pulse/docs/FAQ.md

# ❓ Frequently Asked Questions

## 🛠️ Installation & Setup

### What's the easiest way to install?
If you run Proxmox VE, use the signed LXC installer flow in [INSTALL.md](INSTALL.md) and replace `vX.Y.Z` with the exact release tag you want.

If you prefer Docker:

Use a pinned image tag such as `rcourtman/pulse:vX.Y.Z` instead of `:latest`.

See [INSTALL.md](INSTALL.md) for all options (Docker Compose, Kubernetes, systemd).

### How do I add a node?
Go to **Settings → Infrastructure → Install on a host** for systems that should
run the unified agent directly.

- **Recommended (agent setup)**: copy the generated install command and run it on the target host.
- **Manual/API-backed platforms**: use **Settings → Infrastructure → Platform connections** for systems such as Proxmox, PBS, PMG, or TrueNAS that connect over an API instead of running the agent locally.

If you want Pulse to find servers automatically, enable discovery in **Settings → System → Network** and then review discovered servers in **Settings → Infrastructure**.

### How do I change the port?
- **Systemd**: `sudo systemctl edit pulse`, add `Environment="FRONTEND_PORT=8080"`, restart.
- **Docker**: Use `-p 8080:7655` in your run command.

### Does updating the Pulse server update every agent immediately?

No. The server and agent have separate update lifecycles. Eligible v6 agents
check for and apply the server's target version asynchronously. v5 agents, PVE
host agents, agents with auto-update disabled, and agents with failed or missing
update prerequisites need a manual command.

Open an outdated-agent notice or
`/settings/infrastructure?agentDoctor=1` to open **Agent Doctor** and
copy the correct per-host command. The surface does not remotely execute the
update. Use **Settings → Infrastructure → Install on a host** for first installs
and v5-to-v6 upgrades. See [Unified Agent](UNIFIED_AGENT.md#auto-update).

### Why can't I change settings in the UI?
If a setting is disabled with an amber warning, it's being overridden by an environment variable (e.g., `DISCOVERY_ENABLED`). Remove the env var to regain UI control.

---

## 🔍 Monitoring & Metrics

### What do Relay, Pro, and Cloud unlock?
Relay adds secure remote access to the Pulse web UI, Pulse Mobile pairing for handoff, push notifications, and 14-day history. Pro and Cloud unlock **hands-on Patrol modes, issue investigation, governed fixes, verified outcomes, and 90-day history** along with the broader operations feature set. Existing legacy Pro+ holders keep their current continuity, but self-hosted pricing no longer sells more monitoring volume. Pulse Patrol is available to everyone on Community with BYOK and provides scheduled, cross-system analysis that correlates real-time state, recent metrics history, and diagnostics to surface actionable findings.

Example output includes trend-based capacity warnings, backup regressions, Kubernetes cluster analysis, and correlated container failures that simple threshold alerts miss.
See [Pulse Intelligence](AI.md), [Plans and entitlements](PULSE_PRO.md), and <https://pulserelay.pro>.

### Why do VMs show "-" for disk usage?
Proxmox API returns `0` for VM disk usage by default. You must install the **QEMU Guest Agent** inside the VM and enable it in Proxmox (VM → Options → QEMU Guest Agent).
See [VM Disk Monitoring](VM_DISK_MONITORING.md) for details.

### Does Pulse monitor Ceph?
Yes! If Pulse detects Ceph storage, it automatically queries cluster health, OSD status, and pool usage. No extra config needed.

### Does Pulse monitor TrueNAS?
Yes. Pulse includes first-class TrueNAS SCALE/CORE integration. Add your
TrueNAS server under **Settings → Infrastructure → Platform connections** with
the URL and API key. Pulse monitors the appliance, native VMs, apps, pools,
datasets, disks, ZFS snapshots, replication tasks, and alerts. Those resources
appear on the dedicated TrueNAS page.

