docs: fix typo in the changelog line

Signed-off-by: hagen1778 <roman@victoriametrics.com>
(cherry picked from commit 363554dc56)

.github/workflows/build.yml

@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ jobs:
             arch: amd64
     steps:
       - name: Code checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+        uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0  # v7.0.0
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
 

.github/workflows/changelog-linter.yml

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ jobs:
       contents: read
     runs-on: 'ubuntu-latest'
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+      - uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0  # v7.0.0
         with:
           # needed for proper diff
           fetch-depth: 0

.github/workflows/check-commit-signed.yml

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+        uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0  # v7.0.0
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0  # we need full history for commit verification
           persist-credentials: false

.github/workflows/check-licenses.yml

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Code checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+        uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0  # v7.0.0
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
 

.github/workflows/codeql-analysis-go.yml

@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ jobs:
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+        uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0  # v7.0.0
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
 
@@ -54,14 +54,14 @@ jobs:
           restore-keys: go-artifacts-${{ runner.os }}-codeql-analyze-${{ steps.go.outputs.go-version }}-
 
       - name: Initialize CodeQL
-        uses: github/codeql-action/init@e46ed2cbd01164d986452f91f178727624ae40d7  # v4.35.3
+        uses: github/codeql-action/init@8aad20d150bbac5944a9f9d289da16a4b0d87c1e  # v4.36.2
         with:
           languages: go
 
       - name: Autobuild
-        uses: github/codeql-action/autobuild@e46ed2cbd01164d986452f91f178727624ae40d7  # v4.35.3
+        uses: github/codeql-action/autobuild@8aad20d150bbac5944a9f9d289da16a4b0d87c1e  # v4.36.2
 
       - name: Perform CodeQL Analysis
-        uses: github/codeql-action/analyze@e46ed2cbd01164d986452f91f178727624ae40d7  # v4.35.3
+        uses: github/codeql-action/analyze@8aad20d150bbac5944a9f9d289da16a4b0d87c1e  # v4.36.2
         with:
           category: 'language:go'

.github/workflows/docs.yaml

@@ -18,13 +18,13 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Code checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+        uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0  # v7.0.0
         with:
           path: __vm
           persist-credentials: false
 
       - name: Checkout private code
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+        uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0  # v7.0.0
         with:
           repository: VictoriaMetrics/vmdocs
           token: ${{ secrets.VM_BOT_GH_TOKEN }}

.github/workflows/test.yml

@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: 'vm-runner'
     steps:
       - name: Code checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+        uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0  # v7.0.0
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
 
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ jobs:
 
     steps:
       - name: Code checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+        uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0  # v7.0.0
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
 
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ jobs:
 
     steps:
       - name: Code checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+        uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0  # v7.0.0
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
 

.github/workflows/vmui.yml

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Code checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+        uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0  # v7.0.0
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
 

app/vmagent/remotewrite/remotewrite.go

@@ -1064,7 +1064,7 @@ func (rwctx *remoteWriteCtx) TryPushTimeSeries(tss []prompb.TimeSeries, forceDro
 
 	copyTimeSeriesIfNeeded := func() {
 		if v == nil {
-			v := tssPool.Get().(*[]prompb.TimeSeries)
+			v = tssPool.Get().(*[]prompb.TimeSeries)
 			tss = append(*v, tss...)
 		}
 	}

app/vmui/packages/vmui/src/components/ExploreAlerts/BaseAlert/index.tsx

@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ const BaseAlert = ({ item, group }: BaseAlertProps) => {
       {!!Object.keys(item.annotations || {}).length && (
         <>
           <span className="vm-alerts-title">Annotations</span>
-          <table>
+          <table className="vm-annotations-table">
             <colgroup>
               <col className="vm-col-md"/>
               <col/>

app/vmui/packages/vmui/src/components/ExploreAlerts/BaseRule/index.tsx

@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ const BaseRule = ({ item, group }: BaseRuleProps) => {
       {!!Object.keys(item?.annotations || {}).length && (
         <>
           <span className="vm-alerts-title">Annotations</span>
-          <table>
+          <table className="vm-annotations-table">
             <colgroup>
               <col className="vm-col-md"/>
               <col/>

app/vmui/packages/vmui/src/pages/CardinalityPanel/CardinalityTotals/CardinalityTotals.tsx

