Configure the Beszel agent for system monitoring on the family MacBook. This native executable provides efficient system metrics collection without requiring Docker.
The Beszel agent runs as a native executable on macOS, collecting system metrics and reporting them to your homelab monitoring infrastructure. It's optimized for battery efficiency while providing comprehensive system monitoring.
Connect to your homelab Beszel server:
agent:
## Server connection
server: "beszel.speicher.family"
port: 45876
key: "${BESZEL_AGENT_KEY}"
The agent key must be obtained from your Beszel server dashboard and stored securely.
Configure how often the agent reports metrics:
## System monitoring settings
interval: 30 # seconds between reports
timeout: 10 # seconds for server connection timeout
These settings balance monitoring accuracy with battery efficiency.
Control agent logging behavior:
## Logging
log_level: "info"
log_file: "/var/log/beszel-agent.log"
Automatic platform detection for macOS:
## macOS specific settings
platform: "darwin"
arch: "auto" # Will detect arm64 or amd64
Enable comprehensive system monitoring:
## Monitoring capabilities
monitor:
cpu: true
memory: true
disk: true
network: true
processes: true
docker: true # Will monitor Docker Desktop if running
Configure what data to collect:
## Data collection
collect_docker_stats: true # Docker Desktop containers
collect_system_info: true
collect_network_stats: true
Configure SSL/TLS for secure communication:
## Security
tls_enabled: false # Set to true if Beszel server uses HTTPS
verify_ssl: true
beszel.speicher.family
## Copy the template configuration
cp ~/.homelab/config/beszel-key.conf.template ~/.homelab/config/beszel-key.conf
## Edit the file and add your agent key
nano ~/.homelab/config/beszel-key.conf
## Source the configuration
source ~/.homelab/config/beszel-key.conf
The agent starts automatically via LaunchAgent:
## Check if agent is running
pgrep -f beszel-agent
## View agent logs
tail -f ~/.homelab/logs/beszel-agent.log
The agent monitors:
If Docker Desktop is installed:
The agent is configured for minimal battery impact:
Check connectivity to the server:
## Test server connectivity
ping beszel.speicher.family
nc -zv beszel.speicher.family 45876
## Check agent logs
tail -f /var/log/beszel-agent.log
Adjust monitoring intervals:
## Increase interval for less frequent updates
interval: 60 # Update every minute instead of 30 seconds
Ensure all monitoring features are enabled:
## Restart the agent
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.homelab.beszel-agent.plist
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.homelab.beszel-agent.plist
View collected metrics:
grafana.speicher.familySet up alerts for:
Metrics are retained according to your homelab policies: