Pulse/docs/FAQ.md

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

🛠️ Installation & Setup

What's the easiest way to install?

If you run Proxmox VE, use the official LXC installer (recommended):

curl -fsSL https://github.com/rcourtman/Pulse/releases/latest/download/install.sh | bash

Note: this installs the Pulse server. Agent installs use the command from Settings → Agents → Installation commands (served from /install.sh on your Pulse server).

If you prefer Docker:

docker run -d --name pulse -p 7655:7655 -v pulse_data:/data rcourtman/pulse:latest

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

How do I add a node?

Go to Settings → Proxmox.

• Recommended (Agent setup): select Agent Install and run the generated install command on the Proxmox host.
• Manual: use Username & Password, or select the Manual tab and enter API token credentials.

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

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.

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.

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🔍 Monitoring & Metrics

What is Pulse Pro, and what does it actually do?

Pulse Pro unlocks AI Patrol — 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 AI cluster analysis, and correlated container failures that simple threshold alerts miss. See AI Patrol, Pulse Pro technical overview, 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 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.

Can I disable alerts for specific metrics?

Yes. Go to Alerts → Thresholds and set any value to -1 to disable it. You can do this globally or per-resource (VM/Node).

How do I monitor temperature?

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

pulse-sensor-proxy is deprecated in v5 and is not recommended for new deployments. See Temperature Monitoring.

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🔐 Security & Access

I forgot my password. How do I reset it?

Docker:

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:

sudo pulse bootstrap-token

How do I enable HTTPS?

Set HTTPS_ENABLED=true and provide TLS_CERT_FILE and TLS_KEY_FILE environment variables. See Configuration.

Can I use Single Sign-On (SSO)?

Yes. Pulse supports OIDC in Settings → Security → Single Sign-On and Proxy Auth (Authentik, Authelia). See Proxy Auth Guide and OIDC.

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⚠️ Troubleshooting

No data showing?

• Check Proxmox API is reachable (port 8006).
• Verify credentials in Settings → Proxmox.
• 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). Also confirm your polling intervals match your environment size.