize Netdata metrics from many systems with [streaming](/streaming/README.md)
-   Enable long-term archiving of Netdata metrics via [backends](/backends/README.md) to time-series databases.
-   Improve security by putting Netdata behind an [Nginx proxy with SSL](/docs/Running-behind-nginx.md).

Or, learn more about how you can contribute to [Netdata core](/CONTRIBUTING.md) or our
[documentation](/docs/contributing/contributing-documentation.md)!

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