# Quick Start 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), from [Docker hub](https://hub.docker.com/r/victoriametrics/victoria-metrics/) or [build it from sources](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/wiki/Single-server-VictoriaMetrics#how-to-build-from-sources). 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 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. * `-retentionPeriod` - data retention. 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. It is recommended setting up [VictoriaMetrics monitoring](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/blob/master/README.md#monitoring). 3. Configure [vmagent](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/blob/master/app/vmagent/README.md) or Prometheus to write data to VictoriaMetrics. It is recommended to use `vmagent` instead of Prometheus, since it is more resource efficient. If you still prefer Prometheus, then see [these instructions](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/wiki/Single-server-VictoriaMetrics#prometheus-setup) for details on how to configure Prometheus. 4. Configure Grafana to query VictoriaMetrics instead of Prometheus. See [these instructions](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/wiki/Single-server-VictoriaMetrics#grafana-setup). There is also [cluster version](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/tree/cluster) and [SaaS playground](https://play.victoriametrics.com/signIn).