Docker Compose Monitoring Stack

Docker Compose Monitoring Stack

Deploys a complete monitoring stack with Prometheus, Grafana, and Node Exporter using Docker Compose.

Execution Context

This skill runs inside Deep Agents CLI (v0.0.34+). Available tools:

Critical execution rules:

1. Always start by creating the plan via write_todos.
2. Create files one by one via write_file — never try to generate everything at once.
3. Test each service via execute immediately after starting it.
4. Use task to delegate long or parallel subtasks to sub-agents.

Execution Plan (use with write_todos)

When receiving the request, run write_todos with:

• 1. Verify Docker and Docker Compose are installed
• 2. Check and set required environment variables
• 3. Create project directory structure
• 4. Create docker-compose.yml
• 5. Create Prometheus configuration
• 6. Create Grafana datasource provisioning
• 7. Create Grafana dashboard provisioning and dashboard JSON
• 8. Create .env and .gitignore files
• 9. Create AGENTS.md with stack documentation
• 10. Start the stack with Docker Compose
• 11. Run health checks on all services

When to Use

Use this skill when the user asks to:

• Set up monitoring or observability
• Deploy Prometheus and Grafana
• Create a monitoring stack
• Set up metrics collection
• Create a Grafana dashboard for infrastructure

Prerequisites Check

Before creating any files, use execute to verify:

# Check Docker
docker --version || { echo "ERROR: Docker not found. Install from https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/"; exit 1; }

# Check Docker Compose
docker compose version || { echo "ERROR: Docker Compose not found"; exit 1; }

# Check if Docker daemon is running
docker info >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "ERROR: Docker daemon is not running"; exit 1; }

echo "All prerequisites OK"

If Docker is not installed, advise the user to follow the official installation guide at https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/.

Environment Setup

Before execution, verify required environment variables via execute:

# Check required variables
for var in GRAFANA_ADMIN_PASSWORD; do
  if [ -z "${!var}" ]; then
    echo "ERROR: $var is not set"
    exit 1
  fi
done

# Check optional variables (with defaults)
echo "PROMETHEUS_RETENTION=${PROMETHEUS_RETENTION:-15d} (default: 15d)"

echo "All environment variables OK"

If using a .env file, load it via execute:

set -a && source .env && set +a

Security note: Never hardcode secrets in the SKILL.md. Use environment variables or a .env file (added to .gitignore).

Steps

1. Create Project Structure

Use execute to create the directory structure:

mkdir -p monitoring/{prometheus,grafana/provisioning/datasources,grafana/provisioning/dashboards,grafana/dashboards}

Test via execute:

ls -R monitoring/ && echo "Directory structure OK"

2. Create Docker Compose File

Use write_file to create monitoring/docker-compose.yml:

version: "3.8"
services:
  prometheus:
    image: prom/prometheus:latest
    ports:
      - "9090:9090"
    volumes:
      - ./prometheus/prometheus.yml:/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
      - prometheus_data:/prometheus
    command:
      - '--config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml'
      - '--storage.tsdb.retention.time=${PROMETHEUS_RETENTION:-15d}'

  grafana:
    image: grafana/grafana:latest
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=${GRAFANA_ADMIN_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - ./grafana/provisioning:/etc/grafana/provisioning
      - ./grafana/dashboards:/var/lib/grafana/dashboards
      - grafana_data:/var/lib/grafana

  node-exporter:
    image: prom/node-exporter:latest
    ports:
      - "9100:9100"
    pid: host
    volumes:
      - /proc:/host/proc:ro
      - /sys:/host/sys:ro

volumes:
  prometheus_data:
  grafana_data:

Test via execute:

cd monitoring && docker compose config --quiet && echo "docker-compose.yml syntax OK"

3. Create Prometheus Configuration

Use write_file to create monitoring/prometheus/prometheus.yml:

global:
  scrape_interval: 15s

scrape_configs:
  - job_name: 'prometheus'
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['localhost:9090']

  - job_name: 'node-exporter'
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['node-exporter:9100']

4. Create Grafana Datasource Provisioning

Use write_file to create monitoring/grafana/provisioning/datasources/prometheus.yml:

apiVersion: 1
datasources:
  - name: Prometheus
    type: prometheus
    access: proxy
    url: http://prometheus:9090
    isDefault: true

5. Create Grafana Dashboard Provisioning

Use write_file to create monitoring/grafana/provisioning/dashboards/dashboards.yml:

apiVersion: 1
providers:
  - name: 'default'
    folder: ''
    type: file
    options:
      path: /var/lib/grafana/dashboards

Use write_file to create monitoring/grafana/dashboards/node-exporter.json:

Create a basic Node Exporter dashboard JSON. Use the official Grafana dashboard ID 1860 as reference.

