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Getting Started with the Agent
Overview
The Agent is lightweight software installed on your hosts. It reports metrics and events from your host to Datadog via integrations, DogStatsD, or the API. With additional setup, the Agent can report live processes, logs, and traces.
Setup
If you haven’t already, create a Datadog account.
Installation
The Agent can be installed on many different platforms either directly on the host or as a containerized version. Most systems have a one-line install option.
Choose your platform to see installation instructions:
Configuration
The Agent’s main configuration file is datadog.yaml. The only required parameter is your Datadog API key which is used to associate your Agent’s data with your organization. See the sample config_template.yaml for all available configuration options.
For the container Agent, datadog.yaml configuration options are passed in with environment variables. For example, the Datadog API key environment variable is DD_API_KEY.
The Agent’s main configuration file is datadog.yaml. The required parameters are your Datadog API key which is used to associate your Agent’s data with your organization and the Datadog Site (datadoghq.eu). See the sample config_template.yaml for all available configuration options.
For the container Agent, datadog.yaml configuration options are passed in with environment variables, for example:
DD_API_KEYfor the Datadog API keyDD_SITEfor the Datadog site
Validation
Run the Agent’s status command to verify installation.
Commands
Refer to the Agent Commands page to Start, Stop or Restart your Agent.
Data Collected
Metrics
Agent
The metrics below are available with Agent v6. For Agent v5, see the Agent Metrics integration.
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| datadog.agent.python.version | Shows a value of 1 if the Agent is currently reporting to Datadog. The metric is tagged with the python_version. |
| datadog.agent.running | Shows a value of 1 if the Agent is currently reporting to Datadog. |
| datadog.agent.started | A count sent with a value of 1 when the Agent starts (available in v6.12+). |
Checks
Depending on your platform, the Agent has several core checks enabled by default that collect metrics.
| Check | Metrics | Platforms |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | System | All |
| Disk | Disk | All |
| Docker | Docker | Docker |
| File Handle | System | All except Mac |
| IO | System | All |
| Load | System | All except Windows |
| Memory | System | All |
| Network | Network | All |
| NTP | NTP | All |
| Uptime | System | All |
| Winproc | System | Windows |
To collect metrics from other technologies, see the Integrations page.
Events
The Agent sends events to Datadog when an Agent is started or restarted.
Service Checks
datadog.agent.up:
Returns CRITICAL if the Agent is unable to connect to Datadog, otherwise returns OK.
datadog.agent.check_status:
Returns CRITICAL if an Agent check is unable to send metrics to Datadog, otherwise returns OK.
Troubleshooting
For help troubleshooting the Agent:
- Visit the Agent Troubleshooting page.
- View the Agent Log Files
- Contact Datadog support
Further Reading
Additional helpful documentation, links, and articles:
Next Steps
After the Agent is installed:
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