rcourtman
f4ddeeb0e5
Follow-up to #2620, which documented both conflations below as residuals. ## Problem Two Docker alert producers wrote names into identity slots: - A container reported without an ID alerted under its Docker host's own reference, `docker:<host>`. Its alerts showed on the host, joined the host's resource history (which #2620 binds to the host), were never cleared when the container left the report (cleanup matches `docker:<host>/`), and Patrol registered `docker:<host>` on both the host and the container, so the host's scope alias was ambiguous. - A Swarm service without an ID put its normalized name in the `/service/<ID>` slot, so a name equal to another service's Swarm ID shared that service's alerts and history. #2620's resolver had to treat every service in such a cluster as a conflict. Pulse's own agent always sends Docker and Swarm IDs, so this needs a malformed or third-party report. The registry still shows those containers and services. ## Change - `internal/alerts`: `DockerHostResourceID`, `DockerContainerResourceID(host, id, name)` and `DockerServiceResourceID` are the only builders. An ID-less container alerts under `docker:<host>/name:<name>` and an ID-less service under `docker:<host>/service/name:<normalized name>`. Docker and Swarm IDs never contain a colon, so neither can equal a host or ID reference. One with neither an ID nor a name raises no alert. - The container and service policy switches classify by the first path segment after the host, so a container name containing `/service/` stays a container. - Report cleanup, host removal and the host's offline alert also clear a pre-upgrade container alert left on exactly `docker:<host>` (recorded host must match, container ID empty). A pending image update recorded there keeps its age when the first report still shows it pending. - Canonical state IDs were split at the first `::`, but colliding Docker hosts get IDs like `<base>::<suffix>`. Every container alert of such a host was rewritten to `docker:<base>`, the other host's reference: it joined that host's history and missed its own host's cleanup. `splitCanonicalStateID` now splits before the alert's recorded spec ID, else after its resource ID, so alerts saved the old way also recover on restore. - Patrol registers the same builders' output as scope aliases, with the container's name. - History: a service slot containing `:` is a name reference (never binds, never retried), and the cluster-wide conflict for ID-less services is gone. A real service ID reference now binds even when its cluster also has an ID-less service. - Contract notes in alerts, ai-runtime, monitoring and unified-resources. Remaining legacy boundary (in the unified-resources contract): rows journaled before this change keep their old reference. An ID-less container's old rows stay in its host's history, and an ID-less service's old rows bind only to a service whose ID equals its normalized name. ## Proof - `TestDockerAlertsWithoutIDsUseTheirOwnReferences` (real `CheckDockerHost`: fired and active references, removal cleanup, pre-upgrade leftover on report and offline, config-save container/service switches). - `TestDockerHostIDWithSeparatorKeepsItsAlertReferences`, `TestDockerAlertsRestoredWithCutShortReferencesRecover` (writes `active-alerts.json`, restores through `LoadActiveAlerts`) and `TestDockerContainerWithoutIDKeepsPendingUpdateAgeAcrossUpgrade`. - `TestOwnerAlertTimelinesUseCanonicalHistoryIdentity`: real producers into the SQLite history. The ID-less container and the service named like `web`'s Swarm ID stay out of the host's and `web`'s histories. - `TestResolvePatrolScopeResolvesDockerAlertResourceIDs`: the host's alias stays unambiguous, and the ID-less container's name reference resolves to the container in the unified read state. - `TestHistoryIdentityMonitorAdapterResolvesDockerHostAndServiceReferences`: the ID reference binds before and after the service leaves inventory, and name references never bind or retry. - Mutation check: putting back each old behavior fails at least one of these tests. Covered: host fallback, unmarked service name, no skip for unidentifiable containers or services, each legacy clause and its host check, the update-age carry-over, first-`::` splitting with and without the spec rule, substring classification, the Patrol alias without the name, and the resolver accepting a `name:` slot.
Pulse
Real-time Proxmox, Docker and Kubernetes monitoring that finds what needs attention.
Pulse is a self-hosted monitoring workspace for Proxmox, Docker, Kubernetes, TrueNAS, physical and virtual machines, and early-access VMware vSphere environments. It combines live infrastructure state, history, alerts, recovery visibility, and scheduled health checks without requiring a conventional enterprise monitoring stack.
Why Pulse
- It watches between visits. Alerts and Pulse Patrol find failed backups, capacity pressure, restart loops, unhealthy containers, clock drift, and other problems that dashboards cannot surface when nobody is looking.
- It keeps each platform familiar. Proxmox, Docker, Kubernetes, TrueNAS, vSphere, and machines have dedicated views, backed by one shared resource model for search, alerts, history, and investigation.
- It stays operator-controlled. Credentials are encrypted at rest, API tokens are scoped, agent commands are disabled by default, and governed fixes require the configured policy and approval path.
Platform coverage
| Platform | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Proxmox VE, PBS, and PMG | Nodes, guests, storage, backups, replication, Ceph, mail gateways, and alerts |
| Docker and Podman | Hosts, containers, Compose projects, Swarm services, health, images, and updates |
| Kubernetes | Clusters, nodes, workloads, pods, services, storage, and events through the unified agent |
| TrueNAS SCALE and CORE | Pools, datasets, disks, snapshots, replication tasks, apps, VMs, and alerts |
| Linux, Windows, and macOS machines | Host health, filesystems, networking, temperatures, RAID, and availability through the unified agent |
| VMware vSphere | Early-access inventory, hosts, clusters, VMs, datastores, networks, snapshots, and recovery context; validate against your own vCenter before production use |
Platform pages keep storage and recovery information beside the infrastructure it belongs to. Alerts, Actions, and Patrol remain cross-platform views.