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ const CardinalityTotals: FC<CardinalityTotalsProps> = ({
   const match = searchParams.get("match");
   const focusLabel = searchParams.get("focusLabel");
   const isMetric = /__name__/.test(match || "");
-
+  const showMetricNameStats = !(match || focusLabel);
   const progress = totalSeries / totalSeriesAll * 100;
   const diff = totalSeries - totalSeriesPrev;
   const dynamic = Math.abs(diff) / totalSeriesPrev * 100;
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ const CardinalityTotals: FC<CardinalityTotalsProps> = ({
     },
   ].filter(t => t.display);
 
-  if (!totals.length) {
+  if (!totals.length && !showMetricNameStats) {
     return null;
   }
 
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ const CardinalityTotals: FC<CardinalityTotalsProps> = ({
           <h4 className="vm-cardinality-totals-card__title">
             {info && (
               <Tooltip title={<p className="vm-cardinality-totals-card__tooltip">{info}</p>}>
-                <div className="vm-cardinality-totals-card__info-icon"><InfoOutlinedIcon/></div>
+                <div className="vm-cardinality-totals-card__info-icon"><InfoOutlinedIcon /></div>
               </Tooltip>
             )}
             {title}
@@ -99,7 +99,10 @@ const CardinalityTotals: FC<CardinalityTotalsProps> = ({
           )}
         </div>
       ))}
-      <CardinalityMetricNameStats metricNameStats={metricNameStats}/>
+      {
+        showMetricNameStats &&
+        <CardinalityMetricNameStats metricNameStats={metricNameStats} />
+      }
     </div>
   );
 };

app/vmui/packages/vmui/src/pages/ExploreAlerts/style.scss

@@ -62,6 +62,13 @@
     padding-right: 40px;
   }
 
+  .vm-annotations-table {
+    tbody > tr > td {
+      vertical-align: top;
+      white-space: pre-line;
+    }
+  }
+
   display: flex;
   flex-direction: column;
   align-items: stretch;

docs/victoriametrics/Articles.md

@@ -114,6 +114,8 @@ See also [case studies](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/casestu
 * [QCon London 2026: Wrangling Telemetry at Scale, a Guide to Self-Hosted Observability](https://www.infoq.com/news/2026/03/self-hosted-observability/)
 * [How We Made Telemetry Queries 10x Faster: Chunk-Split Caching for Metrics, Logs, and Traces](https://mirastacklabs.ai/blog/chunk-split-caching/)
 * [Claude Code: creating Kubernetes debugging AI Agent for VictoriaMetrics](https://rtfm.co.ua/en/claude-code-creating-kubernetes-debugging-ai-agent-for-victoriametrics/)
+* [OpenTelemetry: OTel Collectors in Kubernetes and VictoriaMetrics Stack integration](https://itnext.io/opentelemetry-otel-collectors-in-kubernetes-and-victoriametrics-stack-integration-d907ed0a15a0)
+* [VictoriaMetrics vs Prometheus: my default, and when I still pick Prometheus](https://jorijn.com/en/blog/victoriametrics-vs-prometheus/)
 
 ## Third-party articles and slides about VictoriaLogs
 
@@ -154,13 +156,6 @@ See [our blog](https://victoriametrics.com/blog) for the latest articles written
 * [Why irate from Prometheus doesn't capture spikes](https://valyala.medium.com/why-irate-from-prometheus-doesnt-capture-spikes-45f9896d7832)
 * [VictoriaMetrics: PromQL compliance](https://medium.com/@romanhavronenko/victoriametrics-promql-compliance-d4318203f51e)
 * [How do open source solutions for logs work: Elasticsearch, Loki and VictoriaLogs](https://itnext.io/how-do-open-source-solutions-for-logs-work-elasticsearch-loki-and-victorialogs-9f7097ecbc2f)
-* [How vmagent Collects and Ships Metrics Fast with Aggregation, Deduplication, and More](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmagent-how-it-works/)
-* [When Metrics Meet vminsert: A Data-Delivery Story](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vminsert-how-it-works/)
-* [How vmstorage Handles Data Ingestion From vminsert](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmstorage-how-it-handles-data-ingestion/)
-* [How vmstorage Processes Data: Retention, Merging, Deduplication...](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmstorage-retention-merging-deduplication/)
-* [How vmstorage's IndexDB Works](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmstorage-how-indexdb-works/)
-* [How vmstorage Handles Query Requests From vmselect](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmstorage-how-it-handles-query-requests/)
-* [Inside vmselect: The Query Processing Engine of VictoriaMetrics](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmselect-how-it-works/)
 
