---
title: Manage Telegraf agents
description: Use Telegraf Controller to monitor the Telegraf agents that report through the heartbeat output plugin, view their details, and manage reporting rules.
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/telegraf/controller/agents/
estimated_tokens: 1294
product: Telegraf
version: v1
---

# Manage Telegraf agents

#### Telegraf Controller is in Public Beta

Telegraf Controller is in public beta and will be part of the future Telegraf Enterprise offering. While in beta, Telegraf Controller is **not meant for production use**. The Telegraf Controller documentation is a work in progress, and we are actively working to improve it. If you have any questions or suggestions, please [submit an issue](https://github.com/influxdata/docs-v2/issues/new?labels=Telegraf%20Controller). We welcome any and all contributions.

Beta expectations

-   **No configuration or agent limits**  
    While in beta, Telegraf Controller doesn't place any limits on the number of configurations you can store or the number of Telegraf agents you can track. However, upon being generally available, the free distribution of Telegraf Controller will have limits introduced, with the option to increase limits through a Telegraf Enterprise license.
-   **Potential breaking changes**  
    While in beta, we will do our best to no longer make breaking changes to Telegraf Controller, however, they may be necessary. The majority of changes we make will be additive and non-breaking, and include any necessary migrations. When we do need to make breaking changes, we will do our best to communicate them clearly and in advance to minimize disruption.
-   **Flexible release schedule**  
    While in beta, we will continue to create new releases of Telegraf Controller, but likely at irregular intervals. We will provide [Telegraf Controller release notes](/telegraf/controller/reference/release-notes/) to make it easy to track updates.

Provide beta feedback

-   Use the **Feedback** feature in the Telegraf Controller UI.
-   [Join the InfluxDB Community Slack](https://influxdata.com/slack) and post feedback in the **#telegraf-enterprise-alpha** channel.
-   Post feedback in the [InfluxData Community](https://community.influxdata.com).

Join our public channels

-   [InfluxDB Community Slack *(Preferred)*](https://influxdata.com/slack)
-   [InfluxData Community](https://community.influxdata.com)
-   [InfluxDB Subreddit](https://reddit.com/r/influxdb)

Telegraf Controller tracks agents that send heartbeats through the Telegraf heartbeat output plugin. Each heartbeat includes a unique `instance_id` (also called “agent ID”) so Controller can distinguish one agent from another.

-   Telegraf Controller automatically creates agents the first time a heartbeat arrives from a unique agent.
-   Click the **More button (⋮)** in the agent list and select **View Details** to see information and reporting history for an agent.
-   Reporting rules define how long an agent can go without sending a heartbeat before Controller marks it as **Not Reporting**. They can also automatically delete agents that haven’t reported in a specified amount of time.
-   You can assign a reporting rule from the agent list or an agent details page.

## [Create agents](/telegraf/controller/agents/create/)

Learn how Telegraf Controller creates agents from heartbeat plugin reports and how to verify new agents in the UI.

## [Define agent reporting rules](/telegraf/controller/agents/reporting-rules/)

Define reporting rules that determine when Telegraf Controller marks agents as not reporting and optionally automatically delete not reporting agents.

## [Set agent statuses](/telegraf/controller/agents/status/)

Configure agent status evaluation using CEL expressions in the Telegraf heartbeat output plugin and view statuses in Telegraf Controller.

## [Delete agents](/telegraf/controller/agents/delete/)

Remove individual or multiple Telegraf agents from Telegraf Controller.