How to Install Datadog on CentOS Stream 10 — Step-by-Step Guide

Datadog is a leading observability and monitoring platform that helps DevOps teams track infrastructure performance, logs, traces, and application metrics from one unified dashboard. To collect host-level metrics and send them to Datadog, you need to install the Datadog Agent on your server. This article covers everything you need to install Datadog on CentOS Stream 10, including prerequisites, configuration, and verification. Whether you’re a sysadmin, DevOps engineer, or IT operations professional, this guide ensures a smooth setup process. The Datadog overview article has been covered on Datadog: The Complete Guide to Modern Monitoring and Observability (2025 Edition) article.

Why Install Datadog on CentOS Stream 10?

Monitoring is crucial for system stability, performance troubleshooting, and resource optimization. With the Datadog Agent installed on your CentOS Stream 10 server, you can:

• Collect system metrics (CPU, memory, disk, network)
• Forward logs and traces to Datadog
• Integrate with applications and services
• Visualize performance trends in real time

Datadog supports many Linux distributions, including CentOS-based systems, making it ideal for enterprise environments.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure the following:

1. A running CentOS Stream 10 system with sudo privileges.
2. Internet access to download packages from Datadog’s repositories.
3. Datadog API Key — generated from the Datadog web console. You’ll need this to associate the agent with your Datadog account.

Step 1 — Update System Packages

Always start by updating your system to the latest package versions:

sudo dnf update -y

Updating ensures compatibility with the latest agent versions and security fixes.

Step 2 — Add the Datadog Yum Repository

To install the Datadog Agent using the package manager, create a yum repository file:

sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/datadog.repo <<EOF

[datadog]

name = Datadog, Inc. baseurl = https://yum.datadoghq.com/stable/7/x86_64/ enabled = 1 gpgcheck = 1 repo_gpgcheck = 1 gpgkey=https://keys.datadoghq.com/DATADOG_RPM_KEY_CURRENT.public EOF

This repository points to Datadog’s stable RPM packages for Red Hat and CentOS systems. ([CloudZ Document Center][3])

Step 3 — Install the Datadog Agent

Now that the repository is available, install the agent:

sudo yum makecache
sudo yum install datadog-agent -y

This command pulls the latest supported agent package and all necessary dependencies.

Step 4 — Configure the Datadog Agent

The main configuration file is located at:

/etc/datadog-agent/datadog.yaml

Make a backup of the example configuration:

sudo cp /etc/datadog-agent/datadog.yaml.example /etc/datadog-agent/datadog.yaml

Then edit the file:

sudo nano /etc/datadog-agent/datadog.yaml

Find and update these values:

• api_key — replace with your Datadog API key
• site — default is datadoghq.com, change if using a different region

Example:

api_key: YOUR_DATADOG_API_KEY
site: datadoghq.com

Save and exit the editor. ([CloudZ Document Center][3])

Step 5 — Start and Enable the Datadog Agent

After configuration, start the agent and ensure it runs on boot:

sudo systemctl enable datadog-agent
sudo systemctl start datadog-agent

Verify the service status:

sudo systemctl status datadog-agent

A running status confirms the agent is active. ([Datadog][2])

Step 6 — Verify Installation

To check whether the agent is correctly reporting to Datadog, run:

sudo datadog-agent status

This command displays details about the agent, including incoming metrics, enabled integrations, and connection status. If everything reports correctly, your CentOS Stream 10 host should appear in the Datadog console shortly.

Optional — Install Using One-Line Script

Datadog also provides a generic one-liner installer script where you set environment variables and pipe to bash:

DD_API_KEY=<YOUR_DATADOG_API_KEY> bash -c "$(curl -L https://install.datadoghq.com/scripts/install_script_agent7.sh)"

This method automates many steps but gives less control compared to the repository approach above. ([CloudZ Document Center][3])

Troubleshooting Tips

Here are common issues and fixes:

• Agent not showing in Datadog dashboard — ensure correct API key and site values; re-start the agent.
• Firewall blocking data — confirm outbound HTTPS (port 443) is open.
• SELinux concerns — if SELinux is enforced, you may need to adjust policies for the agent.

Conclusion

Installing Datadog on CentOS Stream 10 is straightforward when you follow a structured approach:

1. Update system packages
2. Add the Datadog yum repository
3. Install the agent
4. Configure with your API key
5. Start and verify the agent

This setup allows you to monitor system performance and infrastructure health efficiently with Datadog’s platform. With further configuration, you can enable log collection, distributed tracing, or application performance monitoring to gain deeper operational insights.