 ### Tutorials, guides and how-to articles
 
@@ -178,12 +173,6 @@ See [our guides](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/guides/) for the up-to-date gu
 * [Prometheus storage: tech terms for humans](https://valyala.medium.com/prometheus-storage-technical-terms-for-humans-4ab4de6c3d48)
 * [Cardinality explorer](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/cardinality-explorer/)
 * [Rules backfilling via vmalert](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/rules-replay/)
-* [vmagent: Key Features Explained in Under 15 Minutes](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmagent-key-features-explained/)
-* [Prometheus Metrics Explained: Counters, Gauges, Histograms & Summaries](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/prometheus-monitoring-metrics-counters-gauges-histogram-summaries/)
-* [Prometheus Monitoring: Instant Queries and Range Queries Explained](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/prometheus-monitoring-instant-range-query/)
-* [Prometheus Monitoring: Functions, Subqueries, Operators, and Modifiers](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/prometheus-monitoring-function-operator-modifier/)
-* [Prometheus Alerting 101: Rules, Recording Rules, and Alertmanager](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/alerting-recording-rules-alertmanager/)
-* [Alerting Best Practices](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/alerting-best-practices/)
 
 ### Other articles
 

docs/victoriametrics/Cluster-VictoriaMetrics.md

@@ -57,10 +57,6 @@ Each service may scale independently and may run on the most suitable hardware.
 This is a [shared nothing architecture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared-nothing_architecture).
 It increases cluster availability, and simplifies cluster maintenance as well as cluster scaling.
 
-> Further reading, deep dives into how each service works internally:
-> - `vmstorage`: [How vmstorage Handles Data Ingestion From vminsert](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmstorage-how-it-handles-data-ingestion/), [How vmstorage's IndexDB Works](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmstorage-how-indexdb-works/), [How vmstorage Handles Query Requests From vmselect](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmstorage-how-it-handles-query-requests/).
-> - `vmselect`: [Inside vmselect: The Query Processing Engine of VictoriaMetrics](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmselect-how-it-works/).
-
 ![Cluster Scheme](Cluster-VictoriaMetrics-components.webp)
 
 ## vmui
@@ -838,7 +834,7 @@ This ensures that incoming metrics are evenly distributed across all `vmstorage`
 The downside is that a single slow vmstorage node can throttle the entire cluster.
 
 When `-disableRerouting=false` is enabled on `vminsert`, 
-the cluster will automatically [re-route writes](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vminsert-how-it-works/#31-rerouting) away from the slowest vmstorage node to preserve maximum ingestion throughput.
+the cluster will automatically re-route writes away from the slowest vmstorage node to preserve maximum ingestion throughput.
 
 Re-routing occurs only when all of the following conditions hold:
 - the storage send buffer is full.
@@ -881,7 +877,7 @@ See also [resource usage limits docs](#resource-usage-limits).
 
 ## Rebalancing
 
-Every `vminsert` node [evenly spreads (shards) incoming data](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vminsert-how-it-works/#3-sharding-and-buffering) among `vmstorage` nodes specified in the `-storageNode` command-line flag.
+Every `vminsert` node evenly spreads (shards) incoming data among `vmstorage` nodes specified in the `-storageNode` command-line flag.
 This guarantees even distribution of the ingested data among `vmstorage` nodes. When new `vmstorage` nodes are added to the `-storageNode`
 command-line flag at `vminsert`, then only newly ingested data is distributed evenly among old and new `vmstorage` nodes, while
 historical data remains on the old `vmstorage` nodes. This speeds up data ingestion and querying for the majority of production workloads,
@@ -1029,7 +1025,7 @@ By default, VictoriaMetrics offloads replication to the underlying storage point
 which guarantees data durability. VictoriaMetrics supports application-level replication if replicated durable persistent disks cannot be used for some reason.
 
 The replication can be enabled by passing `-replicationFactor=N` command-line flag to `vminsert`. This instructs `vminsert` to store `N` copies for every ingested sample
-on `N` distinct `vmstorage` nodes. This guarantees that all the stored data remains available for querying if up to `N-1` `vmstorage` nodes are unavailable. See [how `vminsert` replicates each sample to `N` `vmstorage` nodes](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vminsert-how-it-works/#4-replication-and-sending-data-to-vmstorage) for details.
+on `N` distinct `vmstorage` nodes. This guarantees that all the stored data remains available for querying if up to `N-1` `vmstorage` nodes are unavailable.
 
