Install .NET agent for Linux

This document explains how to install and enable the New Relic APM .NET agent on Linux.

Install overview

The install instructions in this document are for a standard .NET agent installation on Linux. However, some setups have specific install documentation that you should read first:

• ASP.NET Core
• Azure installations
• NuGet install
• Docker container install

Step 1. Download and install the agent

To install the .NET agent on a Linux system with a package manager:

1. Install the agent. These details are the same for all installations using a package manager:

   • Install location: /usr/local/newrelic-netcore20-agent.
   • The file newrelic-netcore20-agent-path.sh is placed in /etc/profile.d, and this will set the CORECLR_NEWRELIC_HOME environment variable on system start.
   • The path to newrelic.config file is ${CORECLR_NEWRELIC_HOME}/newrelic.config.

2. Follow the instructions for your package manager:

   Install with apt (Debian, Linux Mint, or Ubuntu)

   1. Configure the New Relic apt repository by adding deb http://apt.newrelic.com/debian/ newrelic non-free to /etc/apt/sources.list.d/newrelic.list:

      echo 'deb http://apt.newrelic.com/debian/ newrelic non-free' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/newrelic.list
      

   2. Enable New Relic's GPG key to allow apt to find New Relic packages. To avoid possible errors about public keys, run this command as root:

      wget -O- https://download.newrelic.com/548C16BF.gpg | sudo apt-key add -

   3. Update the local package list:

      sudo apt-get update

   4. Install the agent:

      sudo apt-get install newrelic-netcore20-agent

   Install with dpkg (Debian, Linux Mint, or Ubuntu)

   1. Go to the .NET agent download site and copy the URL that corresponds to your architecture and to the latest newrelic-netcore20-agent package.

   2. Download the package with wget, replacing https://LINK_TO_PACKAGE with the full URL of the package:

      wget -L https://LINK_TO_PACKAGE

   3. Install the agent, replacing VERSION with the current version:

      sudo dpkg -i newrelic-netcore20-agent_VERSION_amd64.deb

   Install with rpm or yum (CentOS, Oracle Linux, or RHEL)

   1. Configure the New Relic rpm repository:

      sudo rpm -Uvh http://yum.newrelic.com/pub/newrelic/el5/x86_64/newrelic-repo-5-3.noarch.rpm
      cat << REPO | sudo tee "/etc/yum.repos.d/newrelic-netcore20-agent.repo"
      [newrelic-netcore20-agent-repo]
      name=New Relic .NET Core packages for Enterprise Linux
      baseurl=http://yum.newrelic.com/pub/newrelic/el7/\$basearch
      enabled=1
      gpgcheck=1
      gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-NewRelic
      REPO
             

   2. Install the agent, replacing VERSION with the current version:

      • Install with rpm:

        sudo rpm -i newrelic-netcore20-agent_VERSION.x86_64.rpm

      • Install with yum:

        sudo yum install newrelic-netcore20-agent

   Install with tarball

   1. Go to the .NET agent download site and copy the URL that corresponds to your architecture and to the latest newrelic-netcore20-agent-VERSION.tar.gz package.

   2. Download the package with wget, replacing https://LINK_TO_PACKAGE with the full URL of the package:

      wget -L https://LINK_TO_PACKAGE

   3. Extract the agent:

      tar xzf newrelic*.tar.gz

   4. Move the newrelic-netcore20-agent directory to /usr/local or your preferred install location.

   5. Verify that the environment variable CORECLR_NEWRELIC_HOME points to the newrelic-netcore20-agent directory and that the directory is readable by monitored .NET processes.

      If CORECLR_NEWRELIC_HOME does not exist, create it and point it to the newrelic-netcore20-agent directory.

   6. Verify that the logs directory in the agent home directory is writeable by monitored .NET processes.

Continue to step 2.

Step 2. Enable the agent

Use one of the following methods to set the environment variables that enable the agent and define your license key. For an ASP.NET Core app targeting .NET Core, use the environment variable method.

Set environment variables manually

You can configure your environment using a custom script. The script must define the variables before your app starts.

New Relic recommends that you set the environment variables for each application that you want to instrument. If you set these environment variables globally, you might instrument .NET processes other than your apps.

1. Set the following environment variables, replacing PATH_TO_AGENT_DIRECTORY with the actual path to the .NET Core agent installation folder:

   CORECLR_ENABLE_PROFILING=1
   CORECLR_PROFILER={36032161-FFC0-4B61-B559-F6C5D41BAE5A}
   CORECLR_NEWRELIC_HOME=PATH_TO_AGENT_DIRECTORY
   CORECLR_PROFILER_PATH="PATH_TO_AGENT_DIRECTORY/libNewRelicProfiler.so"

2. Use one of the following methods to set your license key (required) and your app name (optional):

   • Set via environment variable:

     NEW_RELIC_LICENSE_KEY=YOUR_LICENSE_KEY
     NEW_RELIC_APP_NAME=YOUR_APP_NAME

   • Set in newrelic.config with the licenseKey and name elements.

Start your app with run.sh

1. Use run.sh to start your app. For example:

   $CORECLR_NEWRELIC_HOME/run.sh dotnet MYAPP.dll

2. Use one of the following methods to set your license key (required) and your app name (optional):
   • Set via environment variable:

     NEW_RELIC_LICENSE_KEY=YOUR_LICENSE_KEY
     NEW_RELIC_APP_NAME=YOUR_APP_NAME

   • Set in newrelic.config with the licenseKey and name elements.

Setup using setenv.sh

Except for CORECLR_NEWRELIC_HOME, the source /usr/local/newrelic-netcore20-agent/setenv.sh script included with the agent configures the environment variables automatically.

Set these environment variables before running any apps that you want instrumented. This sets the environment variables only for the current shell and any child processes of that shell.

1. Set the CORECLR_NEWRELIC_HOME environment variable to the .NET agent installation directory.

2. Use one of the following methods to set your license key (required) and your app name (optional):

   • Set via environment variable:

     NEW_RELIC_LICENSE_KEY=YOUR_LICENSE_KEY
     NEW_RELIC_APP_NAME=YOUR_APP_NAME

   • Set in newrelic.config with the licenseKey and name elements.
3. Run the setenv.sh script located in the directory that you installed the agent in.

When that is complete, start or restart your application.

If your application is receiving traffic, data should appear within a few minutes. If it doesn't, see No data appears.

For an in-depth explanation of .NET agent install issues, see the New Relic Explorer's Hub post .NET agent install for .NET Core: a troubleshooting guide.

For more help