The easiest and fastest way to install NetData is to use the Portainer template prepared by our team. This method minimizes manual configuration and allows you to deploy a stable, ready-to-use system in just a few minutes.
Requirements:
- A VPS with Portainer installed using the Unihost script
- A deployed NPM (Nginx Proxy Manager)
After connecting to Portainer, go to the Application section, select NetData, and fill in the required fields.
Fill in all the required fields. Note: for security, the password must be strong — use uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters to minimize the risk of unauthorized access.
After this, a new NetData stack will appear in the Stacks section. Inside this stack, the containers required for its operation will be deployed.
To access NetData (the web interface for monitoring), you need to configure proxying through Nginx Proxy Manager (NPM).
- If you have your own domain, add it to NPM and create an A record pointing to your server’s IP address.
- If you don’t have a domain, you can use a test domain (for example, netdata.local) by adding it to the hosts file on your machine.
Next, in NPM, create a new Proxy Host and fill in the fields as shown in the screenshot:
After navigating to the domain, click the Sign-In button. Once authorized, you will be redirected to the NetData admin panel.
When connecting Netdata to the cloud for the first time or when adding a new node, the system will request a private key. You can obtain it in two ways:
- Through the Portainer web interface, by opening the container console and running the command:
cat /var/lib/netdata/netdata_random_session_id
- Directly on the host:
docker exec netdata cat /var/lib/netdata/netdata_random_session_id
Copy the generated key and paste it into the Private Key field. This will confirm the container’s authorization and add it to the Netdata monitoring dashboard.
After that, you will be redirected to the Netdata dashboard, where the added node will be displayed.
Conclusion
Using the ready-made Portainer template simplifies the installation of Netdata, helps avoid errors during manual configuration, and allows you to quickly connect nodes to the monitoring system. As a result, you get a fully functional Netdata dashboard “out of the box” with a convenient web interface and minimal effort for integration.