Scrutiny Installation Guide

Scrutiny is a free and open-source S.M.A.R.T. disk monitoring tool that provides web-based dashboards, alerting, and historical data analysis for hard drive health. It serves as a FOSS alternative to proprietary disk monitoring solutions like CrystalDiskInfo or Hard Disk Sentinel, offering comprehensive disk health monitoring with proactive failure detection.

Monitoring🟡 intermediate11 min⏱️ 20-40 minutes
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Scrutiny is a free and open-source S.M.A.R.T. disk monitoring tool that provides web-based dashboards, alerting, and historical data analysis for hard drive health. It serves as a FOSS alternative to proprietary disk monitoring solutions like CrystalDiskInfo, Hard Disk Sentinel, or enterprise storage monitoring tools, offering comprehensive disk health monitoring with beautiful visualizations and proactive failure detection.

1. Prerequisites

Hardware Requirements

  • CPU: 1+ cores
  • RAM: 512MB minimum (1GB+ recommended)
  • Storage: 100MB for application, additional for metrics storage
  • Disks: SATA, NVMe, or SAS drives with S.M.A.R.T. support

    • Software Requirements

  • smartctl: smartmontools package for S.M.A.R.T. data collection
  • Docker: Optional for containerized deployment
  • Database: SQLite (built-in) or InfluxDB for metrics storage

    • Network Requirements

  • Ports:
  • 8080: Web interface (default)
  • 8086: InfluxDB (if used)

    • 2. Supported Operating Systems

    Scrutiny officially supports:

  • RHEL 8/9 and derivatives (CentOS Stream, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux)
  • Debian 11/12
  • Ubuntu 20.04 LTS / 22.04 LTS / 24.04 LTS
  • Arch Linux
  • Alpine Linux 3.18+
  • openSUSE Leap 15.5+ / Tumbleweed
  • Fedora 38+
  • macOS 12+ (limited S.M.A.R.T. support)
  • Windows 10/11 (via WSL2 or native)

    • 3. Installation

    #### All Linux Distributions

    bash 
    # Install Docker and Docker Compose
# For RHEL/CentOS/Rocky/AlmaLinux:
sudo dnf install -y docker docker-compose
sudo systemctl enable --now docker

# For Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose
sudo systemctl enable --now docker

# For Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S docker docker-compose
sudo systemctl enable --now docker

# Add user to docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

# Create Scrutiny directory
mkdir -p ~/scrutiny
cd ~/scrutiny

# Create docker-compose.yml
cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
version: '3.8'

services:
  scrutiny:
    image: ghcr.io/analogj/scrutiny:master-omnibus
    container_name: scrutiny
    cap_add:
      - SYS_RAWIO
      - SYS_ADMIN
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      - /run/udev:/run/udev:ro
      - ./config:/opt/scrutiny/config
      - ./influxdb:/opt/scrutiny/influxdb
    devices:
      - /dev/sda
      - /dev/sdb
      - /dev/nvme0n1
    environment:
      - SCRUTINY_WEB_LISTEN_PORT=8080
      - SCRUTINY_WEB_LISTEN_HOST=0.0.0.0
    restart: unless-stopped
EOF

# Start Scrutiny
docker-compose up -d

# Check status
docker-compose ps
docker-compose logs scrutiny

    Method 2: Native Installation

    #### RHEL/CentOS/Rocky Linux/AlmaLinux

    bash 
    # Install dependencies
sudo dnf install -y smartmontools wget curl

# Download Scrutiny binary
SCRUTINY_VERSION="0.7.3"  # Check latest version
wget "https://github.com/AnalogJ/scrutiny/releases/download/v${SCRUTINY_VERSION}/scrutiny-web-linux-amd64"
wget "https://github.com/AnalogJ/scrutiny/releases/download/v${SCRUTINY_VERSION}/scrutiny-collector-metrics-linux-amd64"

# Install binaries
sudo mv scrutiny-web-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/scrutiny-web
sudo mv scrutiny-collector-metrics-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/scrutiny-collector-metrics
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/scrutiny-*

