Pulse for Proxmox VE

A lightweight monitoring application for Proxmox VE that displays real-time status for VMs and containers via a simple web interface.

📸 Screenshots

Click to view other UI tabs

Nodes Tab:

Main Tab (Filtered for VMs):

PBS Tab:

Backups Tab:

Threshold Logging:

📋 Table of Contents

• Quick Start (Docker Compose)
• Configuration
  • Environment Variables
  • Creating a Proxmox API Token
  • Creating a Proxmox Backup Server API Token
  • Required Permissions
• Deployment
  • Running with Docker Compose
  • Running with LXC Installation Script
  • Running with Node.js (Development)
• Features
• System Requirements
• Contributing
• Privacy
• License
• Trademark Notice
• Support
• Troubleshooting

🚀 Quick Start (Docker Compose)

This is the fastest way to get Pulse running.

1. Get Files: Clone the repository (git clone https://github.com/rcourtman/Pulse.git && cd Pulse) or download docker-compose.yml and .env.example manually.
2. Copy .env: cp .env.example .env
3. Edit .env: Fill in your primary Proxmox API details (PROXMOX_HOST, PROXMOX_TOKEN_ID, PROXMOX_TOKEN_SECRET). See Creating a Proxmox API Token if you don't have one.
4. Run: docker compose up -d
5. Access: Open your browser to http://<your-host-ip>:7655.

🛠️ Configuration

Environment Variables

Pulse is configured using environment variables, typically set in a .env file in the project root.

1. Copy Example File: If you haven't already, copy the example file:

   cp .env.example .env
   

2. Edit .env: Open .env in a text editor and update the values for your environment(s).

Proxmox VE (Primary Environment)

These are the minimum required variables:

• PROXMOX_HOST: URL of your Proxmox server (e.g., https://192.168.1.10:8006).
• PROXMOX_TOKEN_ID: Your API Token ID (e.g., user@pam!tokenid).
• PROXMOX_TOKEN_SECRET: Your API Token Secret.

Optional variables:

• PROXMOX_NODE_NAME: A display name for this endpoint in the UI (defaults to PROXMOX_HOST).
• PROXMOX_ALLOW_SELF_SIGNED_CERTS: Set to true if your Proxmox server uses self-signed SSL certificates. Defaults to false.
• PORT: Port for the Pulse server to listen on. Defaults to 7655.
• (Username/Password fallback exists but API Token is strongly recommended)

Note: For a Proxmox cluster, you only need to provide connection details for one node. Pulse automatically discovers other cluster members.

Multiple Proxmox Environments (Optional)

To monitor separate Proxmox environments (e.g., different clusters, sites) in one Pulse instance, add numbered variables:

• PROXMOX_HOST_2, PROXMOX_TOKEN_ID_2, PROXMOX_TOKEN_SECRET_2
• PROXMOX_HOST_3, PROXMOX_TOKEN_ID_3, PROXMOX_TOKEN_SECRET_3
• ...and so on.

Optional numbered variables also exist (e.g., PROXMOX_ALLOW_SELF_SIGNED_CERTS_2, PROXMOX_NODE_NAME_2).

Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) (Optional)

To monitor a PBS instance:

• PBS_HOST: URL of your PBS server (e.g., https://192.168.1.11:8007).
• PBS_TOKEN_ID: Your PBS API Token ID (e.g., user@pbs!tokenid). See Creating a Proxmox Backup Server API Token.
• PBS_TOKEN_SECRET: Your PBS API Token Secret.
• PBS_NODE_NAME: Important! The internal hostname of your PBS server (e.g., pbs-server-01). This is usually required for API token auth because the token might lack permission to auto-discover the node name. See details below.
• PBS_ALLOW_SELF_SIGNED_CERTS: Set to true for self-signed certificates. Defaults to false.
• PBS_PORT: PBS API port. Defaults to 8007.

Note: Currently, only one PBS instance can be configured.

Why PBS_NODE_NAME is Required (Click to Expand)

Pulse needs to query task lists specific to the PBS node (e.g., /api2/json/nodes/{nodeName}/tasks). It attempts to discover this node name automatically by querying /api2/json/nodes. However, this endpoint is often restricted for API tokens (returning a 403 Forbidden error), even for tokens with high privileges, unless the Sys.Audit permission is granted on the root path (/).

