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An XDA Developers contributor reports replacing Uptime Kuma and Beszel with Pulse, which brings uptime and host monitoring for Proxmox and other systems into one tool. Pulse also offers an assistant that can query monitoring data through local LLMs, though the account is a personal setup report, not an independent product evaluation.
Pulse, a monitoring tool used by an XDA Developers contributor, has replaced Uptime Kuma and Beszel in the writer’s home-lab setup, combining checks on Proxmox virtual machines, containers and host systems with an assistant that can query monitoring data using local LLMs. The account describes one user’s experience; it does not establish comparative performance across deployments.
The contributor said Uptime Kuma had tracked service uptime, while Beszel was needed separately to inspect host statistics. Pulse brought those functions together in the writer’s setup. Once paired with a Proxmox node, it pulled information about virtual guests without requiring the writer to enter each guest’s IP address and credentials into Pulse’s web interface. The reported metrics include CPU, memory, storage, network and uptime.
The same setup uses Pulse to monitor Proxmox host resource use, temperatures, logs and hardware details, including across standalone and clustered systems. The writer also reported using Pulse with Proxmox Backup Server to view snapshot history for virtual machines and containers, and with TrueNAS for storage pools, datasets and replication metrics. Older Ubuntu Server machines running Docker were also included for uptime and resource monitoring.
Pulse supports notifications through Apprise and SMTP, according to the account, and offers scheduled automated scans under Pulse Patrol. The contributor said the free version imposes a one-hour cooldown between scans, allowing up to 24 scans a day. Alert thresholds can be adjusted, which the writer used to reduce false positives. The account also lists support for Proxmox Mail Gateway, VMware ESXi and Unraid, although the contributor said those platforms were not part of their own routine use.
One View Across Home-Lab Systems
For people running a home lab, combining service uptime, machine health and virtualization metrics can reduce the need to maintain separate monitoring dashboards. The contributor’s experience suggests Pulse can gather data from several systems through their respective integrations, rather than treating each virtual guest as an isolated endpoint. That may make it easier to spot whether a service outage coincides with a host resource problem, although the article does not provide a controlled comparison with other monitoring tools.
The local-model option is relevant to users who want AI-assisted troubleshooting without sending server statistics to an external provider. The writer connected a llama.cpp server through Pulse’s OpenAI provider configuration and used different local models for detailed questions and simpler queries. This is a reported configuration, not a guarantee that all local models will give accurate diagnoses. Pulse’s assistant can also be configured to run fixes automatically, but the writer said they do not allow it to execute commands without supervision.
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From Uptime Checks to AI Queries
The contributor described running dozens of services across workstations and using other open-source tools for identity management and notifications. In that environment, Uptime Kuma served as an uptime monitor, while Beszel supplied host statistics. Pulse appealed as a possible single replacement after the writer heard it worked well with Proxmox.
Beyond Proxmox, the account describes a mix of backup, storage and container hosts. Pulse’s assistant can access data collected by its monitoring functions and includes an MCP adapter for pairing with Claude and other external applications, the writer said. That combination is intended to let an AI system draw on observed server metrics when responding to queries, rather than relying only on information supplied in a prompt.
“Pulse can keep tabs on all my server nodes”
— XDA Developers contributor
home lab server monitoring software
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Limits of the Personal Test
The account does not include independent testing, benchmark results, or a detailed comparison of Pulse’s detection accuracy against Uptime Kuma, Beszel or other monitoring products. It also does not quantify setup time, resource use, false-positive rates or how the tool performs across larger deployments. Compatibility is described from the contributor’s experience and from Pulse’s listed platform support; the writer did not personally test every supported system.
The article also does not establish how the assistant handles every model or integration, or how reliably it identifies and resolves incidents. Access controls, data handling and safeguards for automatic fixes are not examined in detail. Results from local models may depend on the model, hardware, configuration and quality of the monitoring data available to Pulse.
local LLM AI troubleshooting assistant
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Test Before Enabling Automatic Fixes
The contributor’s account presents Pulse as an active part of a personal monitoring setup, rather than announcing a new release or a forthcoming product milestone. Readers considering a similar setup would need to check Pulse’s current platform integrations, notification options and scan limits against their own systems. The article gives no date for a next update or product change.
For AI-assisted operations, the practical next step is to evaluate queries against real monitoring data while keeping command execution under human review. The writer’s approach is to use the assistant to retrieve metrics and discuss problems, but not to authorize automatic commands. Whether Pulse fits another home lab will depend on its systems, chosen models and tolerance for automated actions.
Source: XDA Developers
network and server uptime monitoring
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Key Questions
What does Pulse monitor in the reported setup?
The contributor used Pulse for Proxmox virtual guests and hosts, Proxmox Backup Server, TrueNAS storage and Ubuntu Server machines running Docker. The account also describes platform support beyond systems the writer personally used.
Why did the contributor replace Uptime Kuma and Beszel?
Uptime Kuma handled service uptime, while Beszel supplied host statistics. The writer said Pulse combined monitoring functions they had previously split between those tools.
Can Pulse use local language models?
The contributor connected a local llama.cpp server through Pulse’s OpenAI provider configuration. They reported using different models for more detailed troubleshooting and simpler questions.
Does Pulse automatically repair server problems?
The account says Pulse includes an option for automatic fixes, but the contributor said they do not let AI models run commands automatically. The article does not independently assess the feature’s safeguards or reliability.
Source: XDA Developers
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