The daemon configuration file is read from /etc/netdata/netdata.conf.
Depending on your installation method, Netdata will have been installed either directly under /, or
under /opt/netdata. The paths mentioned here and in the documentation in general assume that your installation is
under /. If it is not, you will find the exact same paths under /opt/netdata as well. (i.e. /etc/netdata will
be /opt/netdata/etc/netdata).
This config file is not needed by default. Netdata works fine out of the box without it. But it does allow you to
adapt the general behavior of Netdata, in great detail. You can find all these settings, with their default values, by
accessing the URL https://netdata.server.hostname:19999/netdata.conf. For example check the configuration file
of netdata.firehol.org. HTTP access to this file is limited by default to
private IPs, via
the web server access lists.
netdata.conf has sections stated with [section]. You will see the following sections:
[global]to configure the Netdata daemon.[directories]to configure the directories used by Netdata.[logs]to configure the Netdata logging.[environment variables]to configure the environment variables used Netdata.[sqlite]to configure the Netdata daemon SQLite settings.[ml]to configure settings for machine learning.[health]to configure general settings for health monitoring.[web]to configure the web server.[registry]for the Netdata registry.[global statistics]for the Netdata registry.[statsd]for the general settings of the stats.d.plugin.[plugins]to configure which collectors to use and PATH settings.[plugin:NAME]sections for each collector plugin, under the comment Per plugin configuration.
The configuration file is a name = value dictionary. Netdata will not complain if you set options unknown to it. When
you check the running configuration by accessing the URL /netdata.conf on your Netdata server, Netdata will add a
comment on settings it does not currently use.
After netdata.conf has been modified, Netdata needs to be restarted for
changes to apply:
sudo systemctl restart netdataIf the above does not work, try the following:
sudo killall netdata; sleep 10; sudo netdataPlease note that your data history will be lost if you have modified history parameter in section [global].
| setting | default | info |
|---|---|---|
| process scheduling policy | keep |
See Netdata process scheduling policy |
| OOM score | 0 |
|
| glibc malloc arena max for plugins | 1 |
See Virtual memory. |
| glibc malloc arena max for Netdata | 1 |
See Virtual memory. |
| hostname | auto-detected | The hostname of the computer running Netdata. |
| history | 3996 |
Used with memory mode = save/map/ram/alloc, not the default memory mode = dbengine. This number reflects the number of entries the netdata daemon will by default keep in memory for each chart dimension. This setting can also be configured per chart. Check Memory Requirements for more information. |
| update every | 1 |
The frequency in seconds, for data collection. For more information see the performance guide. |
| memory mode | dbengine |
dbengine: The default for long-term metrics storage with efficient RAM and disk usage. Can be extended with page cache size and dbengine disk space. save: Netdata will save its round robin database on exit and load it on startup. map: Cache files will be updated in real-time. Not ideal for systems with high load or slow disks (check man mmap). ram: The round-robin database will be temporary and it will be lost when Netdata exits. none: Disables the database at this host, and disables health monitoring entirely, as that requires a database of metrics. |
| page cache size | 32 | Determines the amount of RAM in MiB that is dedicated to caching Netdata metric values. |
| dbengine disk space | 256 | Determines the amount of disk space in MiB that is dedicated to storing Netdata metric values and all related metadata describing them. |
| dbengine multihost disk space | 256 | Same functionality as dbengine disk space, but includes support for storing metrics streamed to a parent node by its children. Can be used in single-node environments as well. |
| host access prefix | This is used in docker environments where /proc, /sys, etc have to be accessed via another path. You may also have to set SYS_PTRACE capability on the docker for this work. Check issue 43. | |
| memory deduplication (ksm) | yes |
When set to yes, Netdata will offer its in-memory round robin database to kernel same page merging (KSM) for deduplication. For more information check Memory Deduplication - Kernel Same Page Merging - KSM |
| timezone | auto-detected | The timezone retrieved from the environment variable |
| run as user | netdata |
The user Netdata will run as. |
| pthread stack size | auto-detected | |
| cleanup obsolete charts after seconds | 3600 |
See monitoring ephemeral containers, also sets the timeout for cleaning up obsolete dimensions |
| gap when lost iterations above | 1 |
|
| cleanup orphan hosts after seconds | 3600 |
How long to wait until automatically removing from the DB a remote Netdata host (child) that is no longer sending data. |
| delete obsolete charts files | yes |
See monitoring ephemeral containers, also affects the deletion of files for obsolete dimensions |
| delete orphan hosts files | yes |
Set to no to disable non-responsive host removal. |
| enable zero metrics | no |
Set to yes to show charts when all their metrics are zero. |
| setting | default | info |
|---|---|---|
| config | /etc/netdata |
The directory configuration files are kept. |
| stock config | /usr/lib/netdata/conf.d |
|
| log | /var/log/netdata |
The directory in which the log files are kept. |
| web | /usr/share/netdata/web |
The directory the web static files are kept. |
| cache | /var/cache/netdata |
The directory the memory database will be stored if and when Netdata exits. Netdata will re-read the database when it will start again, to continue from the same point. |
| lib | /var/lib/netdata |
Contains the alarm log and the Netdata instance GUID. |
| home | /var/cache/netdata |
Contains the db files for the collected metrics. |
| lock | /var/lib/netdata/lock |
Contains the data collectors lock files. |
| plugins | "/usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d" "/etc/netdata/custom-plugins.d" |
