The setup wizard's telemetry card only ever offered a way out: it led with "enabled by default", gave no reason the data exists, and told the reader to set PULSE_TELEMETRY=false before starting a process that had already sent its first ping two minutes after boot. The payload-update banner paired "we now collect more" with a one-click Disable button, was keyed to schema v2 from July and never re-triggered across fifteen later bumps, and its text was rewritten in August so anyone who had dismissed it never saw the new wording. Nothing on either surface said what the data is for. No GitHub issue or discussion has ever complained about the default-on posture, so the defensive framing was answering a question nobody asked while quietly nudging people to opt out. Setup now says what the daily summary is for, names concrete exclusions (hostnames, credentials, IP addresses), and puts a real Usage statistics toggle on the admin-account step. The toggle defaults to on and, when switched off, is applied through the canonical system-settings endpoint once the admin token exists, so there is no setup-only side channel and the account is created either way. The env-var instruction moves to PRIVACY.md where a reader can still act on it, alongside a note that the first ping fires about two minutes after start. The payload-update banner is retired along with its telemetryAction deep link that changed the preference on arrival. Payload changes are now disclosed in a dated changelog in PRIVACY.md (back-filled from schema v2 to v17 from the telemetry package's own version notes) and in release notes; an in-app notice is reserved for a change in kind. Settings leads with what the data is for and makes Preview payload the primary action, because the exact runtime payload is the disclosure an operator can verify. The security-privacy, deployment-installability, and frontend-primitives contracts record the new rules, and a telemetry proof test pins the setup choice and the changelog row for the current schema so a future bump cannot land undisclosed. Demand ledger: repos/pulse-pro FEATURE_REQUESTS.md "Telemetry consent as a real setup choice" (named bet, pulse-pro PR #40).
Pulse documentation
Start here for installation, platform setup, security, operations, and Pulse Intelligence. Commands, configuration keys, image names, API fields, and product identifiers remain untranslated in localized guides.
Start here
- Install Pulse — signed Proxmox/Linux installation, Docker, Docker Compose, Kubernetes, and first-run setup.
- Production deployment and security — least-privilege Proxmox setup, root-agent boundaries, discovery, supply-chain verification, plan limits, scale evidence, and a rollout checklist.
- Upgrade from Pulse v5 — migration prerequisites, rollback, agent continuity, and post-upgrade checks.
- Configure Pulse — authentication, notifications, discovery, retention, and system settings.
- Deployment models — data locations, lifecycle, and differences between supported deployment paths.
- Troubleshooting and FAQ — common failures, diagnostics, and operator questions.
Localized getting started guides: Deutsch · Español
Platforms and agents
- Proxmox Backup Server
- Proxmox Mail Gateway
- Docker and Podman
- Kubernetes and Helm
- TrueNAS SCALE and CORE
- Unified Agent
- Agent security
- VM disk monitoring
- ZFS monitoring
- Temperature monitoring
VMware vSphere support is early access. Current builds expose dedicated vSphere inventory and recovery context, but operators should validate the integration against their own vCenter before production use.
Monitoring and operations
- Metrics history
- Recovery data
- Webhooks
- Automatic updates
- Centralized agent management (Pro)
- Operational trust model
- Current product screenshots
Pulse Intelligence
- Assistant, Patrol, and external-agent overview
- Patrol modes and safety
- Assistant safety model
- External agent HTTP and MCP substrate
Patrol watch-only analysis is available on Community with a local model or the operator's own provider. Investigation and governed fixes require the relevant Pulse Pro capabilities.
Security, privacy, and access
- Production deployment and security
- Security review scope
- Authentication and credential storage review packet
- Security guide
- Privacy and telemetry disclosure
- OIDC and SSO
- Proxy authentication
- Role-based access control (Pro)
- Audit logging (Pro)
- Reverse proxy configuration
- Code-signing policy
Plans and managed access
- Community, Relay, and Pro capabilities
- Relay and Pulse Mobile handoff
- Multi-tenant organizations (Enterprise/custom)
- Provider-hosted MSP operations (request-assisted)
Pulse Cloud is not generally available. Ordinary self-hosted Pulse remains the primary installation path; MSP and Enterprise access are explicit commercial paths rather than defaults in self-hosted setup.
Development and reference
Detailed design notes and dated migration specifications may remain in this directory for maintainers, but they are not operator setup guides unless they are linked from the sections above.
Previous versions and migrations
- Upgrade from v4 to v5
- Retired unified-navigation migration — historical context only; current Pulse uses platform-shaped navigation.
- Move a Pulse installation
Found a bug? Use the issue forms. For setup questions, use GitHub Discussions.