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Open-Source DevOps · henrygd

beszel

Beszel is a lightweight, self-hosted server monitoring platform built in Go that tracks CPU, memory, disk, network, Docker container metrics, and system alerts through a web dashboard. It runs as a hub-and-agent architecture, requires minimal configuration, and supports multi-user access with OAuth/OIDC authentication and automatic backups.

Source: GitHub — github.com/henrygd/beszel
23.4k
GitHub stars
882
Forks
Go
Primary language
MIT
License (OSI-approved)

Key facts

Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.

FieldValue
Repositoryhenrygd/beszel
Ownerhenrygd
Primary languageGo
LicenseMIT — OSI-approved
Stars23.4k
Forks882
Open issues329
Latest releasev0.18.7 (2026-04-05)
Last updated2026-06-29
Sourcehttps://github.com/henrygd/beszel

What beszel is

Beszel comprises a PocketBase-backed hub (web UI) and distributed agents that collect and report system metrics (CPU, memory, disk I/O, network, GPU, SMART, temperature, containers) to a central database. The agent is lightweight; the hub provides REST API access, multi-user isolation, and alerting on CPU/memory/disk/bandwidth/temperature/load thresholds.

Quickstart

Get the beszel source

Clone the repository and explore it locally.

terminalbash
git clone https://github.com/henrygd/beszel.gitcd beszel# follow the project's README for install & configuration

Need it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.

Best use cases

Self-hosted infrastructure monitoring

Ideal for homelab, small business, or on-prem environments where you want full control over monitoring data without external dependencies. Minimal footprint makes it suitable for resource-constrained setups.

Docker/Podman container operations

Built-in per-container CPU, memory, and network tracking with historical data. Useful for teams running containerized workloads who need lightweight, granular visibility without heavy agent overhead.

Multi-tenant or team-based monitoring

Supports multi-user accounts, OAuth/OIDC delegation, and admin-controlled system sharing. Well-suited for shared infrastructure scenarios where teams manage their own systems.

Implementation considerations

  • Hub and agents communicate over network; plan firewall rules and TLS/certificate management if exposing hub outside trusted network.
  • Data stored in PocketBase backend; configure S3-compatible backups early and test restore procedures to avoid data loss.
  • Multi-user auth relies on OAuth/OIDC or password auth; password-only setups should enforce strong credential policies.
  • GPU metrics (Nvidia, AMD, Intel) require vendor libraries on agent; verify driver/runtime compatibility on target systems.
  • Alert thresholds are per-metric and configured in UI; plan escalation paths (webhook, email, Matrix) and test before production.

When to avoid it — and what to weigh

  • Need enterprise SLA or 24/7 vendor support — Project is community-driven with no stated commercial support tier. Author responds best-effort. Consider if your incident response requires guaranteed vendor escalation.
  • Require advanced metrics (APM, logs, distributed tracing) — Beszel is infrastructure-centric; it does not ingest application logs, traces, or sophisticated profiling data. Not a replacement for Prometheus/Grafana or ELK stacks.
  • Need compliance or audit certifications — No evidence of SOC2, HIPAA, FedRAMP, or similar compliance certifications. Review security and audit requirements carefully before deployment in regulated environments.
  • Cloud-native multi-cloud aggregation — Designed for on-prem or single-cloud self-hosted deployments. Lacks built-in cloud cost analysis, multi-cloud billing, or managed service integrations (e.g., AWS CloudWatch API).

License & commercial use

MIT License (permissive OSI-approved). Allows commercial use, modification, and redistribution with attribution. Full text in LICENSE file of repository.

MIT is a permissive OSI license that permits commercial use without royalty or source code disclosure. However, no commercial support, SLA, or warranty is stated. Commercial deployments assume upstream risk and should evaluate whether community-only support is acceptable.

DEV.co evaluation signals

Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.

SignalAssessment
MaintenanceActive
DocumentationAdequate
License clarityClear
Deployment complexityLow
DEV.co fitGood
Assessment confidenceHigh
Security considerations

Hub and agent communicate over network; use TLS and network segmentation in untrusted environments. PocketBase backend handles user authentication; password-only mode requires strong credential enforcement. No security audit, penetration test, or vulnerability disclosure program mentioned. Review code before deploying in security-sensitive environments. OAuth/OIDC delegation shifts auth risk to identity provider.

Alternatives to consider

Prometheus + Grafana

Industry-standard time-series monitoring with rich dashboarding and alerting. Heavier footprint and steeper learning curve but vastly more extensible and mature ecosystem.

netdata

Lightweight, real-time monitoring with low overhead. Stronger visualization and streaming data; good for single-host or small clusters. Less emphasis on distributed agent management.

Zabbix

Enterprise-grade distributed monitoring with deep alert rules and custom metrics. Requires more infrastructure; suitable for large heterogeneous environments.

Software development agency

Build on beszel with DEV.co software developers

Visit beszel.dev for the quick-start guide. Evaluate network architecture, backup strategy, and alert routing before production rollout. For commercial support or integrations, consult with a DevOps specialist.

Talk to DEV.co

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beszel FAQ

Can I use Beszel without exposing the hub to the internet?
Yes. Hub and agents communicate over LAN/private networks. Use VPN, SSH tunnels, or firewall rules to restrict access. Agents initiate outbound connections to hub; hub does not need public exposure.
What happens if the hub goes down?
Agents will queue metrics and continue running locally. Once hub is restored, agents reconnect and sync data. For extended downtime, confirm backup strategy is in place.
Does Beszel work with Kubernetes or cloud-hosted VMs?
Agents can run on cloud VMs or as sidecar containers, but Beszel is not built for Kubernetes-native monitoring (no service discovery, no Prometheus integration by default). For Kubernetes, Prometheus or managed solutions are better-suited.
Is there a REST API to query historical metrics?
Yes, REST API is available, but no OpenAPI spec is published. You must reverse-engineer endpoints or consult GitHub discussions. Use cases and rate limits are not clearly documented.

Software developers & web developers for hire

DEV.co is a software development agency delivering custom software development services to companies building on open source. Our software developers and web developers design, integrate, and ship production systems — spanning web development, APIs, AI, data, and cloud. If beszel is part of your open-source devops roadmap, our team can implement, customize, migrate, and maintain it.

Ready to deploy Beszel?

Visit beszel.dev for the quick-start guide. Evaluate network architecture, backup strategy, and alert routing before production rollout. For commercial support or integrations, consult with a DevOps specialist.