CLI Tool for Monitoring for Key System Metrics – Here’s How It Works!

CLI

Mar 24, 2025 ∙ 4 min read

Elliot Langston

Simplifying Server Monitoring with a Command-Line Tool
- Why We Built the HG-CLI
- How to Install the HG-CLI
- How the HG-CLI Works
- What’s Coming Next?
- Try It Out & Share Your Feedback!

Simplifying Server Monitoring with a Command-Line Tool

At MetricFire, we’re always looking for ways to make monitoring more efficient and accessible. That’s why we’re excited to introduce the MetricFire HG-CLI, our new command-line tool designed to make setting up server monitoring faster and easier than ever.

Just like our Hosted Graphite service, the HG-CLI is built on open-source flexibility while focusing on simplicity, eliminating the hassle of manual configurations and streamlining the onboarding process for teams of all sizes.

In this post, we’ll walk you through how the HG-CLI works, how to install it, and what’s coming next! We sat down with one of MetricFire’s engineers to dive into the Hosted Graphite CLI—watch the full interview here

Why We Built the HG-CLI

Setting up monitoring shouldn’t be complicated. Traditionally, configuring an agent like Telegraf requires:

Installing the software
Reading through the documentation
Manually modifying a configuration file

This process can take up to an hour, which is why we built the HG-CLI to simplify everything into a quick command.

With the HG-CLI, you can automate agent setup, select key system metrics, and get started monitoring in minutes, without ever touching a config file.

How to Install the HG-CLI

Installing HG-CLI is straightforward. We’ve made releases available for Linux, Mac, and Windows, and for even more convenience, there’s a universal installation command:

 curl -s "https://www.hostedgraphite.com/scripts/hg-cli/installer/" | sudo sh

For detailed installation steps, check out our official documentation.

Once installed, the HG-CLI can run in two modes:

Interactive Terminal App (TUI mode) - A visual interface to configure monitoring easily
Command-Line Mode (CLI mode) - Useful for automated deployments on larger server fleets

How the HG-CLI Works

To launch the interactive terminal app, simply run:

 curl -s "https://www.hostedgraphite.com/scripts/hg-cli/installer/" | sudo sh

This command opens a visual interface where you can:

✅ Validate your Hosted Graphite API key
✅ Select an agent (e.g., Telegraf)
✅ Choose which metrics to collect (CPU, Disk, Memory, etc.)

Once the setup is complete, the tool automatically installs and configures Telegraf for you, eliminating the need for manual setup.

Your metrics will begin streaming to your Hosted Graphite account, and your Telegraf dashboard will be automatically generated.

For users who prefer a lighter setup, the CLI mode allows advanced users to:

Modify plugin configurations
Update API keys
Run Telegraf with specific flags

What’s Coming Next?

We’re just getting started! Future updates will include:

🔹 Support for Additional Agents – The next major addition will be OpenTelemetry, followed by other popular open-source monitoring solutions.

🔹 Expanded Plugin Management – We’re developing a Telegraf plugin manager, allowing you to configure plugins directly from the terminal. Initial support will include NGINX, Docker, and MySQL, with more to come based on user requests.