# Create scrutiny user
sudo useradd -r -s /bin/false -d /opt/scrutiny scrutiny

# Create directories
sudo mkdir -p /opt/scrutiny/{config,data}
sudo chown -R scrutiny:scrutiny /opt/scrutiny

# Create configuration
sudo tee /opt/scrutiny/config/scrutiny.yaml > /dev/null << 'EOF'
version: 1

web:
  listen:
    port: 8080
    host: 0.0.0.0
  database:
    location: /opt/scrutiny/data/scrutiny.db
  src:
    frontend:
      path: ./dist

log:
  level: INFO
EOF

# Create systemd service
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/scrutiny-web.service > /dev/null << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=Scrutiny Web Dashboard
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=scrutiny
Group=scrutiny
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/scrutiny-web start --config /opt/scrutiny/config/scrutiny.yaml
WorkingDirectory=/opt/scrutiny
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

# Enable and start service
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now scrutiny-web

    #### Debian/Ubuntu

    bash 
    # Update system and install dependencies
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y smartmontools wget curl

# Download and install Scrutiny
SCRUTINY_VERSION="0.7.3"
wget "https://github.com/AnalogJ/scrutiny/releases/download/v${SCRUTINY_VERSION}/scrutiny-web-linux-amd64"
wget "https://github.com/AnalogJ/scrutiny/releases/download/v${SCRUTINY_VERSION}/scrutiny-collector-metrics-linux-amd64"

sudo mv scrutiny-web-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/scrutiny-web
sudo mv scrutiny-collector-metrics-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/scrutiny-collector-metrics
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/scrutiny-*

# Create user and directories
sudo useradd -r -s /bin/false -d /opt/scrutiny scrutiny
sudo mkdir -p /opt/scrutiny/{config,data}
sudo chown -R scrutiny:scrutiny /opt/scrutiny

# Install configuration (same as RHEL above)
# Install systemd service (same as RHEL above)

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now scrutiny-web

    #### Arch Linux

    bash 
    # Install from AUR
yay -S scrutiny-bin

# Or install dependencies and manual setup
sudo pacman -S smartmontools

# Follow manual installation steps
# (Same binary download and setup as above)

    #### Alpine Linux

    bash 
    # Install dependencies
apk add --no-cache smartmontools wget

# Download Scrutiny binaries
SCRUTINY_VERSION="0.7.3"
wget "https://github.com/AnalogJ/scrutiny/releases/download/v${SCRUTINY_VERSION}/scrutiny-web-linux-amd64"
wget "https://github.com/AnalogJ/scrutiny/releases/download/v${SCRUTINY_VERSION}/scrutiny-collector-metrics-linux-amd64"

mv scrutiny-web-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/scrutiny-web
mv scrutiny-collector-metrics-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/scrutiny-collector-metrics
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/scrutiny-*

# Create OpenRC service
tee /etc/init.d/scrutiny-web > /dev/null << 'EOF'
#!/sbin/openrc-run

description="Scrutiny Web Dashboard"
command="/usr/local/bin/scrutiny-web"
command_args="start --config /opt/scrutiny/config/scrutiny.yaml"
command_user="scrutiny"
command_group="scrutiny"
pidfile="/run/scrutiny-web.pid"
command_background="yes"

depend() {
    need net
    after firewall
}

start_pre() {
    checkpath --directory --owner scrutiny:scrutiny --mode 0755 /opt/scrutiny/data
}
EOF

chmod +x /etc/init.d/scrutiny-web
rc-update add scrutiny-web default
rc-service scrutiny-web start

    Method 3: Metrics Collector Setup

    bash 
    # Create collector configuration
sudo tee /opt/scrutiny/config/collector.yaml > /dev/null << 'EOF'
version: 1

host:
  id: ""

api:
  endpoint: "http://localhost:8080"

log:
  level: INFO

commands:
  metrics_scan_interval: 15m
EOF

# Create collector systemd service
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/scrutiny-collector.service > /dev/null << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=Scrutiny Collector
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=root
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/scrutiny-collector-metrics run --config /opt/scrutiny/config/collector.yaml
Restart=always
RestartSec=60

