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+<!--
+title: "Collectors quickstart"
+custom_edit_url: https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/collectors/QUICKSTART.md
+-->
+
+# Collectors quickstart
+
+In this quickstart guide, you'll learn how to enable collectors so you can get metrics from your favorite applications
+and services.
+
+This guide will not cover advanced collector features, such as enabling/disabling entire plugins,
+
+## What's in this quickstart guide
+
+- [Find the collector for your application or service](#find-the-collector-for-your-application-or-service)
+- [Configure your application or service for monitoring](#configure-your-application-or-service-for-monitoring)
+- [Edit the collector's configuration file](#edit-the-collectors-configuration-file)
+- [Enable the collector](#enable-the-collector)
+
+## Find the collector for your application or service
+
+Netdata has _pre-installed_ collectors for hundreds of popular applications and services. You don't need to install
+anything to collect metrics from many popular services, like Nginx web servers, MySQL/MariaDB databases, and much more.
+
+To find whether Netdata has a pre-installed collector for your favorite app/service, check out our [collector support
+list](COLLECTORS.md). The only exception is the [third-party collectors](COLLECTORS.md#third-party-plugins), which
+you do need to install yourself. However, this quickstart guide will focus on pre-installed collectors.
+
+When you find a collector you're interested in, take note of its orchestrator. These are in the headings above each
+table, and there are four: Bash, Go, Node, and Python. They go by their respective names: `charts.d`, `go.d`, `node.d`,
+and `python.d`.
+
+> If there is a collector written in both Go and Python, it's better to choose the Go-based version, as we will
+> eventually deprecate most Python-based collectors.
+
+From here on out, this quickstart guide will use the [Nginx
+collector](https://learn.netdata.cloud/docs/agent/collectors/go.d.plugin/modules/nginx) as an example to showcase the
+process of configuring and enabling one of Netdata's pre-installed collectors.
+
+## Configure your application or service for monitoring
+
+Every collector's documentation comes with instructions on how to configure your app/service to make it available to
+Netdata's collector. Our [collector support list](COLLECTORS.md) contains links to each collector's documentation page
+so you can learn more.
+
+For example, the [Nginx collector
+documentation](https://learn.netdata.cloud/docs/agent/collectors/go.d.plugin/modules/nginx) states that your Nginx
+installation must have the `stub_status` module configured correctly, in addition to an active `stub_status/` page, for
+Netdata to monitor it. You can confirm whether you have the module enabled with the following command:
+
+```bash
+nginx -V 2>&1 | grep -o with-http_stub_status_module
+```
+
+If this command returns nothing, you'll need to [enable the `stub_status`
+module](https://www.nginx.com/blog/monitoring-nginx/).
+
+Next, edit your `/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default` file to include a `location` block with the following, which enables
+the `stub_status` page:
+
+```conf
+server {
+ ...
+
+ location /nginx_status {
+ stub_status;
+ }
+}
+```
+
+At this point, your Nginx installation is fully configured and ready for Netdata to monitor it. Next, you'll configure
+your collector.
+
+## Edit the collector's configuration file
+
+This step may not be required based on how you configured your app/service, as each collector comes with a few
+pre-configured jobs that look for the app/service in common and expected locations. For example, the Nginx collector
+looks for a `stub_status` page at `http://localhost/stub_status` and `http://127.0.0.1/stub_status`, which allows it to
+auto-detect almost all local Nginx web servers.
+
+Despite Netdata's auto-detection capabilities, it's important to know how to edit collector configuration files.
+
+You should always edit configuration files with the `edit-config` script that comes with every installation of Netdata.
+To edit a collector configuration file, navigate to your [Netdata configuration directory](/docs/configure/nodes.md).
+Launch `edit-config` with the path to the collector's configuration file.
+
+How do you find that path to the collector's configuration file? Look under the **Configuration** heading in the
+collector's documentation. Each file contains a short code block with the relevant command.
+
+For example, the [Nginx collector](https://learn.netdata.cloud/docs/agent/collectors/go.d.plugin/modules/nginx) has its
+configuration file at `go.d/nginx.conf`.
+
+```bash
+cd /etc/netdata # Replace this path with your Netdata config directory
+sudo ./edit-config go.d/nginx.conf
+```
+
+This file contains all of the possible job parameters to help you monitor Nginx in all sorts of complex deployments. At
+the bottom of the file is a `[JOB]` section, which contains the two default jobs. Configure these as needed, using those
+parameters as a reference, to configure the collector.
+
+## Enable the collector
+
+Most collectors are enabled and will auto-detect their app/service without manual configuration. However, you need to
+restart Netdata to trigger the auto-detection process.
+
+To restart Netdata on most systems, use `service netdata restart`. For other systems, see the [other restart
+methods](/docs/getting-started.md#start-stop-and-restart-netdata).
+
+Open Netdata's dashboard in your browser, or refresh the page if you already have it open. You should now see a new
+entry in the menu and new interactive charts!
+
+## What's next?
+
+Collector not working? Learn about collector troubleshooting in our [collector
+reference](REFERENCE.md#troubleshoot-a-collector).
+
+View our [collectors guides](/collectors/README.md#guides) to get specific instructions on enabling new and
+popular collectors.
+
+Finally, learn more advanced collector features, such as disabling plugins or developing a custom collector, in our
+[internal plugin API](/collectors/REFERENCE.md#internal-plugins-api) or our [external plugin
+docs](/collectors/plugins.d/README.md).
+
+[![analytics](https://www.google-analytics.com/collect?v=1&aip=1&t=pageview&_s=1&ds=github&dr=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fnetdata%2Fnetdata&dl=https%3A%2F%2Fmy-netdata.io%2Fgithub%2Fcollectors%2FQUICKSTART&_u=MAC~&cid=5792dfd7-8dc4-476b-af31-da2fdb9f93d2&tid=UA-64295674-3)]()