Linux server monitoring: install Pulse and the Go agent

Choose your platform and download a release

Choose Linux amd64 or Linux arm64 for the machine architecture. Release binaries need neither Go nor Node.js to run. Download the Pulse Monitor archive and checksums.txt from the same release and verify SHA-256 before extraction.

Keep the executable, out and deployment directories together. out contains the static interface. Store monitor data outside out: the data directory contains the owner account, node configuration and logs.

uname -m
sha256sum pulse-monitor_*.tar.gz

Start the monitor on loopback

Run the command from the extracted archive. 127.0.0.1:8080 is reachable only on that host. For initial access to a remote server, use an SSH tunnel and open its local address in your browser.

Create the owner account before publishing the dashboard. Use the same persistent data directory for manual startup and the future service; otherwise the service may start with an empty dashboard.

./pulse-monitor -addr 127.0.0.1:8080 -data ./data -static ./out

Connect a Linux agent

Add a node in Servers. Save its token in agent.token and download the matching Pulse Agent build. Remote operation requires your monitor’s HTTPS URL and a trusted certificate.

Replace the example URL and SERVER_ID below with values from your dashboard. agent-state holds agent state and collector cache. Use a separate directory per node. The operating system is detected automatically.

./pulse-agent -url https://monitor.example.com:8443 -server SERVER_ID -token-file agent.token -state agent-state

Verify telemetry and enable startup

The node should become online. Open resources and processes and verify CPU, memory and disks. GPU metrics depend on hardware and drivers; an absent GPU is not a connection failure.

Run the monitor service installer from its archive after stopping the manual process. The service defaults to /var/lib/pulse-monitor; migrate an existing data directory according to the installation documentation. Use the agent’s own service installer for the agent.

sudo bash deployment/install-monitor.sh .
sudo systemctl status pulse-monitor

Troubleshoot an offline node

Check the URL, node ID, token file, trusted TLS and outbound connectivity from agent to monitor. HTTP 401 usually indicates an invalid or revoked token. Run pulse-agent -check to inspect the environment.

Do not run two agents with one ID. A faster UI refresh cannot recover missing agent reports. Back up the monitor data directory before upgrades.