Docker Engine icon

Docker Engine

Docker Engine

Plugin: go.d.plugin Module: docker_engine

Overview

This collector monitors the activity and health of Docker Engine and Docker Swarm.

The built-in Prometheus exporter is used to get the metrics.

This collector is supported on all platforms.

This collector supports collecting metrics from multiple instances of this integration, including remote instances.

Default Behavior

Auto-Detection

It discovers instances running on localhost by attempting to connect to a known Docker TCP socket: http://127.0.0.1:9323/metrics.

Limits

The default configuration for this integration does not impose any limits on data collection.

Performance Impact

The default configuration for this integration is not expected to impose a significant performance impact on the system.

Setup

You can configure the docker_engine collector in two ways:

Method Best for How to
UI Fast setup without editing files Go to Nodes → Configure this node → Collectors → Jobs, search for docker_engine, then click + to add a job.
File If you prefer configuring via file, or need to automate deployments (e.g., with Ansible) Edit go.d/docker_engine.conf and add a job.

:::important

UI configuration requires paid Netdata Cloud plan.

:::

Prerequisites

Enable built-in Prometheus exporter

To enable built-in Prometheus exporter, follow the official documentation.

Configuration

Options

The following options can be defined globally: update_every, autodetection_retry.

Group Option Description Default Required
Collection update_every Data collection interval (seconds). 1 no
autodetection_retry Autodetection retry interval (seconds). Set 0 to disable. 0 no
Target url Target endpoint URL. http://127.0.0.1:9323/metrics yes
timeout HTTP request timeout (seconds). 1 no
HTTP Auth username Username for Basic HTTP authentication. no
password Password for Basic HTTP authentication. no
bearer_token_file Path to a file containing a bearer token (used for Authorization: Bearer). no
TLS tls_skip_verify Skip TLS certificate and hostname verification (insecure). no no
tls_ca Path to CA bundle used to validate the server certificate. no
tls_cert Path to client TLS certificate (for mTLS). no
tls_key Path to client TLS private key (for mTLS). no
Proxy proxy_url HTTP proxy URL. no
proxy_username Username for proxy Basic HTTP authentication. no
proxy_password Password for proxy Basic HTTP authentication. no
Request method HTTP method to use. GET no
body Request body (e.g., for POST/PUT). no
headers Additional HTTP headers (one per line as key: value). no
not_follow_redirects Do not follow HTTP redirects. no no
force_http2 Force HTTP/2 (including h2c over TCP). no no
Virtual Node vnode Associates this data collection job with a Virtual Node. no

via UI

Configure the docker_engine collector from the Netdata web interface:

  1. Go to Nodes.
  2. Select the node where you want the docker_engine data-collection job to run and click the :gear: (Configure this node). That node will run the data collection.
  3. The Collectors → Jobs view opens by default.
  4. In the Search box, type docker_engine (or scroll the list) to locate the docker_engine collector.
  5. Click the + next to the docker_engine collector to add a new job.
  6. Fill in the job fields, then click Test to verify the configuration and Submit to save.
    • Test runs the job with the provided settings and shows whether data can be collected.
    • If it fails, an error message appears with details (for example, connection refused, timeout, or command execution errors), so you can adjust and retest.

via File

The configuration file name for this integration is go.d/docker_engine.conf.

The file format is YAML. Generally, the structure is:

update_every: 1
autodetection_retry: 0
jobs:
  - name: some_name1
  - name: some_name2

You can edit the configuration file using the edit-config script from the Netdata config directory.

cd /etc/netdata 2>/dev/null || cd /opt/netdata/etc/netdata
sudo ./edit-config go.d/docker_engine.conf
Examples
Basic

A basic example configuration.

jobs:
  - name: local
    url: http://127.0.0.1:9323/metrics
HTTP authentication

Basic HTTP authentication.

jobs:
  - name: local
    url: http://127.0.0.1:9323/metrics
    username: username
    password: password
HTTPS with self-signed certificate

Configuration with enabled HTTPS and self-signed certificate.

jobs:
  - name: local
    url: http://127.0.0.1:9323/metrics
    tls_skip_verify: yes
Multi-instance

Note: When you define multiple jobs, their names must be unique.

Collecting metrics from local and remote instances.

jobs:
  - name: local
    url: http://127.0.0.1:9323/metrics

  - name: remote
    url: http://192.0.2.1:9323/metrics

Metrics

Metrics grouped by scope.

The scope defines the instance that the metric belongs to. An instance is uniquely identified by a set of labels.

Per Docker Engine instance

These metrics refer to the entire monitored application.

This scope has no labels.

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
docker_engine.engine_daemon_container_actions changes, commit, create, delete, start actions/s
docker_engine.engine_daemon_container_states_containers running, paused, stopped containers
docker_engine.builder_builds_failed_total build_canceled, build_target_not_reachable_error, command_not_supported_error, dockerfile_empty_error, dockerfile_syntax_error, error_processing_commands_error, missing_onbuild_arguments_error, unknown_instruction_error fails/s
docker_engine.engine_daemon_health_checks_failed_total fails events/s
docker_engine.swarm_manager_leader is_leader bool
docker_engine.swarm_manager_object_store nodes, services, tasks, networks, secrets, configs objects
docker_engine.swarm_manager_nodes_per_state ready, down, unknown, disconnected nodes
docker_engine.swarm_manager_tasks_per_state running, failed, ready, rejected, starting, shutdown, new, orphaned, preparing, pending, complete, remove, accepted, assigned tasks

Alerts

There are no alerts configured by default for this integration.

Troubleshooting

Debug Mode

Important: Debug mode is not supported for data collection jobs created via the UI using the Dyncfg feature.

To troubleshoot issues with the docker_engine collector, run the go.d.plugin with the debug option enabled. The output should give you clues as to why the collector isn’t working.

  • Navigate to the plugins.d directory, usually at /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/. If that’s not the case on your system, open netdata.conf and look for the plugins setting under [directories].

    cd /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/

  • Switch to the netdata user.

    sudo -u netdata -s

  • Run the go.d.plugin to debug the collector:

    ./go.d.plugin -d -m docker_engine

    To debug a specific job:

    ./go.d.plugin -d -m docker_engine -j jobName

Getting Logs

If you’re encountering problems with the docker_engine collector, follow these steps to retrieve logs and identify potential issues:

  • Run the command specific to your system (systemd, non-systemd, or Docker container).
  • Examine the output for any warnings or error messages that might indicate issues. These messages should provide clues about the root cause of the problem.

System with systemd

Use the following command to view logs generated since the last Netdata service restart:

journalctl _SYSTEMD_INVOCATION_ID="$(systemctl show --value --property=InvocationID netdata)" --namespace=netdata --grep docker_engine

System without systemd

Locate the collector log file, typically at /var/log/netdata/collector.log, and use grep to filter for collector’s name:

grep docker_engine /var/log/netdata/collector.log

Note: This method shows logs from all restarts. Focus on the latest entries for troubleshooting current issues.

Docker Container

If your Netdata runs in a Docker container named “netdata” (replace if different), use this command:

docker logs netdata 2>&1 | grep docker_engine

The observability platform companies need to succeed

Sign up for free

Want a personalised demo of Netdata for your use case?

Book a Demo