 Passing `-replicationFactor=N` command-line flag to `vmselect` instructs it to not mark responses as `partial` if less than `-replicationFactor` vmstorage nodes are unavailable during the query.
 See [cluster availability docs](#cluster-availability) for details.
@@ -1064,7 +1060,7 @@ deduplication can't be guaranteed when samples and sample duplicates for the sam
 - when `vmstorage` node has no enough capacity for processing incoming data stream. Then `vminsert` re-routes new samples to other `vmstorage` nodes.
 
 It is recommended to set **the same** `-dedup.minScrapeInterval` command-line flag value to both `vmselect` and `vmstorage` nodes
-to ensure query results consistency, even if [storage layer didn't complete deduplication](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmstorage-retention-merging-deduplication/#deduplication) yet.
+to ensure query results consistency, even if storage layer didn't complete deduplication yet.
 
 ## Metrics Metadata
 

docs/victoriametrics/Quick-Start.md

@@ -14,6 +14,178 @@ aliases:
 - /quick-start/index.html
 - /quick-start/
 ---
+There are two ways to get started with VictoriaMetrics:
+
+* [Try it locally](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/quick-start/#try-it-locally) - if you just want to see how VictoriaMetrics works,
+  go with the single binary: download it, start it with one command, and see live metrics
+  in the built-in UI in a couple of minutes. No Docker, no configuration files
+  and no extra components are required;
+* [Install it](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/quick-start/#how-to-install) - if you want to set up VictoriaMetrics for real use,
+  pick a distribution (single-node, cluster or cloud) and an installation method
+  (Docker, Helm, binary releases, etc.).
+
+If you'd rather not install anything at all, try [Playgrounds](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/playgrounds/) -
+a list of publicly available playgrounds for VictoriaMetrics software.
+
+Whichever way you choose, you may also find interesting the other sections of this page,
+like how to [write](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/quick-start/#write-data) and [query](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/quick-start/#query-data) data,
+[alerting](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/quick-start/#alerting),
+[data migration](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/quick-start/#data-migration) from other TSDBs,
+and [productionization](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/quick-start/#productionization)
+best practices for running VictoriaMetrics in production.
+
+## Try it locally
+
+The fastest way to try VictoriaMetrics on your own machine is its binary - the only thing needed to run it.
+
+### Step 1: Download the binary
+
+Create a directory for this test drive, so all the files created along the way stay in one place:
+
+```sh
+mkdir vm-quick-start && cd vm-quick-start
+```
+
+Download the `victoria-metrics-<os>-<arch>-<version>.tar.gz` archive for your OS and architecture
+from the [releases page](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/releases/latest)
+and unpack it. It contains a single `victoria-metrics-prod` binary.
+
+For example, on Linux with `amd64` architecture:
+
+```sh
+wget https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/releases/download/v1.147.0/victoria-metrics-linux-amd64-v1.147.0.tar.gz
+tar xzf victoria-metrics-linux-amd64-v1.147.0.tar.gz
+```
+
+The binary is self-contained and requires no installation - it is ready to run as is.
+
+### Step 2: Start VictoriaMetrics
+
+Starting VictoriaMetrics is as simple as executing the binary, with no arguments at all.
+But since it is nicer to have some data to explore right after the start, let's also enable self-scraping
+via the `-selfScrapeInterval` command-line flag, so VictoriaMetrics collects metrics about itself:
+
+```sh
+./victoria-metrics-prod -selfScrapeInterval=10s
+```
+
+VictoriaMetrics prints a couple of dozen log lines on start, describing the storage, caches
+and memory limits it sets up. Look for these two lines confirming that it is up and running:
+
+```sh
+2026-07-10T16:55:06.615Z    info    app/victoria-metrics/main.go:102    started VictoriaMetrics in 0.019 seconds
+...
+2026-07-10T16:55:06.615Z    info    lib/httpserver/httpserver.go:148    started server at http://0.0.0.0:8428/
+```
+
+That's it - VictoriaMetrics is running, listening on port `8428` and scraping its own metrics
+(CPU and memory usage, the number of stored metrics, request rates, etc.) every 10 seconds.
+If you list the `vm-quick-start` directory, you can see a new `victoria-metrics-data` directory
+created next to the binary - this is where the collected data is stored.
+
+Now that metrics are being collected, it's time to look at them.
+
+### Step 3: Explore the metrics
+
+Open [http://localhost:8428/vmui](http://localhost:8428/vmui) in your browser to access [vmui](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#vmui) -
