Linux Sensors (sysfs)

Plugin: charts.d.plugin Module: sensors

Overview

Use this collector when lm-sensors doesn’t work on your device (e.g. for RPi temperatures). For all other cases use the Go collector, which supports multiple jobs, is more efficient and performs calculations on top of the kernel provided values."

It will provide charts for all configured system sensors, by reading sensors directly from the kernel. The values graphed are the raw hardware values of the sensors.

This collector is only supported on the following platforms:

Linux

This collector supports collecting metrics from multiple instances of this integration, including remote instances.

Default Behavior

Auto-Detection

By default, the collector will try to read entries under /sys/devices

Limits

The default configuration for this integration does not impose any limits on data collection.

Performance Impact

The default configuration for this integration is not expected to impose a significant performance impact on the system.

Setup

Prerequisites

Install charts.d plugin

If using our official native DEB/RPM packages, make sure netdata-plugin-chartsd is installed.

Enable the sensors collector

The sensors collector is disabled by default. To enable it, use edit-config from the Netdata config directory, which is typically at /etc/netdata, to edit the charts.d.conf file.

cd /etc/netdata   # Replace this path with your Netdata config directory, if different
sudo ./edit-config charts.d.conf

Change the value of the sensors setting to force and uncomment the line. Save the file and restart the Netdata Agent with sudo systemctl restart netdata, or the appropriate method for your system.

Configuration

File

The configuration file name for this integration is charts.d/sensors.conf.

You can edit the configuration file using the edit-config script from the Netdata config directory.

cd /etc/netdata 2>/dev/null || cd /opt/netdata/etc/netdata
sudo ./edit-config charts.d/sensors.conf

Options

The config file is sourced by the charts.d plugin. It’s a standard bash file.

The following collapsed table contains all the options that can be configured for the sensors collector.

Name	Description	Default	Required
sensors_sys_dir	The directory the kernel exposes sensor data.	/sys/devices	no
sensors_sys_depth	How deep in the tree to check for sensor data.	10	no
sensors_source_update	If set to 1, the script will overwrite internal script functions with code generated ones.	1	no
sensors_update_every	The data collection frequency. If unset, will inherit the netdata update frequency.	1	no
sensors_priority	The charts priority on the dashboard.	90000	no
sensors_retries	The number of retries to do in case of failure before disabling the collector.	10	no

Examples

Set sensors path depth

Set a different sensors path depth

# the directory the kernel keeps sensor data
#sensors_sys_dir="/sys/devices"

# how deep in the tree to check for sensor data
sensors_sys_depth=5

# if set to 1, the script will overwrite internal
# script functions with code generated ones
# leave to 1, is faster
#sensors_source_update=1

# the data collection frequency
# if unset, will inherit the netdata update frequency
#sensors_update_every=

# the charts priority on the dashboard
#sensors_priority=90000

# the number of retries to do in case of failure
# before disabling the module
#sensors_retries=10

Metrics

Metrics grouped by scope.

The scope defines the instance that the metric belongs to. An instance is uniquely identified by a set of labels.

Per sensor chip

Metrics related to sensor chips. Each chip provides its own set of the following metrics.

This scope has no labels.

Metrics:

Metric	Dimensions	Unit
sensors.temp	{filename}	Celsius
sensors.volt	{filename}	Volts
sensors.curr	{filename}	Ampere
sensors.power	{filename}	Watt
sensors.fans	{filename}	Rotations / Minute
sensors.energy	{filename}	Joule
sensors.humidity	{filename}	Percent

Alerts

There are no alerts configured by default for this integration.

Troubleshooting

Debug Mode

To troubleshoot issues with the sensors collector, run the charts.d.plugin with the debug option enabled. The output should give you clues as to why the collector isn’t working.

Navigate to the plugins.d directory, usually at /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/. If that’s not the case on your system, open netdata.conf and look for the plugins setting under [directories].
```
cd /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/
```
Switch to the netdata user.
```
sudo -u netdata -s
```
Run the charts.d.plugin to debug the collector:
```
./charts.d.plugin debug 1 sensors
```

Getting Logs

If you’re encountering problems with the sensors collector, follow these steps to retrieve logs and identify potential issues:

Run the command specific to your system (systemd, non-systemd, or Docker container).
Examine the output for any warnings or error messages that might indicate issues. These messages should provide clues about the root cause of the problem.

System with systemd

Use the following command to view logs generated since the last Netdata service restart:

journalctl _SYSTEMD_INVOCATION_ID="$(systemctl show --value --property=InvocationID netdata)" --namespace=netdata --grep sensors

System without systemd

Locate the collector log file, typically at /var/log/netdata/collector.log, and use grep to filter for collector’s name:

grep sensors /var/log/netdata/collector.log

Note: This method shows logs from all restarts. Focus on the latest entries for troubleshooting current issues.

Docker Container

If your Netdata runs in a Docker container named “netdata” (replace if different), use this command:

docker logs netdata 2>&1 | grep sensors

Industry

Technology

Use cases