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Last updated July 2, 2026

Quick Start

This guide walks you through getting your first server under HostAtlas in roughly five minutes.

  1. Sign up

    Create an account at my.hostatlas.app. Free tier covers up to three servers — no credit card needed.

  2. Install the agent

    On the server you want to monitor, run the one-liner from Settings → Install Keys. It looks like this:

    Terminal window
    curl -sSL https://install.hostatlas.app | sudo bash -s -- --key=YOUR_INSTALL_KEY

    The installer detects your distribution, installs the agent binary to /opt/hostatlas/, and registers a systemd unit named hostatlas-agent.

  3. Wait 30 seconds for discovery

    The agent connects, registers the host, and runs its initial discovery pass. You will see the server appear in the dashboard within a few seconds, and the full inventory (domains, services, containers, certs, cron, etc.) fills in over the next 20–30 seconds.

  4. Explore the dashboard

    Open the server and scan the tabs:

    • Overview — health score, CPU/RAM/disk trends, recent events
    • Domains — every vhost the agent found, with SSL status
    • Services — systemd + Docker containers, running or failed
    • Firewall — UFW rules and Fail2Ban jails, editable inline
    • Cron Jobs — system and per-user crontabs
    • Logs — on-demand access to auth.log, syslog, journal, and any app log

    See Servers for the full tab reference.

  5. Invite your team and set up alerts

    Go to Settings → Team to invite collaborators. Then Alerts → New to create your first alert — a good starter is a server_cpu threshold above 90% for 5 minutes, delivered to Slack or email.

    See Alerts for the full list of alert sources and channels.

  • Install the agent on more servers — use the same install key
  • Connect a domain provider so HostAtlas can manage DNS records
  • Install the CLI for scripting and terminal workflows
  • Plug the MCP server into Claude Code or Cursor for AI-assisted ops
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