> ## 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. # Prometheus Installation Demo > Guide to install and run Prometheus on a systemd Linux host using a dedicated non-login user, standard directories, and a systemd service unit This guide walks through installing Prometheus on a Linux system using a dedicated non-login system user and a systemd unit. The steps place Prometheus binaries, configuration, console files, and time-series data in conventional filesystem locations so the service runs securely and predictably. Overview 1. Create a system user for Prometheus. 2. Create directories for configuration and storage. 3. Download and install Prometheus binaries. 4. Install console files and the configuration file. 5. Create the systemd service unit. 6. Start, enable, and verify the Prometheus service. Prerequisites * A Linux host with systemd (most modern distributions). * `sudo` or root privileges. * A Prometheus release tarball from the official downloads page: [https://prometheus.io/download/](https://prometheus.io/download/) Step 1 — Create a dedicated Prometheus user Create a system user that cannot log in and does not create a home directory. Running Prometheus under its own user improves security and makes ownership straightforward. ```bash theme={null} sudo useradd --no-create-home --system --shell /usr/sbin/nologin --home-dir /nonexistent prometheus ``` Step 2 — Create directories for configuration and storage Create standard directories for Prometheus configuration and TSDB data, set secure permissions, and ensure ownership is assigned to the `prometheus` user: ```bash theme={null} sudo mkdir -p /etc/prometheus sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/prometheus sudo chown -R prometheus:prometheus /etc/prometheus /var/lib/prometheus sudo chmod 0755 /etc/prometheus /var/lib/prometheus ``` Step 3 — Download and install Prometheus binaries Download the appropriate Prometheus tarball from the official releases page and extract it. From the extracted `prometheus-.linux-` directory, copy the `prometheus` and `promtool` binaries into a directory on the system `PATH` and make them executable: ```bash theme={null} # From inside the extracted prometheus-.linux-amd64 directory: sudo cp prometheus /usr/local/bin/ sudo cp promtool /usr/local/bin/ sudo chmod 0755 /usr/local/bin/prometheus /usr/local/bin/promtool ``` Step 4 — Install console files and the configuration file Copy the default `consoles` and `console_libraries` directories and the `prometheus.yml` configuration file into `/etc/prometheus`. Ensure the `prometheus` user owns everything under `/etc/prometheus`: ```bash theme={null} # Copy consoles and libraries sudo cp -r consoles /etc/prometheus/ sudo cp -r console_libraries /etc/prometheus/ # Copy the default config (adjust path if your prometheus.yml is elsewhere) sudo cp prometheus.yml /etc/prometheus/ # Ensure prometheus owns everything under /etc/prometheus sudo chown -R prometheus:prometheus /etc/prometheus ``` Step 5 — Create the systemd service unit Create the systemd unit file at `/etc/systemd/system/prometheus.service` with the following contents. This unit runs Prometheus as the `prometheus` user and points Prometheus to the configuration and storage paths we created above: ```ini theme={null} [Unit] Description=Prometheus Wants=network-online.target After=network-online.target [Service] User=prometheus Group=prometheus Type=simple ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/prometheus --config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml --storage.tsdb.path=/var/lib/prometheus/ --web.console.templates=/etc/prometheus/consoles --web.console.libraries=/etc/prometheus/console_libraries [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target ``` Systemd unit filenames and unit names are case-sensitive. Use the lowercase unit name when running `systemctl` (for example: `prometheus.service` or `prometheus`). Step 6 — Reload systemd, start, enable, and verify Reload systemd to pick up the new unit, then start and enable the service so it runs on boot. Check the service status and logs if needed: ```bash theme={null} sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl start prometheus sudo systemctl enable prometheus sudo systemctl status prometheus --no-pager ``` A healthy service will show `Active: active (running)` in the status output. If you see errors, inspect recent logs: ```bash theme={null} # View recent logs for the Prometheus service sudo journalctl -u prometheus --no-pager -n 100 ``` Quick reference table | Action | Command / File | | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Create system user | `sudo useradd --no-create-home --system --shell /usr/sbin/nologin --home-dir /nonexistent prometheus` | | Config directory | `/etc/prometheus` | | Data directory | `/var/lib/prometheus` | | Install binaries | `sudo cp prometheus promtool /usr/local/bin/` | | Systemd unit file | `/etc/systemd/system/prometheus.service` | | Start & enable | `sudo systemctl start prometheus && sudo systemctl enable prometheus` | | Logs | `sudo journalctl -u prometheus -n 100` | Verification Open your browser and go to: [http://localhost:9090](http://localhost:9090) — this is the default Prometheus web UI. If you are running Prometheus on a remote host, replace `localhost` with the host IP or domain and ensure any firewall rules allow access to port `9090`. Troubleshooting tips * Verify paths in the systemd unit match where you copied the binaries and config (`/usr/local/bin/prometheus`, `/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml`, `/var/lib/prometheus`). * Ensure directory ownership: `/etc/prometheus` and `/var/lib/prometheus` must be owned by the `prometheus` user. * Use `sudo journalctl -u prometheus` to inspect logs for startup errors: [https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/journalctl.html](https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/journalctl.html) * If Prometheus fails to bind to port 9090, ensure no other process is using that port and that firewall rules permit access. Always download Prometheus binaries from the official releases page: [https://prometheus.io/download/](https://prometheus.io/download/). Verify checksums for the tarball if available to avoid installing tampered binaries. Links and references * Prometheus downloads: [https://prometheus.io/download/](https://prometheus.io/download/) * systemd overview: [https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/](https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/) * systemctl manual: [https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/systemctl.html](https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/systemctl.html) * journalctl manual: [https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/journalctl.html](https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/journalctl.html)