The directory plugin programs are kept. This setting supports multiple directories, space separated. If any directory path contains spaces, enclose it in single or double quotes. |
| health config | /etc/netdata/health.d |
The directory containing the user alarm configuration files, to override the stock configurations |
| stock health config | /usr/lib/netdata/conf.d/health.d |
Contains the stock alarm configuration files for each collector |
| registry | /opt/netdata/var/lib/netdata/registry |
Contains the registry database and GUID that uniquely identifies each Netdata Agent |
| setting | default | info |
|---|---|---|
| debug flags | 0x0000000000000000 |
Bitmap of debug options to enable. For more information check Tracing Options. |
| debug | /var/log/netdata/debug.log |
The filename to save debug information. This file will not be created if debugging is not enabled. You can also set it to syslog to send the debug messages to syslog, or none to disable this log. For more information check Tracing Options. |
| error | /var/log/netdata/error.log |
The filename to save error messages for Netdata daemon and all plugins (stderr is sent here for all Netdata programs, including the plugins). You can also set it to syslog to send the errors to syslog, or none to disable this log. |
| access | /var/log/netdata/access.log |
The filename to save the log of web clients accessing Netdata charts. You can also set it to syslog to send the access log to syslog, or none to disable this log. |
| facility | daemon |
A facility keyword is used to specify the type of system that is logging the message. |
| errors flood protection period | 1200 |
Length of period (in sec) during which the number of errors should not exceed the errors to trigger flood protection. |
| errors to trigger flood protection | 200 |
Number of errors written to the log in errors flood protection period sec before flood protection is activated. |
| setting | default | info |
|---|---|---|
| TZ | :/etc/localtime |
Where to find the timezone |
| PATH | auto-detected |
Specifies the directories to be searched to find a command |
| PYTHONPATH | Used to set a custom python path |
| setting | default | info |
|---|---|---|
| auto vacuum | INCREMENTAL |
The auto-vacuum status in the database |
| synchronous | NORMAL |
The setting of the "synchronous" flag |
| journal mode | WAL |
The journal mode for databases |
| temp store | MEMORY |
Used to determine where temporary tables and indices are stored |
| journal size limit | 16777216 |
Used to set a new limit in bytes for the database |
| cache size | -2000 |
Used to suggest the maximum number of database disk pages that SQLite will hold in memory at once per open database file |
This section controls the general behavior of the health monitoring capabilities of Netdata.
Specific alarms are configured in per-collector config files under the health.d directory. For more info, see health
monitoring.
Alarm notifications are configured in health_alarm_notify.conf.
| setting | default | info |
|---|---|---|
| enabled | yes |
Set to no to disable all alarms and notifications |
| in memory max health log entries | 1000 | Size of the alarm history held in RAM |
| script to execute on alarm | /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/alarm-notify.sh |
The script that sends alarm notifications. Note that in versions before 1.16, the plugins.d directory may be installed in a different location in certain OSs (e.g. under /usr/lib/netdata). |
| run at least every seconds | 10 |
Controls how often all alarm conditions should be evaluated. |
| postpone alarms during hibernation for seconds | 60 |
Prevents false alarms. May need to be increased if you get alarms during hibernation. |
| rotate log every lines | 2000 | Controls the number of alarm log entries stored in <lib directory>/health-log.db, where <lib directory> is the one configured in the [global] section |
Refer to the web server documentation
In this section you will see be a boolean (yes/no) option for each plugin (e.g. tc, cgroups, apps, proc etc.). Note
that the configuration options in this section for the orchestrator plugins python.d and charts.d control all the
modules written for that orchestrator. For instance, setting python.d = no means that all Python modules
under collectors/python.d.plugin will be disabled.
Additionally, there will be the following options:
| setting | default | info |
|---|---|---|
| enable running new plugins | yes |
When set to yes, Netdata will enable detected plugins, even if they are not configured explicitly. Setting this to no will only enable plugins explicitly configured in this file with a yes |
| check for new plugins every | 60 | The time in seconds to check for new plugins in the plugins directory. This allows having other applications dynamically creating plugins for Netdata. |
| checks | no |
This is a debugging plugin for the internal latency |
To understand what this section is and how it should be configured, please refer to the registry documentation.
The configuration options for plugins appear in sections following the pattern [plugin:NAME].
Most internal plugins will provide additional options. Check Internal Plugins for more information.
Please note, that by default Netdata will enable monitoring metrics for disks, memory, and network only when they are
not zero. If they are constantly zero they are ignored. Metrics that will start having values, after Netdata is started,
will be detected and charts will be automatically added to the dashboard (a refresh of the dashboard is needed for them
to appear though). Use yes instead of auto in plugin configuration sections to enable these charts permanently. You
can also set the enable zero metrics option to yes in the [global] section which enables charts with zero metrics
for all internal Netdata plugins.
External plugins will have only 2 options at netdata.conf:
| setting | default | info |
|---|---|---|
| update every | the value of [global].update every setting |
The frequency in seconds the plugin should collect values. For more information check the performance guide. |
| command options | - | Additional command line options to pass to the plugin. |
External plugins that need additional configuration may support a dedicated file in /etc/netdata. Check their
documentation.