Netdata is an open-source, real-time performance monitoring tool that provides per-second metrics for CPUs, RAM, disks, network, processes, and hundreds of applications out of the box. It requires zero configuration to get started. This guide installs Netdata on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.

Tested and valid on:

  • Ubuntu 26.04 LTS

Prerequisites

  • Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
  • A user with sudo privileges

Step 1 – Install Netdata

wget -O /tmp/netdata-kickstart.sh https://my-netdata.io/kickstart.sh
bash /tmp/netdata-kickstart.sh --stable-channel

Step 2 – Verify the Service

sudo systemctl status netdata
curl http://localhost:19999/api/v1/info

Step 3 – Access the Dashboard

Open a browser and visit http://your-server-ip:19999. The dashboard loads instantly with real-time charts.

Step 4 – Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/netdata

Add:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name netdata.example.com;
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:19999;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;
    }
}
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/netdata /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d netdata.example.com

Step 5 – Configure Alarms

sudo nano /etc/netdata/health.d/custom.conf

Example: alert when CPU > 90%:

alarm: cpu_high
  on: system.cpu
  lookup: average -1m unaligned of user,system
  units: %
  warn: $this > 80
  crit: $this > 90
  info: CPU usage is high

Step 6 – Connect to Netdata Cloud (optional)

sudo netdata-claim.sh -token=YOUR_CLAIM_TOKEN -rooms=YOUR_ROOM_ID -url=https://app.netdata.cloud

Step 7 – Update Netdata

sudo netdatacli update-config

Conclusion

Netdata is running on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS with zero-configuration monitoring. It automatically detects installed services and begins collecting metrics immediately, with no additional configuration required.