### How is navigation organised in Pulse v6?
Pulse uses platform-shaped top-level pages:

- **Proxmox**, **Docker**, **Kubernetes**, **TrueNAS**, **vSphere**, and
  **Machines** keep platform-specific inventory and workflows together.
- Storage, snapshots, backups, and replication appear inside the platform page
  they belong to.
- **Alerts**, **Actions**, and **Patrol** provide cross-platform operational
  views.

The short-lived unified `/workloads`, `/storage`, and `/recovery` top-level
navigation was retired during the v6 prerelease cycle. See the
[historical migration note](MIGRATION_UNIFIED_NAV.md) if you are comparing an
older release candidate.

### Can I disable alerts for specific metrics?
Yes. Go to **Alerts → Thresholds** and use the On/Off toggle next to any metric while editing, or set the value to `-1`. You can do this globally or per-resource (VM/Node).

### How do I monitor temperature?
Recommended: install the unified agent on your Proxmox hosts with Proxmox integration enabled:

1. Install `lm-sensors` on the host (`apt install lm-sensors && sensors-detect`)
2. Install `pulse-agent` with `--enable-proxmox`

If you do not run the agent, Pulse can collect temperatures over SSH. When the agent is reporting usable temperatures, Pulse uses the agent path and does not also require SSH for that host. See [Temperature Monitoring](TEMPERATURE_MONITORING.md).

---

## 🔐 Security & Access

### I forgot my password. How do I reset it?
**Docker**:
```bash
docker exec pulse rm /data/.env
docker restart pulse
# Access UI again. Pulse will require a bootstrap token for setup.
# Get it with:
docker exec pulse /app/pulse bootstrap-token
```
**Systemd**:
Delete `/etc/pulse/.env` and restart the service. Pulse will require a bootstrap token for setup:

```bash
sudo pulse bootstrap-token
```
**Proxmox LXC** (installed from the Proxmox shell):
Pulse runs inside the container, so run the same steps through `pct exec` on the Proxmox host. The binary needs its absolute path here, because `pct exec` runs with `PATH=/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin` and that does not include `/usr/local/bin`:

```bash
pct exec <ctid> -- rm /etc/pulse/.env
pct exec <ctid> -- systemctl restart pulse
pct exec <ctid> -- /usr/local/bin/pulse bootstrap-token
```

If you only missed the token during a fresh install (no password set yet), skip the first two commands and just read it back with the last one.

### How do I enable HTTPS?
Set `HTTPS_ENABLED=true` and provide `TLS_CERT_FILE` and `TLS_KEY_FILE` environment variables. See [Configuration](CONFIGURATION.md#-https--tls).

### Can I use Single Sign-On (SSO)?
Yes. Pulse supports **OIDC** and **SAML** SSO providers, with multi-provider support (multiple IdPs active simultaneously). Configure in **Settings → Security → SSO Providers**. Pulse also supports Proxy Auth (Authentik, Authelia, Cloudflare). See [Proxy Auth Guide](PROXY_AUTH.md).

---

## ⚠️ Troubleshooting

### No data showing?
- Check Proxmox API is reachable (port 8006).
- Verify credentials in **Settings → Infrastructure**.
- Check logs: `journalctl -u pulse -f` or `docker logs -f pulse`.

### Connection refused?
- Check if Pulse is running: `systemctl status pulse` or `docker ps`.
- Verify the port (default 7655) is open on your firewall.

### CORS errors?
Pulse defaults to same-origin only. If you access the API from a different domain, set **Settings → System → Network → Allowed Origins** or use `ALLOWED_ORIGINS` (single origin, or `*` if you explicitly want all origins).

### High memory usage?
If you are storing long history windows, reduce metrics retention (see [METRICS_HISTORY.md](METRICS_HISTORY.md)). Also confirm your polling intervals match your environment size.

---

## 🧑‍💻 The Project

### Is Pulse developed with AI?
Yes, extensively and openly. Code, docs, and issue replies may all involve AI tools, and everything ships under the maintainer's review and responsibility. See [AI-Assisted Development](AI_TRANSPARENCY.md) for the full position.