Environment variables in PMM¶

Configure PMM Server by setting Docker container environment variables using the -e var=value syntax:

docker run -e PMM_DATA_RETENTION=720h -e PMM_DEBUG=true percona/pmm-server:3

Core configuration variables¶

Performance & storage¶

Variable	Default	Description	Example
`PMM_DATA_RETENTION`	`30d`	Duration to retain metrics data. Must be in multiples of 24h.	`720h` (30 days)
`PMM_METRICS_RESOLUTION`	`1s`	Base metrics collection interval	`5s`
`PMM_METRICS_RESOLUTION_HR`	`5s`	High-resolution metrics interval	`10s`
`PMM_METRICS_RESOLUTION_MR`	`10s`	Medium-resolution metrics interval	`30s`
`PMM_METRICS_RESOLUTION_LR`	`60s`	Low-resolution metrics interval	`300s`

Feature flags¶

Variable	Default	Effect when enabled
`PMM_ENABLE_UPDATES`	`true`	Allows version checks and UI updates
`PMM_ENABLE_TELEMETRY`	`true`	Enables usage data collection
`PMM_ENABLE_ALERTING`	`true`	Enables Percona Alerting system
`PMM_ENABLE_BACKUP_MANAGEMENT`	`true`	Enables backup features
`PMM_ENABLE_AZURE_DISCOVER`	`false`	Enables Azure database discovery

Debugging¶

Variable	Default	Purpose
`PMM_DEBUG`	`false`	Enables verbose logging
`PMM_TRACE`	`false`	Enables detailed trace logging

Advanced configuration¶

Networking¶

Variable	Description
`PMM_PUBLIC_ADDRESS`	External DNS/IP for PMM server
`PMM_INTERFACE_TO_BIND`	Network interface binding

Database connections¶

Variable	Purpose
`PMM_CLICKHOUSE_*`	ClickHouse connection settings
`PMM_POSTGRES_*`	PostgreSQL connection settings

Supported external variables¶

Grafana: All GF_* variables
VictoriaMetrics: All VM_* variables
Kubernetes: All KUBERNETES_* variables
System: Standard variables like HOME, PATH, etc.

Variables for migrating from PMM v2 to PMM v3¶

When migrating from PMM v2 to PMM v3, you’ll need to update your environment variables to match the new naming convention. This is because PMM v3 introduces several important changes to improve consistency and clarity:

environment variables now use PMM_ prefix
some boolean flags reversed (e.g., DISABLE_ → ENABLE_)
removed deprecated variables

Examples¶

# PMM v2
-e DISABLE_UPDATES=true -e DATA_RETENTION=720h

# PMM v3 equivalent
-e PMM_ENABLE_UPDATES=false -e PMM_DATA_RETENTION=720h

Migration reference table¶

Click to expand migration reference table

Configuration variables¶

PMM 2	PMM 3	Comments
`DATA_RETENTION`	`PMM_DATA_RETENTION`
`DISABLE_ALERTING`	`PMM_ENABLE_ALERTING`
`DISABLE_UPDATES`	`PMM_ENABLE_UPDATES`
`DISABLE_TELEMETRY`	`PMM_ENABLE_TELEMETRY`
`DISABLE_BACKUP_MANAGEMENT`	`PMM_ENABLE_BACKUP_MANAGEMENT`	Note the reverted boolean
`ENABLE_AZUREDISCOVER`	`PMM_ENABLE_AZURE_DISCOVER`
`ENABLE_RBAC`	`PMM_ENABLE_ACCESS_CONTROL`
`LESS_LOG_NOISE`		Removed in PMM v3

Metrics configuration¶

PMM 2	PMM 3
`METRICS_RESOLUTION`	`PMM_METRICS_RESOLUTION`
`METRICS_RESOLUTION_HR`	`PMM_METRICS_RESOLUTION_HR`
`METRICS_RESOLUTION_LR`	`PMM_METRICS_RESOLUTION_LR`
`METRICS_RESOLUTION_MR`	`PMM_METRICS_RESOLUTION_MR`