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now scrutiny-collector

    4. Configuration

    Web Dashboard Configuration

    Edit /opt/scrutiny/config/scrutiny.yaml:

    yaml 
    version: 1

web:
  listen:
    port: 8080
    host: 0.0.0.0
  
  database:
    location: /opt/scrutiny/data/scrutiny.db
  
  influxdb:
    host: localhost
    port: 8086
    token: ""
    org: ""
    bucket: "metrics"
    retention_policy: ""

notify:
  urls:
    - "discord://webhook_id/webhook_token"
    - "slack://webhook_url"
    - "smtp://username:password@host:port/?to=user@example.com"

log:
  level: INFO
  file: "/opt/scrutiny/data/web.log"

    Collector Configuration

    Edit /opt/scrutiny/config/collector.yaml:

    yaml 
    version: 1

host:
  id: ""

api:
  endpoint: "http://localhost:8080"

commands:
  metrics_scan_interval: 15m
  
devices:
  include:
    - /dev/sd*
    - /dev/nvme*
  exclude:
    - /dev/loop*
    - /dev/sr*

log:
  level: INFO
  file: "/opt/scrutiny/data/collector.log"

    Notification Setup

    yaml 
    # Discord Webhook
notify:
  urls:
    - "discord://webhook_id/webhook_token?username=Scrutiny"

# Slack Webhook
notify:
  urls:
    - "slack://webhook_url"

# Email SMTP
notify:
  urls:
    - "smtp://user:pass@smtp.gmail.com:587/?to=admin@example.com&subject=Scrutiny%20Alert"

# Multiple notifications
notify:
  urls:
    - "discord://webhook_id/webhook_token"
    - "smtp://user:pass@smtp.gmail.com:587/?to=admin@example.com"

    5. Service Management

    systemd Management

    bash 
    # Web dashboard
sudo systemctl start scrutiny-web
sudo systemctl stop scrutiny-web
sudo systemctl restart scrutiny-web
sudo systemctl status scrutiny-web
sudo systemctl enable scrutiny-web

# Collector
sudo systemctl start scrutiny-collector
sudo systemctl stop scrutiny-collector
sudo systemctl restart scrutiny-collector
sudo systemctl status scrutiny-collector

# View logs
sudo journalctl -u scrutiny-web -f
sudo journalctl -u scrutiny-collector -f

    Docker Management

    bash 
    # Start/stop services
docker-compose up -d
docker-compose down
docker-compose restart

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f scrutiny

# Update to latest version
docker-compose pull
docker-compose up -d

    Manual Operations

    bash 
    # Run one-time disk scan
sudo /usr/local/bin/scrutiny-collector-metrics run --config /opt/scrutiny/config/collector.yaml

# Test SMART data collection
sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda
sudo smartctl -H /dev/nvme0n1

# Force metrics collection
curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/health/notify

    6. Troubleshooting

    Common Issues

    1. No disks detected:

    bash 
    # Check if smartctl can detect disks
sudo smartctl --scan

# Verify disk permissions
ls -la /dev/sd* /dev/nvme*

# Check if disks support SMART
sudo smartctl -i /dev/sda
sudo smartctl -c /dev/sda

    2. Permission errors:

    bash 
    # Ensure scrutiny user has access to disks
sudo usermod -a -G disk scrutiny

# For Docker, check device mapping
docker-compose exec scrutiny smartctl --scan

# Check udev rules
ls -la /run/udev

    3. Web interface not accessible:

    bash 
    # Check if service is running
sudo systemctl status scrutiny-web

# Verify port binding
sudo netstat -tlnp | grep 8080

# Check firewall
sudo firewall-cmd --list-ports
sudo ufw status

    4. Database issues:

    bash 
    # Check database permissions
ls -la /opt/scrutiny/data/scrutiny.db

# Verify SQLite installation
sqlite3 --version

# Check database integrity
sqlite3 /opt/scrutiny/data/scrutiny.db "PRAGMA integrity_check;"

    Debug Mode

    bash 
    # Enable debug logging in configuration
log:
  level: DEBUG

# Run collector manually with debug
sudo /usr/local/bin/scrutiny-collector-metrics run \
    --config /opt/scrutiny/config/collector.yaml \
    --log-level DEBUG