+the built-in UI for querying and graphing metrics. You should see its query page:
+
+![vmui query page](quick-start-vmui.webp)
+
+Self-scraped metrics become queryable within ~30 seconds after the start.
+
+Try the following:
+
+* Open the [metrics explorer](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#metrics-explorer)
+  at [http://localhost:8428/vmui/#/metrics](http://localhost:8428/vmui/#/metrics) to browse all collected metrics;
+* Enter a query in the input field at [http://localhost:8428/vmui](http://localhost:8428/vmui) and press `Enter`. For example:
+  * `process_resident_memory_bytes` - memory used by VictoriaMetrics;
+  * `rate(process_cpu_seconds_total)` - its CPU usage;
+  * `vm_rows{type=~"storage/.+"}` - the number of stored [raw samples](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/keyconcepts/#raw-samples).
+
+Queries are written in [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/metricsql/) -
+a PromQL-compatible query language, so any PromQL query works here as well.
+
+So far the only available metrics are the ones VictoriaMetrics reports about itself - let's collect something more interesting.
+
+### Step 4 (optional): Collect metrics from your system
+
+Self-scraped metrics only describe VictoriaMetrics itself. To monitor your machine (CPU, memory, disk, network),
+run [node_exporter](https://github.com/prometheus/node_exporter) - the standard Prometheus exporter for host metrics -
+and let VictoriaMetrics scrape it. Single-node VictoriaMetrics has a built-in
+[Prometheus-compatible scraper](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#how-to-scrape-prometheus-exporters-such-as-node-exporter),
+so no other components are needed.
+
+1. Download the `node_exporter-<version>.<os>-<arch>.tar.gz` archive for your OS and architecture
+   from the [releases page](https://github.com/prometheus/node_exporter/releases/latest) and unpack it.
+   For example, on Linux with `amd64` architecture:
+
+   ```sh
+   wget https://github.com/prometheus/node_exporter/releases/download/v1.12.0/node_exporter-1.12.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
+   tar xzf node_exporter-1.12.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
+   ```
+
+   Unlike VictoriaMetrics, it unpacks into its own directory. Start it from there:
+
+   ```sh
+   ./node_exporter-1.12.0.linux-amd64/node_exporter
+   ```
+
+   It exposes host metrics at [http://localhost:9100/metrics](http://localhost:9100/metrics).
+
+1. Create a `scrape.yaml` file with the following contents:
+
+   ```yaml
+   scrape_configs:
+   - job_name: node-exporter
+     static_configs:
+     - targets:
+       - localhost:9100
+   ```
+
+1. Restart VictoriaMetrics with the `-promscrape.config` command-line flag pointing to this file:
+
+   ```sh
+   ./victoria-metrics-prod -selfScrapeInterval=10s -promscrape.config=scrape.yaml
+   ```
+
+Check [http://localhost:8428/targets](http://localhost:8428/targets) - the `node-exporter` target should have `state: up`.
+The target shows up as `state: down` until the first scrape happens, which can take some seconds -
+just reload the page a bit later.
+Now query host metrics in [vmui](http://localhost:8428/vmui). For example:
+
+* `node_memory_MemAvailable_bytes` - available memory on your machine;
+* `100 - avg(rate(node_cpu_seconds_total{mode="idle"})) * 100` - overall CPU usage in percent.
+
+See [scrape config examples](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/scrape_config_examples/) for more advanced scrape configurations.
+
+Scraping pulls metrics from targets, but it is not the only way to get data in - metrics can also be pushed directly.
+
+### Step 5 (optional): Push your own metrics
+
+VictoriaMetrics also accepts metrics pushed via [many popular protocols](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/keyconcepts/#push-model).
+For example, insert a measurement using the InfluxDB line protocol with a plain `curl` command:
+
+```sh
+curl -d 'room_temperature,room=kitchen value=21.5' http://localhost:8428/write
+```
+
+Then query `room_temperature_value` in [vmui](http://localhost:8428/vmui) to see it.
+Take into account that freshly ingested data can take up to 30 seconds to show up in query results,
+so don't worry if it doesn't appear immediately - just retry the query a bit later.
+
+Once you're done experimenting, tidying everything up takes a single command.
+
+### Cleanup
+
+Stop VictoriaMetrics and node_exporter with `Ctrl+C` in their respective terminals. All the collected data lives in the `victoria-metrics-data` directory -
+delete it if you want to start from scratch. To remove all traces of this test drive,
+delete the whole `vm-quick-start` directory created at [step 1](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/quick-start/#step-1-download-the-binary).
+
+This test drive only scratches the surface of what VictoriaMetrics can do. Ready for a real setup?
+Continue with the installation options below, or learn the [key concepts](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/keyconcepts/)
+of writing and querying data first.
+
 ## How to install
 
