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To install Netdata on Linux, run wget -O /tmp/netdata-kickstart.sh https://get.netdata.cloud/kickstart.sh && sh /tmp/netdata-kickstart.sh. The script installs the Netdata Agent from native packages where it can, starts it, and serves a live dashboard at http://your-server-ip:19999. By default that dashboard is open to anyone, so set bind to = 127.0.0.1 in netdata.conf and view it through an SSH tunnel.

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Before you start

  • Connect with SSH as a user with sudo. Root users can leave out sudo.
  • Netdata collects hundreds of metrics per second (CPU, memory, disks, network, services) and keeps history on disk. It uses some CPU, RAM and disk itself, which matters most on very small servers.
  • Netdata Cloud (the hosted service) is optional. The local dashboard on a Linux server works without an account.

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How to install Netdata

1

Download the kickstart script

If you only have curl: curl https://get.netdata.cloud/kickstart.sh > /tmp/netdata-kickstart.sh.
2

Run it on the stable channel

The script asks for your sudo password when it needs it. Without --release-channel stable it installs the nightly channel, which updates daily with the newest changes.
3

Check that it runs

Look for active (running).
The script prefers your distribution’s native packages, falls back to a static build, and builds from source only as a last resort. It also sets up automatic daily updates; add --no-updates to the install command if you want to update by hand.
Do you prefer not to pipe a script into sh? You can read /tmp/netdata-kickstart.sh before step 2. That is why the steps above download it first.

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How to open the Netdata dashboard

Netdata’s web server listens on port 19999 on all network interfaces by default.
On your own computer, open a tunnel and leave the window open:
Then browse to http://localhost:19999. This works even after you lock the dashboard to localhost (next section), and nothing extra is exposed to the internet.
The dashboard opens with an overview of the whole server, with charts for CPU, memory, disks, network and the services Netdata detected.

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How to keep the Netdata dashboard private

The default access list (localhost *) allows connections from anywhere. Lock it down:
1

Open netdata.conf with edit-config

/etc/netdata is used by native packages, /opt/netdata/etc/netdata by static builds. edit-config copies the stock file into place if needed and opens it in your editor.
2

Bind the web server to localhost

Find or add the [web] section and set:
3

Restart Netdata

Now only the server itself (and your SSH tunnel) can reach port 19999. To publish it on a domain with HTTPS and a login instead, put it behind Nginx: see set up Nginx as a reverse proxy.
An open Netdata dashboard shows your running services, disks, network interfaces and traffic to anyone who finds the port. Bind it to localhost or restrict it to your IP before you leave it running. Opening port 19999 in UFW or firewalld for everyone is not recommended.

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How to check it worked

127.0.0.1:19999 means only local connections are accepted. If you see 0.0.0.0:19999 or *:19999, the dashboard is still public; check the [web] section and restart.

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How to get alerts from Netdata

Netdata ships with ready-made health alerts (for example disk nearly full or high CPU). You can see them under Alerts in the dashboard. To have them sent to you, either connect the node to Netdata Cloud and set up notifications there, or let the Agent send them itself. For email, open the notification config from the Netdata config directory:
Set these two lines, then restart with sudo systemctl restart netdata:
The server must be able to send mail (a working sendmail or SMTP relay), or the messages never leave it. For alerts when the whole server goes offline, see get email alerts when your server goes down.

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How to uninstall Netdata

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Frequently asked questions

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Which port does Netdata use?

Port 19999 (TCP), for both the dashboard and its API.

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Do I need a Netdata Cloud account?

No. On Linux the local dashboard at http://localhost:19999 works without signing in. Netdata Cloud adds a combined view of several servers and hosted notifications; its free tier gives dashboard access to 5 nodes.

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How do I stop Netdata updating itself?

Install with --no-updates, or follow Netdata’s “Managing Automatic Updates” instructions for an existing install.

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Netdata or Prometheus and Grafana?

Netdata works out of the box on one server with per-second charts. Prometheus with Grafana takes longer to set up but suits custom dashboards and many servers. See Prometheus and Grafana.

VPS and dedicated server guides

Every server guide in one place.

Prometheus and Grafana

Metrics with node_exporter.

Email alerts when your server goes down

Uptime checks from outside.

Monitor resources with htop

Quick live view in the terminal.

Set up a firewall with UFW

Keep monitoring ports closed.
Checked against the official Netdata documentation (installation, securing the Agent, uninstall and access levels) on 4 November 2026. Netdata was not installed in our test environment, so these steps are from the vendor documentation. Commands can differ on other distributions or releases.

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Last Updated: November 2026