# Check SMART test results
sudo smartctl -l selftest /dev/sda

    7. Security Considerations

    Access Control

    bash 
    # Bind to localhost only (behind reverse proxy)
web:
  listen:
    port: 8080
    host: 127.0.0.1

# Configure reverse proxy with authentication
# nginx example:
location /scrutiny {
    auth_basic "Scrutiny Access";
    auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
}

    Firewall Configuration

    bash 
    # firewalld (RHEL/CentOS)
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=8080/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

# UFW (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo ufw allow 8080/tcp
sudo ufw enable

# iptables
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8080 -j ACCEPT

    File Permissions

    bash 
    # Secure configuration files
sudo chmod 640 /opt/scrutiny/config/*.yaml
sudo chown scrutiny:scrutiny /opt/scrutiny/config/*.yaml

# Secure data directory
sudo chmod 750 /opt/scrutiny/data
sudo chown -R scrutiny:scrutiny /opt/scrutiny/data

    SSL/TLS Setup

    nginx 
    # nginx reverse proxy with SSL
server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name scrutiny.example.com;
    
    ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/certs/scrutiny.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/private/scrutiny.key;
    
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

    8. Performance Tuning

    Collector Optimization

    yaml 
    # Adjust scan intervals based on needs
commands:
  metrics_scan_interval: 30m  # Longer intervals for less load
  
# Exclude unnecessary devices
devices:
  exclude:
    - /dev/loop*
    - /dev/sr*
    - /dev/ram*

    Database Optimization

    bash 
    # Optimize SQLite database
sqlite3 /opt/scrutiny/data/scrutiny.db "VACUUM;"
sqlite3 /opt/scrutiny/data/scrutiny.db "ANALYZE;"

# Set SQLite performance pragmas
sqlite3 /opt/scrutiny/data/scrutiny.db "PRAGMA journal_mode = WAL;"
sqlite3 /opt/scrutiny/data/scrutiny.db "PRAGMA synchronous = NORMAL;"

    System Resource Optimization

    bash 
    # Limit memory usage for Docker
docker-compose.yml:
services:
  scrutiny:
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 512M
        reservations:
          memory: 256M

# CPU limits
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          cpus: '1.0'

    9. Backup and Restore

    Database Backup

    bash 
    #!/bin/bash
# backup-scrutiny-db.sh

BACKUP_DIR="/var/backups/scrutiny"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
DB_PATH="/opt/scrutiny/data/scrutiny.db"

mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

# Stop service for consistent backup
sudo systemctl stop scrutiny-web

# Backup database
sudo cp $DB_PATH $BACKUP_DIR/scrutiny_db_$DATE.db

# Compress backup
gzip $BACKUP_DIR/scrutiny_db_$DATE.db

# Start service
sudo systemctl start scrutiny-web

echo "Database backup completed: $BACKUP_DIR/scrutiny_db_$DATE.db.gz"

    Configuration Backup

    bash 
    #!/bin/bash
# backup-scrutiny-config.sh

BACKUP_DIR="/var/backups/scrutiny"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

# Backup configuration
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/scrutiny_config_$DATE.tar.gz \
    /opt/scrutiny/config/ \
    /etc/systemd/system/scrutiny*.service

echo "Configuration backup completed"

    Automated Backup

    bash 
    # Add to crontab
sudo crontab -e

# Daily database backup at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /opt/scrutiny/scripts/backup-scrutiny-db.sh

# Weekly configuration backup
0 3 * * 0 /opt/scrutiny/scripts/backup-scrutiny-config.sh

    Restore Procedures

    bash 
    # Restore database
sudo systemctl stop scrutiny-web
sudo cp scrutiny_db_backup.db /opt/scrutiny/data/scrutiny.db
sudo chown scrutiny:scrutiny /opt/scrutiny/data/scrutiny.db
sudo systemctl start scrutiny-web

