Pulse
Real-time monitoring for Proxmox, Docker, and Kubernetes with AI-powered insights, smart alerts, and a beautiful unified dashboard
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What is Pulse?
Pulse is an automated monitoring tool for Proxmox, Docker, and Kubernetes infrastructure that acts like a senior sysadmin watching your entire system 24/7. Unlike traditional monitoring that just displays dashboards and sends noisy alerts, Pulse Patrol analyzes root causes and explains issues in plain English. It connects to Proxmox nodes/VMs/containers, Docker/Podman hosts, Kubernetes pods/deployments/services, PBS/PMG backup status, Ceph clusters, and ZFS pools.
Key features include Pulse Patrol for automated scanning that finds real issues like ZFS pool capacity warnings, VM restarting loops, backup silent failures, node clock drift, stalled containers, and config drift. The tool offers root-cause analysis that identifies one root cause instead of flooding you with 15+ symptom alerts. Pulse Patrol includes historical intelligence with 24h/7d trends, learned baselines, capacity predictions, anomaly detection, change tracking, and incident memory. It uses a unified agent that auto-detects Docker, Kubernetes, and Proxmox with no manual configuration.
Pulse is designed for developers, sysadmins, homelab users, Proxmox cluster admins, and teams running production self-hosted environments. With 3,200+ developers already automating their monitoring, it targets users tired of overwhelming metrics nobody cares about. The tool supports Bring Your Own LLM (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, or local Ollama), ensuring privacy-first operation with data staying on your infrastructure.
The self-hosted model lets you keep monitoring in your own environment, starting free with Community tier. Relay adds secure remote access to the Pulse web UI, mobile pairing, push notifications, and 14-day history. Pro unlocks root-cause analysis, safe remediation workflows with explicit approval requirements, 90-day history, RBAC, audit logging with HMAC signing, infrastructure reports, and agent profiles for teams.
Pulse pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Self-hosted pricing with three tiers: Community (free) includes self-hosted monitoring, SSO (OIDC/SAML), and unlimited monitored systems. Relay adds secure remote access to Pulse web UI, Pulse Mobile pairing for handoff, push notifications, and 14-day history. Pro includes root-cause analysis, safe remediation workflows, 90-day history, RBAC, audit logging with HMAC signing, infrastructure reports (PDF/CSV), and agent profiles for teams. One plan covers entire Pulse installation - no charging by server or monitoring volume.stripe checkout with 14-day money-back guarantee. Existing v5 recurring subscribers keep current recurring price while subscription stays active. Lifetime licenses permanently honored.
Pulse pros
- 100% free Community tier with self-hosted monitoring
- Root-cause analysis identifies one cause instead of 15+ alerts
- Works offline/air-gapped with local Ollama LLM
- Unified agent auto-detects Docker, Kubernetes, Proxmox
- Bring Your Own LLM - OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or local
- Privacy-first - your data stays on your infrastructure
- 90-day history in Pro tier for capacity trends
- Safe remediation workflows with explicit approval required
- Auto-updates agent when new versions released
- Single binary install works on Linux, macOS, Synology
- Audit logging with HMAC signing, stream to SIEM via webhooks
- Role-Based Access Control included in Pro for teams
- 14-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked
- No pricing by server - one plan covers entire Pulse installation
- Historical intelligence with learned baselines for your environment
- Capacity predictions like 'ZFS pool full in 3 days'
- SSO included (OIDC, SAML, multi-provider) with Community tier
- Infrastructure reports in PDF/CSV for stakeholders
Pulse cons
- Self-hosted only - no cloud/SaaS option available
- Requires Apple Watch Series 4+ for PulseRelay heart rate feature
- Pro root-cause analysis only available in paid tier
- 90-day history limited to Pro plan
- Relay's 14-day history shorter than Pro's 90 days
- Remote access via Relay requires separate paid plan
- Remediation commands still require explicit manual approval
- Requires LLM API key or local Ollama setup
- Limited to Proxmox, Docker, Kubernetes ecosystems
- Pro+ legacy tier now continuity-only, not public checkout
Frequently asked questions about Pulse
Can I use my own LLM?
Yes! Pulse supports OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, and local Ollama. Your data stays on your infrastructure and they never see it. You choose which LLM provider to use.
What's the refund policy?
14-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. If Pulse is not for you, they will refund you immediately upon request.
Do Relay or Pro charge by server?
No. One plan covers your entire Pulse installation. Pulse counts top-level monitored systems once for product understanding, and child resources like VMs, containers, pods, disks, and backup jobs are included. Self-hosted plans do not charge by monitoring volume.
How do Relay and Pro work in v6?
Community keeps monitoring free. Relay gives you secure remote access to your Pulse web UI, Pulse Mobile pairing for handoff, push notifications, and 14-day history. Pro adds root-cause analysis, safe remediation workflows, and 90-day history, with RBAC, audit logging, reporting, and agent profiles included for teams. Existing recurring v5 subscribers keep their current recurring price and continuity terms while the subscription stays active.
Will existing Pulse Pro customers lose anything in v6?
No. Existing Pulse Pro and legacy Pro+ holders keep their paid runtime access. Pro+ is now continuity-only rather than a public checkout tier, but it keeps the Pro feature set. Current recurring v5 subscribers also keep their current recurring price while the subscription stays active. Self-hosted monitoring remains included across v6 plans, child resources stay included underneath their monitored systems, and lifetime licenses remain honored permanently.
Does it work offline / air-gapped?
Yes! Pulse runs entirely self-hosted. Use a local LLM like Ollama for fully air-gapped environments. No internet is required after the initial setup.
What infrastructure platforms does Pulse support?
Pulse supports Proxmox nodes/VMs/containers, Docker/Podman hosts & containers, Kubernetes pods/deployments/services, PBS/PMG backup status & jobs, Ceph clusters & OSD health, and ZFS pools & storage usage. The unified agent auto-detects these platforms with no manual configuration needed.
How does Pulse Patrol differ from traditional monitoring?
Traditional monitoring just graphs metrics and sends alerts like 'CPU > 90%'. Pulse Patrol analyzes why CPU is high, connects it to the failing backup job causing it, and tells you the root cause in plain English like 'Backup job stalled causing high IO delay. CPU wait is high. Kill the stuck backup process.' It catches issues static alerts miss using historical intelligence and learned baselines.
What is the installation process?
Setup takes minutes: 1) Deploy Pulse via Docker or LXC and add your Proxmox API credentials, 2) Add your LLM key (OpenAI, Anthropic, or local Ollama) in Settings → Pulse Assistant → Add Key, 3) Pulse Patrol starts automated scanning on your schedule and findings appear in the Dashboard. The single install command works on any host with auto-detection.
What team features are included for businesses?
Pro includes audit logging with tamper-proof logs and HMAC signing (stream to SIEM via webhooks with configurable retention), role-based access control with customizable roles and permissions, SSO (OIDC, SAML, multi-provider), and infrastructure reports in PDF/CSV format showing capacity trends, resource usage, and patrol history for sharing with stakeholders.