ClickHouse configuration¶

PMM 2	PMM 3	Comments
`PERCONA_TEST_PMM_CLICKHOUSE_ADDR`	`PMM_CLICKHOUSE_ADDR`
`PERCONA_TEST_PMM_CLICKHOUSE_DATABASE`	`PMM_CLICKHOUSE_DATABASE`
`PERCONA_TEST_PMM_CLICKHOUSE_DATASOURCE`	`PMM_CLICKHOUSE_DATASOURCE`
`PERCONA_TEST_PMM_CLICKHOUSE_HOST`	`PMM_CLICKHOUSE_HOST`
`PERCONA_TEST_PMM_CLICKHOUSE_PORT`	`PMM_CLICKHOUSE_PORT`
`PERCONA_TEST_PMM_DISABLE_BUILTIN_CLICKHOUSE`	`PMM_DISABLE_BUILTIN_CLICKHOUSE`
`PERCONA_TEST_PMM_CLICKHOUSE_BLOCK_SIZE`		Removed in PMM v3, new version
`PERCONA_TEST_PMM_CLICKHOUSE_POOL_SIZE`		Removed in PMM v3, new version

PostgreSQL configuration¶

PMM 2	PMM 3
`PERCONA_TEST_POSTGRES_ADDR`	`PMM_POSTGRES_ADDR`
`PERCONA_TEST_POSTGRES_DBNAME`	`PMM_POSTGRES_DBNAME`
`PERCONA_TEST_POSTGRES_USERNAME`	`PMM_POSTGRES_USERNAME`
`PERCONA_TEST_POSTGRES_DBPASSWORD`	`PMM_POSTGRES_DBPASSWORD`
`PERCONA_TEST_POSTGRES_SSL_CA_PATH`	`PMM_POSTGRES_SSL_CA_PATH`
`PERCONA_TEST_POSTGRES_SSL_CERT_PATH`	`PMM_POSTGRES_SSL_CERT_PATH`
`PERCONA_TEST_POSTGRES_SSL_KEY_PATH`	`PMM_POSTGRES_SSL_KEY_PATH`
`PERCONA_TEST_POSTGRES_SSL_MODE`	`PMM_POSTGRES_SSL_MODE`
`PERCONA_TEST_PMM_DISABLE_BUILTIN_POSTGRES`	`PMM_DISABLE_BUILTIN_POSTGRES`

Telemetry & development¶

PMM 2	PMM 3
`PMM_TEST_TELEMETRY_DISABLE_SEND`	`PMM_DEV_TELEMETRY_DISABLE_SEND`
`PERCONA_TEST_TELEMETRY_DISABLE_START_DELAY`	`PMM_DEV_TELEMETRY_DISABLE_START_DELAY`
`PMM_TEST_TELEMETRY_FILE`	`PMM_DEV_TELEMETRY_FILE`
`PERCONA_TEST_TELEMETRY_HOST`	`PMM_DEV_TELEMETRY_HOST`
`PERCONA_TEST_TELEMETRY_INTERVAL`	`PMM_DEV_TELEMETRY_INTERVAL`
`PERCONA_TEST_TELEMETRY_RETRY_BACKOFF`	`PMM_DEV_TELEMETRY_RETRY_BACKOFF`
`PERCONA_TEST_VERSION_SERVICE_URL`	`PMM_DEV_VERSION_SERVICE_URL`
`PERCONA_TEST_STARLARK_ALLOW_RECURSION`	`PMM_DEV_ADVISOR_STARLARK_ALLOW_RECURSION`

Removed variables¶

PMM 2	PMM 3	Comments
`PERCONA_TEST_AUTH_HOST`		Removed, use `PMM_DEV_PERCONA_PLATFORM_ADDRESS`
`PERCONA_TEST_CHECKS_HOST`		Removed, use `PMM_DEV_PERCONA_PLATFORM_ADDRESS`
`PERCONA_TEST_CHECKS_INTERVAL`		Removed, not used
`PERCONA_TEST_CHECKS_PUBLIC_KEY`		Removed, use `PMM_DEV_PERCONA_PLATFORM_PUBLIC_KEY`
`PERCONA_TEST_NICER_API`		Removed in PMM v3
`PERCONA_TEST_SAAS_HOST`		Removed, use `PMM_DEV_PERCONA_PLATFORM_ADDRESS`

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