# Restore configuration
sudo tar -xzf scrutiny_config_backup.tar.gz -C /
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart scrutiny-web scrutiny-collector

    10. System Requirements

    Minimum Requirements

  • CPU: 1 core
  • RAM: 512MB
  • Storage: 100MB + metrics storage
  • Disks: SMART-enabled drives
  • CPU: 2+ cores
  • RAM: 1GB+
  • Storage: 1GB+ SSD for database
  • Network: Fast local network for multi-host setup

    • Scaling Guidelines

  • Per disk: ~1MB metrics data per day
  • Retention: Plan storage for historical data
  • Collection frequency: Balance between monitoring granularity and system load

    • 11. Support

    Official Resources

  • GitHub: https://github.com/AnalogJ/scrutiny
  • Documentation: https://github.com/AnalogJ/scrutiny/blob/master/README.md
  • Releases: https://github.com/AnalogJ/scrutiny/releases

    • Community Support

  • GitHub Issues: https://github.com/AnalogJ/scrutiny/issues
  • Discussions: https://github.com/AnalogJ/scrutiny/discussions
  • Reddit: r/selfhosted

    • 12. Contributing

    How to Contribute

    1. Fork the repository on GitHub

    2. Create a feature branch

    3. Submit pull request

    4. Follow Go and Angular coding standards

    5. Include tests and documentation

    Development Setup

    bash 
    # Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/AnalogJ/scrutiny.git
cd scrutiny

# Install dependencies
go mod download
npm install

# Build frontend
npm run build

# Build backend
go build

    13. License

    Scrutiny is licensed under the MIT License.

    Key points:

  • Free to use, modify, and distribute
  • Commercial use allowed
  • No warranty provided
  • Attribution required

    • 14. Acknowledgments

    Credits

  • AnalogJ: Creator and primary developer
  • Community Contributors: Feature development and testing
  • smartmontools: S.M.A.R.T. data collection foundation
  • InfluxDB: Time-series database support

    • 15. Version History

    Recent Releases

  • v0.7.x: Latest stable with enhanced UI
  • v0.6.x: Added notification support
  • v0.5.x: Improved collector architecture

    • Major Features by Version

  • v0.7: Enhanced dashboard, better device detection
  • v0.6: Multiple notification channels
  • v0.5: Collector/dashboard separation

    • 16. Appendices

    A. SMART Attribute Reference

    Common SMART attributes monitored:

  • 01: Read Error Rate
  • 05: Reallocated Sectors Count
  • 09: Power-On Hours
  • 0A: Spin Retry Count
  • 0C: Power Cycle Count
  • C4: Reallocation Event Count
  • C5: Current Pending Sector Count
  • C6: Uncorrectable Sector Count

    • B. API Usage Examples

    bash 
    # Get device list
curl http://localhost:8080/api/devices

# Get device details
curl http://localhost:8080/api/device/{device_id}

# Force metrics collection
curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/device/{device_id}/smart/scan

# Get device smart data
curl http://localhost:8080/api/device/{device_id}/smart

    C. Integration Examples

    #### Prometheus Metrics Export

    yaml 
    # Add to docker-compose.yml
services:
  scrutiny:
    environment:
      - SCRUTINY_WEB_INFLUXDB_INIT_USERNAME=admin
      - SCRUTINY_WEB_INFLUXDB_INIT_PASSWORD=password123
      - SCRUTINY_WEB_INFLUXDB_INIT_ORG=scrutiny
      - SCRUTINY_WEB_INFLUXDB_INIT_BUCKET=metrics

    D. Multi-Host Setup

    yaml 
    # Central collector configuration
api:
  endpoint: "http://scrutiny-central:8080"

# Host-specific collector setup
host:
  id: "storage-server-1"

    ---

    For more information and updates, visit https://github.com/howtomgr/scrutiny

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