Therefore, setting PBS_NODE_NAME in your .env file is the standard and recommended way to ensure Pulse can correctly query task endpoints when using API token authentication. If it's not set and automatic discovery fails due to permissions, Pulse will be unable to fetch task data (backups, verifications, etc.).

How to find your PBS Node Name:

1. SSH: Log into your PBS server via SSH and run hostname.
2. UI: Log into the PBS web interface. The hostname is typically displayed on the Dashboard under Server Status.

Example: If your PBS connects via https://minipc-pbs.lan:8007 but its internal hostname is proxmox-backup-server, set:

PBS_HOST=https://minipc-pbs.lan:8007
PBS_NODE_NAME=proxmox-backup-server

Creating a Proxmox API Token

Using an API token is the recommended authentication method.

Steps to Create a PVE API Token (Click to Expand)

1. Log in to the Proxmox VE web interface.
2. Create a dedicated user (optional but recommended):
   • Go to Datacenter → Permissions → Users.
   • Click Add. Enter a User name (e.g., "pulse-monitor"), set Realm to Proxmox VE authentication server (pam), set a password, ensure Enabled. Click Add.
3. Create an API token:
   • Go to Datacenter → Permissions → API Tokens.
   • Click Add.
   • Select the User (e.g., "pulse-monitor@pam") or root@pam.
   • Enter a Token ID (e.g., "pulse").
   • Leave Privilege Separation checked. Click Add.
   • Important: Copy the Secret value immediately. It's shown only once.
4. Assign permissions (to User and Token):
   • Go to Datacenter → Permissions.
   • Add User Permission: Click Add → User Permission. Path: /, User: pulse-monitor@pam, Role: PVEAuditor, check Propagate. Click Add.
   • Add Token Permission: Click Add → API Token Permission. Path: /, API Token: pulse-monitor@pam!pulse, Role: PVEAuditor, check Propagate. Click Add.
   • Note: The PVEAuditor role at the root path (/) with Propagate is crucial.
5. Update .env: Set PROXMOX_TOKEN_ID (e.g., pulse-monitor@pam!pulse) and PROXMOX_TOKEN_SECRET (the secret you copied).

Creating a Proxmox Backup Server API Token

If monitoring PBS, create a token within the PBS interface.

Steps to Create a PBS API Token (Click to Expand)

1. Log in to the Proxmox Backup Server web interface.
2. Create a dedicated user (optional but recommended):
   • Go to Configuration → Access Control → User Management.
   • Click Add. Enter User ID (e.g., "pulse-monitor@pbs"), set Realm (likely pbs), add password. Click Add.
3. Create an API token:
   • Go to Configuration → Access Control → API Token.
   • Click Add.
   • Select User (e.g., "pulse-monitor@pbs") or root@pam.
   • Enter Token Name (e.g., "pulse").
   • Leave Privilege Separation checked. Click Add.
   • Important: Copy the Secret value immediately.
4. Assign permissions:
   • Go to Configuration → Access Control → Permissions.
   • Click Add → API Token Permission.
   • Path: / (root level).
   • API Token: Select the token (e.g., "pulse-monitor@pbs!pulse").
   • Role: Audit.
   • Check Propagate. Click Add.
   • Note: The Audit role at root path (/) is needed for read-only access.
5. Update .env: Set PBS_TOKEN_ID (e.g., pulse-monitor@pbs!pulse) and PBS_TOKEN_SECRET.

Required Permissions

• Proxmox VE: The PVEAuditor role assigned at path / with Propagate enabled is recommended.
  Permissions included in PVEAuditor (Click to Expand)

  - `Datastore.Audit` - `Permissions.Read` (implicitly included) - `Pool.Audit` - `Sys.Audit` - `VM.Audit`
• Proxmox Backup Server: The Audit role assigned at path / with Propagate enabled is recommended.

🚀 Deployment

Choose one of the following methods to deploy Pulse.

Running with Docker Compose

Using Docker Compose is the recommended way for most users.

Prerequisites:

• Docker (Install Docker)
• Docker Compose (Install Docker Compose)

Steps:

1. Configure Environment: Ensure your .env file is created and configured as described in Configuration.
2. Run: In the project root directory, run:

   docker compose up -d