# π¦ Installation Guide
Pulse offers flexible installation options from Docker to enterprise-ready Kubernetes charts.
## π Quick Start (Recommended)
### Proxmox VE (LXC installer)
If you run Proxmox VE, the easiest and most βPulse-nativeβ deployment is the official installer which creates and configures a lightweight LXC container.
Run this on your Proxmox host:
```bash
curl -fsSL https://github.com/rcourtman/Pulse/releases/latest/download/install.sh | bash
```
### Docker
Ideal for containerized environments or testing.
```bash
docker run -d \
--name pulse \
-p 7655:7655 \
-v pulse_data:/data \
--restart unless-stopped \
rcourtman/pulse:latest
```
### Docker Compose
Create a `docker-compose.yml` file:
```yaml
services:
pulse:
image: rcourtman/pulse:latest
container_name: pulse
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "7655:7655"
volumes:
- pulse_data:/data
- /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock # Optional: Monitor local Docker
environment:
- PULSE_AUTH_USER=admin
- PULSE_AUTH_PASS=secret123
volumes:
pulse_data:
```
---
## π οΈ Installation Methods
### 1. Kubernetes (Helm)
Deploy to your cluster using our Helm chart.
```bash
helm upgrade --install pulse oci://ghcr.io/rcourtman/pulse-chart \
--namespace pulse \
--create-namespace
```
See [KUBERNETES.md](KUBERNETES.md) for ingress and persistence configuration.
### 2. Bare Metal / Systemd
For Linux servers (VM or bare metal), use the official installer:
```bash
curl -fsSL https://github.com/rcourtman/Pulse/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sudo bash
```
Manual systemd install (advanced)
```bash
# Download the correct tarball from GitHub Releases and extract it
# https://github.com/rcourtman/Pulse/releases
sudo install -m 0755 pulse /usr/local/bin/pulse
# Create systemd service
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/pulse.service > /dev/null << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=Pulse Monitoring
After=network.target
[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/pulse
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
Environment=PULSE_DATA_DIR=/etc/pulse
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF
# Start service
sudo mkdir -p /etc/pulse
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now pulse
```
---
## π First-Time Setup
Pulse is secure by default. On first launch, you must retrieve a **Bootstrap Token** to create your admin account.
### Step 1: Get the Token
| Platform | Command |
|----------|---------|
| **Docker** | `docker exec pulse cat /data/.bootstrap_token` or `docker exec pulse /app/pulse bootstrap-token` |
| **Kubernetes** | `kubectl exec -it -- cat /data/.bootstrap_token` or `kubectl exec -it -- /app/pulse bootstrap-token` |
| **Systemd** | `sudo cat /etc/pulse/.bootstrap_token` or `sudo pulse bootstrap-token` |
### Step 2: Create Admin Account
1. Open `http://:7655`
2. Paste the **Bootstrap Token**.
3. Create your **Admin Username** and **Password**.
> **Note**: If you configure authentication via environment variables (`PULSE_AUTH_USER`/`PULSE_AUTH_PASS` and/or `API_TOKENS`), the bootstrap token is automatically removed and this step is skipped.
---
## π Updates
### Automatic Updates (Systemd only)
Pulse can self-update to the latest stable version.
**Enable via UI**: Settings β System β Updates
### Manual Update
| Platform | Command |
|----------|---------|
| **Docker** | `docker pull rcourtman/pulse:latest && docker restart pulse` |
| **Kubernetes** | `helm repo update && helm upgrade pulse pulse/pulse -n pulse` |
| **Systemd** | Re-download binary and restart service |
### Rollback
If an update causes issues on systemd installations, backups are created automatically during the update process.
**Manual rollback**: Check for backup directories at `/etc/pulse/backup-/` created during updates. Restore the previous binary manually if needed.
---
## ποΈ Uninstall
**Docker**:
```bash
docker rm -f pulse && docker volume rm pulse_data
```
**Kubernetes**:
```bash
helm uninstall pulse -n pulse
```
**Systemd**:
```bash
sudo systemctl disable --now pulse
sudo rm -rf /etc/pulse /etc/systemd/system/pulse.service /usr/local/bin/pulse
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
```