Patrol: monitoring that does rounds
Pulse Patrol runs scheduled checks across the current state and recent history of your infrastructure. Community installations can use a local model or their own AI provider for watch-only analysis. Pulse Pro adds investigation and policy-bound fixes with approval, verification, and an audit trail.
Pulse also includes an interactive Assistant and an MCP adapter for external clients such as Claude Code and OpenCode. Both sit on top of the same scoped inventory, metrics, alert, storage, and governed-action contracts.
Quick start
Choose an exact version from the latest release and keep that version pinned during installation.
Docker
docker run -d \
--name pulse \
-p 7655:7655 \
-v pulse_data:/data \
-e PULSE_DEPLOYMENT_METHOD=docker_run \
--restart unless-stopped \
rcourtman/pulse:vX.Y.Z
Open http://<your-ip>:7655 and follow the bootstrap-token setup. Docker host
monitoring is provided by the unified agent; the Pulse server container does
not need the Docker socket.
Proxmox LXC, Linux, and Kubernetes
The installer is signed. Verify install.sh against the pinned
pulse-installer key before running it:
export PULSE_VERSION=vX.Y.Z
curl -fsSLO "https://github.com/rcourtman/Pulse/releases/download/${PULSE_VERSION}/install.sh" &&
curl -fsSLO "https://github.com/rcourtman/Pulse/releases/download/${PULSE_VERSION}/install.sh.sshsig" &&
ssh-keygen -Y verify \
-f <(printf '%s\n' 'pulse-installer namespaces="pulse-install" ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIMZd/DaH+BldzOkq1A8KVTcFk73nAyrE8aJOyf7i00jm pulse-installer') \
-I pulse-installer \
-n pulse-install \
-s install.sh.sshsig < install.sh &&
bash install.sh --version "${PULSE_VERSION}"
Paste the whole block: installation stops if either download or signature verification fails. Do not run the final command separately to bypass a failure.
The GitHub installer installs the Pulse server. Install and upgrade agents (including v5-to-v6 agent upgrades) with the per-host command generated under Settings → Infrastructure → Install on a host.
Do you need an agent?
Often not. Proxmox VE, PBS, and PMG are monitored through the Proxmox API with a read-only token, so nothing runs on the host and the generated setup script creates a privilege-separated monitoring user. Install the unified agent only where you want data the platform API cannot provide, such as host SMART health, temperatures, Docker hosts, or standalone machines.
The agent is operator-controlled by design. Command execution is off by
default, the local listener binds to localhost, and generated systemd units
ship hardened. On Linux, the installer's --least-privilege profile runs the
service as a dedicated non-root user, with optional scoped sudo grants for
the few collectors that need elevation. The
agent security model documents exactly what the
agent can and cannot do at each privilege level.
Important
GitHub release assets and
rcourtman/pulseimages are Community builds. Relay, Pro, and eligible legacy customers should use the private image or Linux archive provided by the Pulse download portal. Replacing a private Pro runtime with a public Community build removes its private runtime hooks.
Editions
- Community — self-hosted monitoring, seven days of metric history, core SSO, update alerts, and Patrol with your own provider or local model.
- Pro — Community plus Patrol investigation, governed fixes, ninety days of history, centralized agent profiles, RBAC, audit logging, and reporting.
- MSP — for managed service providers: one Pulse Account running many client workspaces, each with an isolated Pulse runtime — separate dashboards, alerts, users, audit history, and reports. Free sixty-day two-client evaluation at Pulse for MSPs.
Relay is no longer sold. Existing Relay subscribers receive Pro features at their current price for as long as their subscription continues. Existing paired phones keep working until 31 March 2027. Relay connects the app, not the web UI. Use your own VPN or tunnel for remote web access. For phone alerts, add an ntfy, Gotify or Pushover destination and open Pulse in your phone's browser.
Core self-hosted monitoring is not gated by monitored-system or child-resource volume. See the runtime-aligned capability reference and current plans for details.
Documentation
- Install and deployment
- Production deployment and security
- Upgrade from Pulse v5
- Releases and update channels
- Configuration
- Platform and agent guides
- Pulse Intelligence
- Security and privacy
- Code signing policy
- Troubleshooting
- API reference and architecture
Localized getting started guides: Deutsch · Español
Development
Pulse uses Go 1.26 and a SolidJS/TypeScript frontend. The managed development
runtime starts the frontend at http://127.0.0.1:5173 and proxies API and
WebSocket traffic to the backend on port 7655.
npm ci
npm --prefix frontend-modern ci
npm run dev
Useful checks:
go test ./...
npm --prefix frontend-modern test
npm --prefix frontend-modern run type-check
python3 scripts/check_public_docs.py
See CONTRIBUTING.md before investing in a code change. Pulse uses an issue-first contribution process and does not normally accept unsolicited pull requests.
Community and support
- Ask questions in GitHub Discussions.
- Report reproducible bugs through GitHub Issues.
- Home Assistant users can use the community-maintained Pulse add-ons.
- If Pulse is useful to you, support its development through GitHub Sponsors or Ko-fi.
License
Everything in this repository is licensed under the MIT License. There is no dual licensing and no commercial or source-available code here.
Pulse Pro is a separate commercial product, built from private sources and distributed through pulserelay.pro. Its use is governed by the Terms of Service, which apply to that product only, not to anything in this repository.