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# Quick Start
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1. If you run Ubuntu, then just run `snap install victoriametrics` command in order to install and start VictoriaMetrics, then read [these docs ](https://snapcraft.io/victoriametrics ).
Otherwise download the latest VictoriaMetrics release from [releases page ](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/releases ),
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from [Docker hub ](https://hub.docker.com/r/victoriametrics/victoria-metrics/ )
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or [build it from sources ](https://victoriametrics.github.io/Single-server-VictoriaMetrics.html#how-to-build-from-sources ).
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2. This step isn't needed if you run VictoriaMetrics via `snap install victoriametrics` as described above.
Otherwise run the binary or Docker image with the desired command-line flags. Pass `-help` in order to see description for all the available flags
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and their default values. Default flag values should fit the majoirty of cases. The minimum required flags to configure are:
* `-storageDataPath` - path to directory where VictoriaMetrics stores all the data.
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* `-retentionPeriod` - data retention.
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For instance:
`./victoria-metrics-prod -storageDataPath=/var/lib/victoria-metrics-data -retentionPeriod=3`
See [these instructions ](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/43 ) in order to configure VictoriaMetrics as OS service.
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It is recommended setting up [VictoriaMetrics monitoring ](https://victoriametrics.github.io/Single-server-VictoriaMetrics.html#monitoring ).
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3. Configure [vmagent ](https://victoriametrics.github.io/vmagent.html ) or Prometheus to write data to VictoriaMetrics.
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It is recommended to use `vmagent` instead of Prometheus, since it is more resource efficient. If you still prefer Prometheus, then
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see [these instructions ](https://victoriametrics.github.io/Single-server-VictoriaMetrics.html#prometheus-setup )
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for details on how to configure Prometheus.
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4. Configure Grafana to query VictoriaMetrics instead of Prometheus.
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See [these instructions ](https://victoriametrics.github.io/Single-server-VictoriaMetrics.html#grafana-setup ).
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There is also [cluster version ](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/tree/cluster ) and [SaaS playground ](https://play.victoriametrics.com/signIn ).
