What is a source
A source is anywhere ObserveKit collects data from. Three types today:
- Kubernetes — a cluster running the ObserveKit agent as a DaemonSet. Ships logs from
/var/log/containers, metrics from kubelet stats, K8s state metrics (pods, nodes, deployments), and TLS certificate posture. - Docker — a host running the ObserveKit agent as a container. Ships logs and metrics for every container on that host.
- Service — an OTel-only app that pushes traces / metrics / logs directly to ObserveKit's OTLP endpoints. No agent runs; the source exists to issue an API key and group OTLP data. Use this when your app runs somewhere the agent can't (Azure WebApps, EC2 / cloud VMs, on-prem) or alongside K8s/Docker for app-level signals the agent doesn't see (HTTP request rates, queue depth, custom business counters). See Sending data with OpenTelemetry for the SDK setup.
The Sources list
Five columns:
| Column | Means |
|---|---|
| Name | What you (or whoever installed the agent) named this source. |
| Type | Kubernetes, Docker, or Service. |
| Status | For Kubernetes / Docker: CONNECTED (green) means the agent has heartbeated recently. For Service: OTLP RECEIVING (green) means the source is receiving OTLP data; OTLP IDLE (gray) means it's been quiet for a while. |
| Agent Version | Pill showing the version the agent reported on its last heartbeat. Green = up to date. Yellow = an older version is running than the latest released agent. Hover the pill for the exact version comparison. |
| Created | When the source first registered with the server. |
Per-row actions (right side of each row)
Three icons:
- Activity (line-chart icon) — opens Infrastructure filtered to this source (
/infrastructure?source_id=...). Use to see what's running on this source right now. - Open detail (external-link icon) — opens the source detail page at
/sources/<id>(see Source detail). - Delete (trash icon) — removes the source. The agent stops being able to ship data; existing historical logs and metrics stay queryable.
Adding a source
Click + Add Source top-right. A 3-step wizard opens:
- Configure — pick a name (e.g.,
production-cluster) and a Type (KubernetesorDocker). Click Create Source. - Install — the wizard generates a copy-paste install command for the type you picked.
- Verify — the wizard waits for the agent to heartbeat. When it does, the source flips to
CONNECTED.
You can close the wizard mid-install — the source row exists from step 1 onward and the agent can heartbeat into it whenever you finish the install on the target host.
Outdated agent banner
The Overview page shows a banner when one or more agents are running an older version. Click See Sources → in the banner to come here, then look for yellow Agent Version pills.
To upgrade an agent, re-run the install command from + Add Source on the target host (same flow as a fresh install — the agent self-replaces) or open the source detail page and use Regenerate Install Link.