| 1 | # Netdata Static Binary Build |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Netdata provides pre-built static binaries for Linux systems where native packages aren't available. The [installer](/packaging/installer/methods/kickstart.md) automatically uses these static builds when needed. |
| 4 | |
| 5 | **Key Features**: |
| 6 | |
| 7 | - Self-contained installation (no system dependencies required, no interference with system libraries) |
| 8 | - Installed under `/opt/netdata` |
| 9 | |
| 10 | ## Supported Architectures |
| 11 | |
| 12 | | Architecture | Identifier | Notes | |
| 13 | |--------------|------------|----------------------------------| |
| 14 | | x86_64 | `x86_64` | 64-bit Intel/AMD processors | |
| 15 | | ARMv6 | `armv6l` | Raspberry Pi 1, some older SBCs | |
| 16 | | ARMv7 | `armv7l` | Raspberry Pi 2/3, many SBCs | |
| 17 | | AArch64 | `aarch64` | ARM 64-bit (Pi 4, newer devices) | |
| 18 | |
| 19 | --- |
| 20 | |
| 21 | ## Build Process |
| 22 | |
| 23 | ### Requirements |
| 24 | |
| 25 | | Requirement | Purpose | |
| 26 | |------------------|-------------------------------------------| |
| 27 | | Docker or Podman | Container environment for isolated builds | |
| 28 | | ~10GB disk space | For build artifacts and containers | |
| 29 | |
| 30 | ### Preparation |
| 31 | |
| 32 | Before building, ensure your repository is clean from previous builds. |
| 33 | |
| 34 | → [Perform a cleanup](/packaging/installer/methods/manual.md#perform-a-cleanup-in-your-netdata-repo) |
| 35 | |
| 36 | ### Building the Static Binary |
| 37 | |
| 38 | Run the build script with your target [architecture identifier](#supported-architectures): |
| 39 | |
| 40 | ```bash |
| 41 | # For x86_64 (default) |
| 42 | ./packaging/makeself/build-static.sh x86_64 |
| 43 | |
| 44 | # For ARM 64-bit (AArch64) |
| 45 | ./packaging/makeself/build-static.sh aarch64 |
| 46 | |
| 47 | # For ARMv6 |
| 48 | ./packaging/makeself/build-static.sh armv6l |
| 49 | |
| 50 | # For ARMv7 |
| 51 | ./packaging/makeself/build-static.sh armv7l |
| 52 | ``` |
| 53 | |
| 54 | The script will automatically: |
| 55 | |
| 56 | - Launch an Alpine Linux container |
| 57 | - Install necessary build dependencies |
| 58 | - Compile required third-party tools (bash, curl, etc.) |
| 59 | - Build Netdata with optimized settings |
| 60 | - Package everything into a self-extracting installer |
| 61 | |
| 62 | When building for an architecture different from your host: |
| 63 | |
| 64 | - The build process uses QEMU for emulation |
| 65 | - Build times will be significantly longer |
| 66 | - More disk space may be required |
| 67 | - Some features may have architecture-specific limitations |
| 68 | |
| 69 | ### Build Output |
| 70 | |
| 71 | The process generates several installer files in the artifacts/ directory: |
| 72 | |
| 73 | ``` |
| 74 | artifacts/ |
| 75 | ├── netdata-latest.gz.run # Latest version |
| 76 | ├── netdata-v[VERSION]-[BUILD].gz.run # Specific version |
| 77 | ├── netdata-[ARCH]-latest.gz.run # Architecture-specific latest |
| 78 | └── netdata-[ARCH]-v[VERSION]-[BUILD].gz.run # Architecture-specific version |
| 79 | ``` |
| 80 | |
| 81 | Example output: |
| 82 | |
| 83 | ``` |
| 84 | $ ls -l artifacts/ |
| 85 | drwxrwxr-x - user group cache |
| 86 | .rwxrwxr-x 94M user group netdata-latest.gz.run |
| 87 | .rwxrwxr-x 94M user group netdata-v2.3.0-193-nightly.gz.run |
| 88 | .rwxrwxr-x 94M user group netdata-x86_64-latest.gz.run |
| 89 | .rwxrwxr-x 94M user group netdata-x86_64-v2.3.0-193-nightly.gz.run |
| 90 | ``` |
| 91 | |
| 92 | ## Advanced Build Options |
| 93 | |
| 94 | ### Debug Builds |
| 95 | |
| 96 | For troubleshooting, you can create a debug-enabled build: |
| 97 | |
| 98 | ```bash |
| 99 | ./packaging/makeself/build-static.sh x86_64 debug |
| 100 | ``` |
| 101 | |
| 102 | Debug build characteristics: |
| 103 | |
| 104 | - Larger file size |
| 105 | - Runtime performance impact |
| 106 | - Additional diagnostic information |
| 107 | - Disabled optimizations |
| 108 | - Enhanced tracing capabilities |
| 109 | |
| 110 | ## Troubleshooting |
| 111 | |
| 112 | ### Running with Valgrind |
| 113 | |
| 114 | To diagnose memory issues or crashes: |
| 115 | |
| 116 | ```bash |
| 117 | PATH="/opt/netdata/bin:${PATH}" valgrind --undef-value-errors=no /opt/netdata/bin/srv/netdata -D |
| 118 | ``` |
| 119 | |
| 120 | **Important notes**: |
| 121 | |
| 122 | - Performance will be significantly reduced (~10x slower) |
| 123 | - Stop Valgrind with Ctrl+C |
| 124 | - The `--undef-value-errors=no` flag suppresses hundreds of false positives from the bundled libraries |
| 125 | |
| 126 | ### Crash Reporting |
| 127 | |
| 128 | If Netdata crashes during development or testing: |
| 129 | |
| 130 | 1. Capture the complete Valgrind output |
| 131 | 2. [Open a GitHub Issue](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/issues/new/choose) |
| 132 | 3. Include: |
| 133 | - Build details (architecture, version) |
| 134 | - Complete stack trace |
| 135 | - Steps to reproduce the issue |