# How Do I Disable Process Name Collection in My Metrics Agent? Our [metrics agent](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/monitoring/index.html.md) collects the names of active system processes running on your Droplet. For example, it may detect processes like `nginx`, `docker`, or `postgres`. This information helps us understand common workloads and improve overall platform performance. The agent does not collect the contents of files, environment variables, or process arguments, only the names of the running processes. You can choose to disable process name collection for privacy or compliance reasons. If you disable this process, the agent stops collecting process name data from your Droplet. Any data collected before opting out is retained and is not deleted automatically. If you want previously collected data removed, contact [support](https://cloudsupport.digitalocean.com). ## Disable Process Name Collection To disable process name collection, open the [**DigitalOcean Control Panel Droplet** page](https://cloud.digitalocean.com/droplets), then find the Droplet you want to modify. On the right of the Droplet, click the **More** menu, and then click **Access Console** to open your Droplet’s web console as a `root` user. Then, click **Launch Droplet Console** to open the web console. ### Check Which Init System Your Droplet Uses Before you begin, check which init system your Droplet uses. It is either `systemctl` or `initctl`. Since the metrics agent runs as a background service, disabling process name collection means changing how the service starts. Each init system manages services differently, so updating the agent’s start command depends on which one your system uses. To check which init system your Droplet uses, run the following command: ```shell command -v systemctl ``` If the command returns a path (for example, `/bin/systemctl`), [your system uses `systemctl`](#systemctl). If it returns nothing, [your system uses `initctl`](#initctl). ### Update `systemctl` System Configuration File On operating systems with `systemctl` (such as Ubuntu 16.04+, Debian, CentOS 7+, and Fedora), you can disable process name collection by updating the metrics agent service configuration. First, run this `sed` command to update the `ExecStart` line in the agent’s systemd unit file: ```shell sed -i 's%ExecStart=/opt/digitalocean/bin/do-agent%ExecStart=/opt/digitalocean/bin/do-agent --no-collector.processes%' /etc/systemd/system/do-agent.service ``` This command adds the `--no-collector.processes` flag to the agent’s systemd service file, which disables process name collection when the agent starts. To ensure that your Droplet recognizes the changes you made to the service file, reload systemd: ```shell sudo systemctl daemon-reload ``` Then, restart your metrics agent so that it uses the new configuration: ```shell sudo systemctl restart do-agent ``` ### Update `initctl` System Configuration File On operating systems with `initctl` (such as Ubuntu 14.04 or CentOS 6.9), you need to update the agent’s Upstart config file directly. Unlike `systemctl`, which allows you to edit the config while the service is running, `initctl` requires you to stop the service before editing the config file to avoid conflicts. To stop running the metrics agent, use the following command: ```shell sudo initctl stop do-agent ``` Then, edit the Upstart config file using a `sed` command: ```shell sed -i 's%exec su -s /bin/sh -c \x27exec \"$0\" \"$@\"\x27 do-agent -- /opt/digitalocean/bin/do-agent --syslog%exec su -s /bin/sh -c \x27exec \"$0\" \"$@\"\x27 do-agent -- /opt/digitalocean/bin/do-agent --syslog --no-collector.processes%' /etc/init/do-agent.conf ``` This command appends the `--no-collector.processes` flag to the `exec` line to disable process name collection in the Upstart config file. The `exec` command outlines the exact command the system executes to start the metrics agent process. To ensure that your Droplet recognizes the changes you made to the Upstart config file, reload your Upstart config file: ```shell sudo initctl reload-configuration ``` Then, restart your metrics agent so that it uses the new configuration: ```shell sudo initctl start do-agent ``` ### Verify That Process Name Collection Is Disabled To verify that process name collection is disabled after updating your agent’s config file, check the agent’s runtime arguments or log output. First, check that the `--no-collector.processes` flag appears in the agent’s running process: ```shell ps aux | grep do-agent ``` If you see a similar line like below, the agent is running with process name collection disabled. ```text /opt/digitalocean/bin/do-agent --no-collector.processes ``` You can also check the agent logs to confirm the flag is active. For systems using `systemctl`, run this command to see agent logs: ```shell journalctl -u do-agent ``` For systems using `initctl`, run this command to see agent logs: ```shell cat /var/log/upstart/do-agent.log ``` In either case, look for confirmation that the agent started with the `--no-collector.processes` flag, and make sure there are no logs mentioning the `processes` collector. For example, you might see a log entry, like this: ```text Starting do-agent: /opt/digitalocean/bin/do-agent --no-collector.processes ``` This confirms that the agent is running with process name collection disabled. If the disabled flag is missing or the logs still reference the `processes` collector, [repeat the disabling process](#disable-process-name-collection) or contact [support](https://cloudsupport.digitalocean.com) for help. ## Related Topics [Why are my alerts not working my Droplets?](https://docs.digitalocean.com/support/why-are-my-alerts-not-working-my-droplets/index.html.md): You must install the DigitalOcean metrics agent to enable alerts for your Droplets. [How can I allowlist the DigitalOcean metrics agent with my firewall?](https://docs.digitalocean.com/support/how-can-i-allowlist-the-digitalocean-metrics-agent-with-my-firewall/index.html.md): Configure your firewall to allow outgoing traffic through ports 80 and 443.