Pulse docs
Everything you need to install the agent, read alerts and connect Claude.
1. Install the agent
Create an account, choose Add server, and run the command it shows on your server. It needs root (to read Docker and systemd status), python3 and systemd — standard on Ubuntu, Debian, Rocky, Alma and Fedora.
The installer places the agent at /usr/local/bin/pulse-agent, writes /etc/pulse/config (readable by root only) and starts a systemd timer that runs it every minute at low CPU and I/O priority. You can read the installer and the agent before running them.
2. What the agent collects
| Data | Source | How often |
|---|---|---|
| CPU usage, load, cores | /proc/stat, /proc/loadavg | every minute |
| Memory and swap | /proc/meminfo | every minute |
| Disk usage per filesystem | df | every minute |
| Top 8 processes (name, CPU %, memory %) | ps — names only, never arguments | every minute |
| Containers (name, status, image) | docker ps -a | every minute |
| Failed systemd units | systemctl --failed | every minute |
| Error-log lines, last 15 minutes (max 25) | journalctl -p err, redacted on the server | every minute |
| Docker disk usage | docker system df | every 15 minutes |
| TLS certificate expiry | hostnames in /etc/pulse/domains | hourly |
Redaction removes values after words like password, token, secret, key and cookie, bearer tokens, long random strings and email addresses before anything leaves your server.
Certificate checks
On install, /etc/pulse/domains is filled with the hostnames your nginx config serves. Edit it freely — one hostname per line, up to 40.
3. Alerts
| Alert | Opens when |
|---|---|
| Disk | any filesystem reaches 90% (critical at 95%) |
| Memory | 95% or more of memory is in use |
| Container | a container that was running stops, or one is restarting |
| Service | a systemd unit is in the failed state |
| Certificate | a certificate expires in under 14 days (critical under 3) |
| Offline | no report for 5 minutes |
Each alert sends one email when it opens and one when it resolves. When an alert opens, Pulse asks Claude for a diagnosis (at most once every 30 minutes per server). You can also run a diagnosis any time from the server page.
4. Connect Claude (MCP)
Create an API key in Settings. Pulse's MCP server is read-only and offers four tools: list_servers, get_server_health, get_alerts and get_latest_diagnosis.
Claude Code
Claude Desktop and other MCP clients
Use the remote server URL https://visionstack.space/mcp with the header Authorization: Bearer <PULSE_API_KEY>.
5. Uninstall
Then delete the server in the dashboard to remove its stored data.
Help
Email hello@visionstack.space. A person reads every message.