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Netdata Static Binary Build

packaging/makeself/README.md

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Netdata Static Binary Build

Netdata provides pre-built static binaries for Linux systems where native packages aren't available. The installer automatically uses these static builds when needed.

Key Features:

  • Self-contained installation (no system dependencies required, no interference with system libraries)
  • Installed under /opt/netdata

Supported Architectures

ArchitectureIdentifierNotes
x86_64x86_6464-bit Intel/AMD processors
ARMv6armv6lRaspberry Pi 1, some older SBCs
ARMv7armv7lRaspberry Pi 2/3, many SBCs
AArch64aarch64ARM 64-bit (Pi 4, newer devices)

Build Process

Requirements

RequirementPurpose
Docker or PodmanContainer environment for isolated builds
~10GB disk spaceFor build artifacts and containers

Preparation

Before building, ensure your repository is clean from previous builds.

→ Perform a cleanup

Building the Static Binary

Run the build script with your target architecture identifier:

bash
# For x86_64 (default)
./packaging/makeself/build-static.sh x86_64

# For ARM 64-bit (AArch64)
./packaging/makeself/build-static.sh aarch64

# For ARMv6
./packaging/makeself/build-static.sh armv6l

# For ARMv7
./packaging/makeself/build-static.sh armv7l

The script will automatically:

  • Launch an Alpine Linux container
  • Install necessary build dependencies
  • Compile required third-party tools (bash, curl, etc.)
  • Build Netdata with optimized settings
  • Package everything into a self-extracting installer

When building for an architecture different from your host:

  • The build process uses QEMU for emulation
  • Build times will be significantly longer
  • More disk space may be required
  • Some features may have architecture-specific limitations

Build Output

The process generates several installer files in the artifacts/ directory:

artifacts/
├── netdata-latest.gz.run                    # Latest version
├── netdata-v[VERSION]-[BUILD].gz.run        # Specific version
├── netdata-[ARCH]-latest.gz.run             # Architecture-specific latest
└── netdata-[ARCH]-v[VERSION]-[BUILD].gz.run # Architecture-specific version

Example output:

$ ls -l artifacts/
drwxrwxr-x   - user group     cache
.rwxrwxr-x 94M user group     netdata-latest.gz.run
.rwxrwxr-x 94M user group     netdata-v2.3.0-193-nightly.gz.run
.rwxrwxr-x 94M user group     netdata-x86_64-latest.gz.run
.rwxrwxr-x 94M user group     netdata-x86_64-v2.3.0-193-nightly.gz.run

Advanced Build Options

Debug Builds

For troubleshooting, you can create a debug-enabled build:

bash
./packaging/makeself/build-static.sh x86_64 debug

Debug build characteristics:

  • Larger file size
  • Runtime performance impact
  • Additional diagnostic information
  • Disabled optimizations
  • Enhanced tracing capabilities

Troubleshooting

Running with Valgrind

To diagnose memory issues or crashes:

bash
PATH="/opt/netdata/bin:${PATH}" valgrind --undef-value-errors=no /opt/netdata/bin/srv/netdata -D

Important notes:

  • Performance will be significantly reduced (~10x slower)
  • Stop Valgrind with Ctrl+C
  • The --undef-value-errors=no flag suppresses hundreds of false positives from the bundled libraries

Crash Reporting

If Netdata crashes during development or testing:

  1. Capture the complete Valgrind output
  2. Open a GitHub Issue
  3. Include:
    • Build details (architecture, version)
    • Complete stack trace
    • Steps to reproduce the issue