 VictoriaMetrics is available in the following distributions:
@@ -42,9 +214,6 @@ Just download VictoriaMetrics and follow [these instructions](https://docs.victo
 See [available integrations](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/integrations/) with other systems like
 [Prometheus](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/integrations/prometheus/) or [Grafana](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/integrations/grafana/).
 
-> Want to see VictoriaMetrics in action, but without installing anything?
-> Try [Playgrounds](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/playgrounds/) - a list of publicly available playgrounds for VictoriaMetrics software.
-
 VictoriaMetrics is developed at a fast pace, so it is recommended to periodically check the [CHANGELOG](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/changelog/)
 and perform [regular upgrades](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#how-to-upgrade-victoriametrics).
 
@@ -465,6 +634,15 @@ It is recommended to read [Replication and data safety](https://docs.victoriamet
 
 For backup configuration, please refer to [vmbackup documentation](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmbackup/).
 
+### Graceful shutdown
+
+To gracefully shut down a VictoriaMetrics process, send SIGTERM or SIGINT signal and wait until the process exits.
+See [how to send signals to processes](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/33239959/send-signal-to-process-from-command-line).
+
+Graceful shutdown is required for data safety. A successful graceful shutdown guarantees that pending in-memory data and 
+ongoing writes are flushed on disk before the process exits. During graceful shutdown, VictoriaMetrics stops accepting
+new HTTP connections and waits for in-flight requests to finish until `-http.maxGracefulShutdownDuration` expires.
+
 ### Configuring limits
 
 To avoid excessive resource usage or performance degradation, limits must be in place:

docs/victoriametrics/README.md

@@ -1397,7 +1397,7 @@ in separate files under `part` directory - `timestamps.bin` and `values.bin`.
 The `part` directory also contains `index.bin` and `metaindex.bin` files - these files contain index
 for fast block lookups, which belong to the given `TSID` and cover the given time range.
 
-`Parts` are periodically merged into bigger parts in background. The [background merge](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmstorage-retention-merging-deduplication/#merge-process) provides the following benefits:
+`Parts` are periodically merged into bigger parts in background. The background merge provides the following benefits:
 
 * keeping the number of data files under control, so they don't exceed limits on open files
 * improved data compression, since bigger parts are usually compressed better than smaller parts
@@ -1532,7 +1532,6 @@ are **eventually deleted** during [background merge](https://medium.com/@valyala
 The time range covered by data part is **not limited by retention period unit**. One data part can cover hours or days of
 data. Hence, a data part can be deleted only **when fully outside the configured retention**.
 See more about partitions and parts in the [Storage section](#storage).
-See [how retention frees disk space](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmstorage-retention-merging-deduplication/#retention-free-disk-space-guard-and-downsampling) for details.
 
 The maximum disk space usage for a given `-retentionPeriod` is going to be (`-retentionPeriod` + 1) months.
 For example, if `-retentionPeriod` is set to 1, data for January is deleted on March 1st.
@@ -1635,7 +1634,6 @@ See how to request a [free trial license](https://victoriametrics.com/products/e
 This command-line flag instructs leaving the last sample per each `interval` for [time series](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/keyconcepts/#time-series)
 [samples](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/keyconcepts/#raw-samples) older than the `offset`. The `offset` must be a multiple of `interval`. For example, `-downsampling.period=30d:5m` instructs leaving the last sample
 per each 5-minute interval for samples older than 30 days, while the rest of samples are dropped.
-See [Enterprise downsampling internals](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmstorage-retention-merging-deduplication/#retention-filters-and-downsampling-enterprise-plan) for details.
 
