Configuration

Radar Collector uses a YAML configuration file. Default location is radar-collector.yml in the current directory. Use --config to specify a different file.

Basic Example

collector:
  id: radar-collector-001
  collection_interval: 60s

server:
  grpc_url: https://grpc.radar.redis.io:443  # Production Radar gRPC endpoint
  api_key: ${RADAR_API_KEY}

deployments:
  - id: redis-local
    name: Local Redis
    type: standalone
    redis_url: redis://localhost:6379

Configuration Sections

collector

Collector settings:

id - Unique collector identifier (required)
hostname - Hostname to report; defaults to system hostname
collection_interval - How often to collect (default: 30s)
health_report_interval - Health report interval (default: 60s)
log_level - Optional log level override
labels - Key-value labels (e.g., env: production)
output_directory - Directory for offline collections (default: /var/radar/collections)
redact - Enable/disable redaction globally for collected data (default: true)
remote_config - Remote-managed configuration settings (see below)

remote_config

Controls whether the collector pulls deployment configuration from the Radar server:

enabled - Enable remote config (default: true)
mode - Config mode: managed or local (default: managed)
managed_secrets - Whether remote config includes secrets (default: true)
poll_interval - How often to poll for config changes (default: 30s)

server

Server connection:

grpc_url - Radar server gRPC endpoint (required)
api_key - Authentication key (required). Generate an API key from the Radar dashboard under Settings > Access Keys.
timeout - Request timeout (default: 30s)

deployments

List of Redis databases/clusters to monitor. Each deployment needs:

id - Unique identifier (required)
name - Display name (required)
type - Deployment type (required)
collection - Optional per-deployment collection settings:
- interval - Collection interval override (default: 30s)
- retry_on_failure - Retry failed collections (default: true)
- max_retries - Maximum retry attempts (default: 3)
- timeout - Collection timeout (default: 30s)

Type-specific fields vary. See Deployment Types for details.

Environment Variables

The collector supports two types of environment variable usage:

1. YAML Interpolation (Recommended)

Use ${VAR} or ${VAR:-default} syntax directly in your YAML configuration file. These are expanded when the configuration file is loaded:

server:
  api_key: "${MY_API_KEY}"
  grpc_url: "${RADAR_SERVER:-https://grpc.radar.redis.io:443}"

deployments:
  - id: redis-prod
    name: Production Redis
    type: standalone
    redis_url: "redis://${REDIS_HOST}:${REDIS_PORT}"
    credentials:
      password: "${REDIS_PASSWORD}"

Syntax:

${VAR} - Required variable (fails if not set)
${VAR:-default} - Use default if VAR is unset or empty
${VAR-default} - Use default if VAR is unset (empty string is valid)

Important: Only ${VAR} (braced) syntax is expanded. Bare $VAR is NOT expanded, allowing literal $ characters in values (e.g., passwords like my$ecret).

When to use which:

Use :- when empty values should fall back to default
Use - when empty is a valid value (e.g., Redis with no password: ${REDIS_PASSWORD-})

2. Runtime Overrides

Environment variables can also override configuration values after the YAML is parsed. See Configuration Schema for the complete list of supported override variables.

Radar Collector supports browser-based activation via the connect subcommand. When no API key or stored credential is found, the collector can automatically start the activation flow. See Command Line Options for details.

Radar Collector Documentation