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+<!--
+title: "Health quickstart"
+custom_edit_url: https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/health/QUICKSTART.md
+-->
+
+# Health quickstart
+
+In this quickstart guide, you'll learn the basics of editing health configuration files. With this knowledge, you
+will be able to customize how and when Netdata triggers alarms based on the health and performance of your system or
+infrastructure.
+
+To learn about more advanced health configurations, visit the [health reference guide](/health/REFERENCE.md).
+
+## Edit health configuration files
+
+You should [use `edit-config`](/docs/configure/nodes.md) to edit Netdata's health configuration files. `edit-config`
+will open your system's default terminal editor for you to make your changes. Once you've saved and closed the editor,
+`edit-config` will copy your edited file into `/etc/netdata/health.d/`, which will override the stock file in
+`/usr/lib/netdata/conf.d/health.d/` and ensure your customizations are persistent between updates.
+
+For example, to edit the `cpu.conf` health configuration file, you would run:
+
+```bash
+cd /etc/netdata/ # Replace with your Netdata configuration directory, if not /etc/netdata/
+./edit-config health.d/cpu.conf
+```
+
+Each health configuration file contains one or more health entities, which always begin with an `alarm:` or `template:`
+line. You can edit these entities based on your needs. To make any changes live, be sure to [reload your health
+configuration](#reload-health-configuration).
+
+## Reference Netdata's stock health configuration files
+
+While you should always [use `edit-config`](#edit-health-configuration-files), you might also want to view the stock
+health configuration files Netdata ships with. Stock files can be useful as reference material, or to determine which
+file you should edit with `edit-config`.
+
+By default, Netdata will put health configuration files in `/usr/lib/netdata/conf.d/health.d`. However, you can
+double-check the location of these files by navigating to `http://NODE:19999/netdata.conf`, replacing `NODE` with the IP
+address or hostname for your Agent dashboard, looking for the `stock health configuration directory` option. The value
+here will show the correct path for your installation.
+
+```conf
+[health]
+ ...
+ # stock health configuration directory = /usr/lib/netdata/conf.d/health.d
+```
+
+Navigate to the health configuration directory to see all the available files and open them for reading.
+
+```bash
+cd /usr/lib/netdata/conf.d/health.d/
+ls
+adaptec_raid.conf entropy.conf memory.conf squid.conf
+am2320.conf fping.conf mongodb.conf stiebeleltron.conf
+apache.conf fronius.conf mysql.conf swap.conf
+...
+```
+
+> ⚠️ If you edit configuration files in your stock health configuration directory, Netdata will overwrite them during
+> any updates. Please use `edit-config` as described in the [section above](#edit-health-configuration-files).
+
+## Write a new health entity
+
+While tuning existing alarms may work in some cases, you may need to write entirely new health entities based on how
+your systems and applications work.
+
+To write a new health entity, let's create a new file inside of the `health.d/` directory. We'll name our file
+`example.conf` for now.
+
+```bash
+./edit-config health.d/example.conf
+```
+
+As an example, let's build a health entity that triggers an alarm your system's RAM usage goes above 80%. Copy and paste
+the following into the editor:
+
+```yaml
+ alarm: ram_usage
+ on: system.ram
+lookup: average -1m percentage of used
+ units: %
+ every: 1m
+ warn: $this > 80
+ crit: $this > 90
+ info: The percentage of RAM used by the system.
+```
+
+Let's look into each of the lines to see how they create a working health entity.
+
+- `alarm`: The name for your new entity. The name needs to follow these requirements:
+ - Any alphabet letter or number.
+ - The symbols `.` and `_`.
+ - Cannot be `chart name`, `dimension name`, `family name`, or `chart variable names`.
+- `on`: Which chart the entity listens to.
+- `lookup`: Which metrics the alarm monitors, the duration of time to monitor, and how to process the metrics into a
+ usable format.
+ - `average`: Calculate the average of all the metrics collected.
+ - `-1m`: Use metrics from 1 minute ago until now to calculate that average.
+ - `percentage`: Clarify that we're calculating a percentage of RAM usage.
+ - `of used`: Specify which dimension (`used`) on the `system.ram` chart you want to monitor with this entity.
+- `units`: Use percentages rather than absolute units.
+- `every`: How often to perform the `lookup` calculation to decide whether or not to trigger this alarm.
+- `warn`/`crit`: The value at which Netdata should trigger a warning or critical alarm.
+- `info`: A description of the alarm, which will appear in the dashboard and notifications.
+
+Let's put all these lines into a human-readable format.
+
+This health entity, named **ram_usage**, watches at the **system.ram** chart. It looks up the last **1 minute** of
+metrics from the **used** dimension and calculates the **average** of all those metrics in a **percentage** format,
+using a **% unit**. The entity performs this lookup **every minute**. If the average RAM usage percentage over the last
+1 minute is **more than 80%**, the entity triggers a warning alarm. If the usage is **more than 90%**, the entity
+triggers a critical alarm.
+
+Now that you've written a new health entity, you need to reload it to see it live on the dashboard.
+
+## Reload health configuration
+
+To make any changes to your health configuration live, you must reload Netdata's health monitoring system. To do that
+without restarting all of Netdata, run the following:
+
+```bash
+netdatacli reload-health
+```
+
+If you receive an error like `command not found`, this means that `netdatacli` is not installed in your `$PATH`. In that
+ case, you can reload only the health component by sending a `SIGUSR2` to Netdata:
+
+```bash
+killall -USR2 netdata
+```
+## What's next?
+
+To learn about all of Netdata's health configuration options, view the [reference guide](/health/REFERENCE.md) and
+[daemon configuration](/daemon/config/README.md#health-section-options) for additional options available in the
+`[health]` section of `netdata.conf`.
+
+Or, get guided insights into specific health configurations with our [health guides](/health/README.md#guides).
+
+Finally, move on to Netdata's [notification system](/health/notifications/README.md) to learn more about how Netdata can
+let you know when the health of your systems or apps goes awry.
+
+[![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%2Fhealth%2Fquickstart%2F&_u=MAC~&cid=5792dfd7-8dc4-476b-af31-da2fdb9f93d2&tid=UA-64295674-3)](<>)