AI Chat with Netdata

Chat with your infrastructure using natural language through two distinct integration architectures.

Integration Architecture

Method 1: Connect to a Local Agent or Parent

mermaid

flowchart TB
    LLM("LLM Provider
OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.")
    
    subgraph infra["Your Infrastructure"]
        direction TB
        subgraph userLayer[" "]
            direction LR
            User("User") 
            Client("AI Client
Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.")
            
            User -->|"(1) Ask question"| Client
            Client -->|"(8) Display response"| User
        end
        
        Agent("Netdata Agent or Parent
with MCP Server")
        
        Client -->|"(4) Execute tools"| Agent
        Agent -->|"(5) Return data"| Client
    end
    
    Client -->|"(2) Send query"| LLM
    LLM -->|"(3) Tool commands"| Client
    Client -->|"(6) Send results"| LLM
    LLM -->|"(7) Final answer"| Client
    
    %% Style definitions
    classDef alert fill:#ffeb3b,stroke:#000000,stroke-width:3px,color:#000000,font-size:18px
    classDef neutral fill:#f9f9f9,stroke:#000000,stroke-width:3px,color:#000000,font-size:18px
    classDef complete fill:#4caf50,stroke:#000000,stroke-width:3px,color:#000000,font-size:18px
    classDef database fill:#2196F3,stroke:#000000,stroke-width:3px,color:#000000,font-size:18px

    %% Apply styles
    class User alert
    class Client neutral
    class LLM complete
    class Agent complete
    class infra,userLayer database

How it works:

You ask a question to your AI client
LLM responds with tool execution commands
Your AI client executes tools against Netdata Agent MCP (locally)
Your AI client sends tool responses back to LLM
LLM provides the final answer

Key characteristics:

Your AI client orchestrates all communication
Netdata Agent MCP runs locally on your infrastructure
No internet access required for Netdata Agent
Full control over data flow and privacy

Method 2: Connect to Netdata Cloud

mermaid

flowchart TB
    LLM("LLM Provider
OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.")
    CloudMCP("Netdata Cloud MCP
app.netdata.cloud/api/v1/mcp")

    subgraph infra["Your Infrastructure"]
        direction TB
        subgraph userLayer[" "]
            direction LR
            User("User")
            Client("AI Client
Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.")

            User -->|"(1) Ask question"| Client
            Client -->|"(8) Display response"| User
        end

        Agents("Netdata Agents
and Parents")
    end

    Client -->|"(2) Send query"| LLM
    LLM -->|"(3) Tool commands"| Client
    Client -->|"(4) Execute tools"| CloudMCP
    CloudMCP -->|"(5) Return data"| Client
    Client -->|"(6) Send results"| LLM
    LLM -->|"(7) Final answer"| Client

    Agents -.->|"Stream metrics"| CloudMCP

    %% Style definitions
    classDef alert fill:#ffeb3b,stroke:#000000,stroke-width:3px,color:#000000,font-size:18px
    classDef neutral fill:#f9f9f9,stroke:#000000,stroke-width:3px,color:#000000,font-size:18px
    classDef complete fill:#4caf50,stroke:#000000,stroke-width:3px,color:#000000,font-size:18px
    classDef database fill:#2196F3,stroke:#000000,stroke-width:3px,color:#000000,font-size:18px

    %% Apply styles
    class User alert
    class Client neutral
    class LLM complete
    class CloudMCP,Agents complete
    class infra,userLayer database

How it works:

You ask a question to your AI client
Your AI client sends the query to the LLM
LLM responds with tool execution commands
Your AI client executes tools against Netdata Cloud MCP (over the internet)
Netdata Cloud MCP returns the data
Your AI client sends tool responses back to LLM
LLM provides the final answer
Your AI client displays the response

Key characteristics:

Same client-controlled architecture as Method 1, but with a cloud-hosted MCP endpoint
No direct network access to Netdata Agents required
Complete visibility across all nodes in your infrastructure
Any MCP-aware client can connect

Quick Comparison

Aspect	Method 1: Local Agent/Parent	Method 2: Netdata Cloud
Setup Complexity	Moderate (configure AI client + local MCP)	Simple (configure AI client + cloud endpoint)
Data Privacy	Depends on LLM provider	Depends on LLM provider
Internet Requirements	AI client needs internet, MCP is local	Both AI client and MCP need internet
Supported AI Clients	Any MCP-aware client	Any MCP-aware client
Infrastructure Access	One Agent or Parent's scope	All infrastructure
Network Access	Direct access to Netdata IP	No firewall changes

To get started with Method 2, see Netdata Cloud MCP for setup instructions.