> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://notes.kodekloud.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Alertmanager Installation Systemd > Guide to installing and configuring Prometheus Alertmanager as a systemd service, covering download, user and directory setup, binary installation, service unit creation, and startup verification. This guide shows how to install Prometheus Alertmanager and configure it to be managed by systemd so you can start, stop, and enable it with `systemctl`. High-level workflow: * Download and extract Alertmanager. * Create a dedicated `alertmanager` system user. * Create configuration and storage directories and place the config. * Install binaries and set correct permissions. * Create a systemd unit file, reload systemd, and enable/start the service. This lesson uses Alertmanager v0.24.0 as an example. Replace the version in the commands if you need a newer/older release. For releases see the Alertmanager GitHub releases: [https://github.com/prometheus/alertmanager/releases](https://github.com/prometheus/alertmanager/releases) Summary of important paths and settings: | Resource | Purpose | Example | | ----------------: | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | System user | Service account for Alertmanager | `alertmanager` | | Config directory | Alertmanager configuration | `/etc/alertmanager/alertmanager.yml` | | Storage directory | Runtime and WAL storage | `/var/lib/alertmanager` | | Binaries | Executables on PATH | `/usr/local/bin/alertmanager`, `/usr/local/bin/amtool` | | Systemd unit | Service definition | `/etc/systemd/system/alertmanager.service` | ## 1. Download and extract Alertmanager Example (v0.24.0): ```bash theme={null} wget https://github.com/prometheus/alertmanager/releases/download/v0.24.0/alertmanager-0.24.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz tar xzf alertmanager-0.24.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz cd alertmanager-0.24.0.linux-amd64 ``` You should see the extracted files, for example: ```bash theme={null} $ ls -la total 55752 drwxr-xr-x 2 user user 4096 Mar 25 2022 . -rwxr--r-- 1 user user 356 Mar 25 2022 alertmanager.yml -rwxr--r-- 1 user user 25067944 Mar 25 2022 amtool -rwxr--r-- 1 user user 20542176 Mar 25 2022 alertmanager -rw-r--r-- 1 user user 457 Mar 25 2022 LICENSE -rw-r--r-- 1 user user 166 Mar 25 2022 NOTICE ``` ## 2. Create a dedicated system user Create a non-login system user to run Alertmanager: ```bash theme={null} sudo useradd --no-create-home --system --shell /bin/false alertmanager ``` Using `--system` is recommended for service accounts; it keeps user IDs in the system range. ## 3. Create configuration and storage directories Create the config and storage directories, copy the shipped config into place, and set ownership to the `alertmanager` user: ```bash theme={null} sudo mkdir -p /etc/alertmanager sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/alertmanager # Copy the provided config file into place sudo cp alertmanager.yml /etc/alertmanager/alertmanager.yml # Ensure the directories and files are owned by the alertmanager user sudo chown -R alertmanager:alertmanager /etc/alertmanager sudo chown -R alertmanager:alertmanager /var/lib/alertmanager ``` Be careful with `chown -R` — do NOT run `sudo chown -R alertmanager:alertmanager /etc/` or similarly broad commands. Target only `/etc/alertmanager` (and other specific directories) to avoid damaging system ownerships. ## 4. Install the binaries Copy the `alertmanager` binary and the `amtool` helper to a directory on PATH, set execute permissions, and set ownership: ```bash theme={null} sudo cp alertmanager /usr/local/bin/alertmanager sudo cp amtool /usr/local/bin/amtool sudo chmod 0755 /usr/local/bin/alertmanager /usr/local/bin/amtool sudo chown root:root /usr/local/bin/alertmanager /usr/local/bin/amtool ``` Notes: * Keeping the binaries owned by `root` and world-executable is common and safe; the process will run as the `alertmanager` user when started by systemd. * If you prefer, you can set ownership to `alertmanager:alertmanager`, but `root:root` is typical. ## 5. Create the systemd service unit Create `/etc/systemd/system/alertmanager.service` with the following content: ```ini theme={null} [Unit] Description=Alertmanager Service Wants=network-online.target After=network-online.target [Service] Type=simple User=alertmanager Group=alertmanager ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/alertmanager \ --config.file=/etc/alertmanager/alertmanager.yml \ --storage.path=/var/lib/alertmanager Restart=always [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target ``` Key points: * `--config.file` points to your Alertmanager config (`/etc/alertmanager/alertmanager.yml`). * `--storage.path` sets the data directory (`/var/lib/alertmanager`). * The unit runs the process as `alertmanager:alertmanager`. After creating the unit file, reload systemd so it recognizes the new service: ```bash theme={null} sudo systemctl daemon-reload ``` ## 6. Start, enable, and verify the service Start and enable the service so it runs on boot: ```bash theme={null} sudo systemctl start alertmanager sudo systemctl enable alertmanager ``` Check status and follow logs: ```bash theme={null} sudo systemctl status alertmanager sudo journalctl -u alertmanager -f ``` Troubleshooting checklist: * Validate that `/etc/alertmanager/alertmanager.yml` is valid YAML (use a linter or `amtool check-config` if available). * Confirm ownership and permissions: the `alertmanager` user must be able to read the config and write to `/var/lib/alertmanager`. * Inspect `journalctl` output for startup errors and missing flags or permission issues. ## Reference: Example final systemd unit For convenience, here is the final unit again: ```ini theme={null} [Unit] Description=Alertmanager Service Wants=network-online.target After=network-online.target [Service] Type=simple User=alertmanager Group=alertmanager ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/alertmanager \ --config.file=/etc/alertmanager/alertmanager.yml \ --storage.path=/var/lib/alertmanager Restart=always [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target ``` Congratulations — Alertmanager should now be installed and managed by systemd. Links and references: * Alertmanager releases: [https://github.com/prometheus/alertmanager/releases](https://github.com/prometheus/alertmanager/releases) * Alertmanager documentation: [https://prometheus.io/docs/alerting/latest/alertmanager/](https://prometheus.io/docs/alerting/latest/alertmanager/) * systemd documentation: [https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/](https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/)