6. Create Environment and Ignore Files

Use write_file to create monitoring/.env:

GRAFANA_ADMIN_PASSWORD=changeme
PROMETHEUS_RETENTION=15d

Use write_file to create monitoring/.gitignore:

.env
*_data/

7. Add Project Notes

Use write_file to create monitoring/AGENTS.md:

# Monitoring Stack — Project Notes

## Architecture
- **Prometheus** (port 9090): Metrics collection and storage
- **Grafana** (port 3000): Visualization and dashboards
- **Node Exporter** (port 9100): Host-level metrics

## Credentials
- Grafana login: admin / value of $GRAFANA_ADMIN_PASSWORD

## Data Persistence
- Data persists in Docker volumes even after `docker compose down`
- To fully reset: `docker compose down -v`

## Platform Notes
- On macOS, Node Exporter has limited metrics (/proc and /sys are not real Linux filesystems)
- On Linux, Node Exporter works fully

8. Start the Stack

Use execute to start all services:

cd monitoring
set -a && source .env && set +a
docker compose up -d

Use execute to verify all containers are running:

cd monitoring && docker compose ps

9. Run Health Checks

Platform-specific execution

Use execute to detect the platform and warn about limitations:

OS=$(uname -s)
case "$OS" in
  Darwin) echo "WARNING: macOS detected — Node Exporter metrics will be limited (/proc and /sys are not real Linux filesystems)" ;;
  Linux)  echo "Linux detected — all metrics available" ;;
  *)      echo "WARNING: Unsupported OS: $OS — Node Exporter may not work correctly" ;;
esac

Use execute to test each service:

echo "=== Prometheus Health ==="
curl -sf http://localhost:9090/-/healthy && echo " OK" || echo " FAILED"

echo "=== Grafana Health ==="
curl -sf http://localhost:3000/api/health && echo " OK" || echo " FAILED"

echo "=== Node Exporter Metrics ==="
curl -sf http://localhost:9100/metrics | head -5 && echo "... OK" || echo " FAILED"

echo "=== All health checks complete ==="

For each service that fails the health check, use execute to inspect logs:

cd monitoring && docker compose logs <service-name>

Notes

• Grafana default login: admin / value of $GRAFANA_ADMIN_PASSWORD
• Prometheus UI: http://localhost:9090
• Grafana UI: http://localhost:3000
• Data persists in Docker volumes even after docker compose down
• To fully reset: docker compose down -v

Usage with Deep Agents CLI

Mode 1 — Build (one-shot)

deepagents -y "Deploy a monitoring stack with Prometheus and Grafana following the docker-compose-monitoring-stack skill"

Mode 2 — Interactive

deepagents
> Set up a monitoring stack with Prometheus, Grafana, and Node Exporter

Mode 3 — Non-interactive (CI/CD)

deepagents -n -y -S "docker,curl,mkdir" "Deploy monitoring stack with Prometheus, Grafana, and Node Exporter"

Troubleshooting

Docker not found

# Check:
docker --version
# Install: follow https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/

Docker Compose not found

# Check:
docker compose version
# If using older Docker, install compose plugin:
sudo apt-get install docker-compose-plugin

Docker daemon not running

# Check:
docker info
# Start (Linux):
sudo systemctl start docker
# Start (macOS): open Docker Desktop app

Grafana fails health check

# Check logs:
cd monitoring && docker compose logs grafana
# Verify password is set:
echo $GRAFANA_ADMIN_PASSWORD
# Restart:
docker compose restart grafana

Prometheus fails health check

# Check logs:
cd monitoring && docker compose logs prometheus
# Validate config syntax:
docker run --rm -v $(pwd)/prometheus:/etc/prometheus prom/prometheus promtool check config /etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml

Node Exporter metrics incomplete on macOS

This is expected. On macOS, /proc and /sys are not real Linux filesystems,
so Node Exporter cannot collect full host metrics. For full metrics,
deploy on a Linux host or use Docker Desktop's VM metrics.

Environment variable not set

# Check what's set:
env | grep -E "GRAFANA|PROMETHEUS"
# Set manually:
export GRAFANA_ADMIN_PASSWORD="your-secure-password"
export PROMETHEUS_RETENTION="15d"
# Or load from .env:
set -a && source .env && set +a

Context window overflow

Use /compact to force compaction before continuing.
Consider splitting the task with `task` sub-agents.