 The `-downsampling.period` command-line flag can be specified multiple times in order to apply different downsampling levels for different time ranges (aka multi-level downsampling).
 For example, `-downsampling.period=30d:5m,180d:1h` instructs leaving the last sample per each 5-minute interval for samples older than 30 days,

docs/victoriametrics/changelog/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -34,9 +34,12 @@ See also [LTS releases](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/lts-rel
 * BUGFIX: `vminsert` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): Now drops metadata blocks when communicating with vmstorage nodes over the legacy RPC protocol. To avoid this limitation, upgrade `vmstorage` to a version that supports the new RPC protocol (>= [v1.137.0](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/blob/master/docs/victoriametrics/changelog/CHANGELOG.md#v11370)). See [#11146](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11146).
 * BUGFIX: [vmbackup](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmbackup/) and [vmbackupmanager](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmbackupmanager/): retry S3 requests failing with `HTTP 429` status code or `TooManyRequests` error code. Previously such requests were not retried, so a short burst of rate limiting would fail the whole backup. See [#11218](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11218). Thanks to @gautamrizwani for contribution.
 * BUGFIX: `vmselect` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): properly apply limit to metrics metadata response. See [#11139](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/11139).
-* BUGFIX: [vmui](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#vmui): keep only one header navigation dropdown (`Explore`, `Tools`) open at a time. Previously, hovering across two dropdowns could briefly leave both open due to the close delay. See [#11224](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/11224). Thanks to @antedotee for contribution.
 * BUGFIX: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): fix a possible data race when processing OpenTelemetry metadata. See [#11238](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/11238). Thanks to @nevgeny for contribution.
 * BUGFIX: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): flush pending persistent queue data to chunk file before updating the metadata. This prevents the metadata writer offset from getting ahead of the chunk file size and avoids losing the persistent queue after an unclean shutdown. See [#11192](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11192).
+* BUGFIX: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): fix increased CPU and memory usage when `-remoteWrite.urlRelabelConfig` or `-remoteWrite.streamAggr.config` flags are used. The bug was introduced in [#10854](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/10854) and existed since [v1.147.0](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/releases/tag/v1.147.0). See [#11250](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11250).
+* BUGFIX: [vmui](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#vmui): preserve newline formatting in alert and rule annotations on the Alerting page. See [#11171](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/11171).
+* BUGFIX: [vmui](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#vmui): hide `Total metric names` stats on [Cardinality Explorer](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/#cardinality-explorer) page when user selects a specific metric or label to focus. See [#11154](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11154) for details. Thanks to @lghuy05 for the contribution.
+* BUGFIX: [vmui](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#vmui): keep only one header navigation dropdown (`Explore`, `Tools`) open at a time. Previously, hovering across two dropdowns could briefly leave both open due to the close delay. See [#11224](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/11224). Thanks to @antedotee for contribution.
 
 ## [v1.147.0](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/releases/tag/v1.147.0)
 
@@ -48,16 +51,17 @@ Released at 2026-07-06
 * FEATURE: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): reduces CPU usage by 10% at [sharding among remote storages](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/#sharding-among-remote-storages). See [#11113](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/11113). Thanks to @bennf for contribution.
 * FEATURE: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/), `vminsert` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/) and [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/): introduce `64KiB` size limit for `metric metadata` fields - `Unit`, `Help` and `MetricFamilyName`. See [#11128](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11128).
 * FEATURE: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/) and [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/): reduce CPU usage for storing scrape target labels. See [#10919](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10919).
+* FEATURE: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): add support for [Monitoring Data eXchange (MDX)](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/#monitoring-data-exchange): the ability to route only metrics from VictoriaMetrics services to a specific `-remoteWrite.url`. MDX is useful for building monitoring-of-monitoring where one remote storage should receive the full metric stream and another should receive only VictoriaMetrics metrics. Enable per destination with `-remoteWrite.mdx.enable=true`. See [#10600](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10600).
 * FEATURE: [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/) and `vmstorage` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): expose `vm_data_size_bytes{type="storage/metaindex"}` and `vm_data_size_bytes{type="indexdb/metaindex"}` metrics for tracking memory occupied by metaindex data. See [#11204](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/11204). Thanks to @SamarthBagga for contribution.
 * FEATURE: [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/) and `vmselect` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): add `optimize_repeated_binary_op_subexprs=1` query arg to [/api/v1/query_range](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/keyconcepts/#range-query) for executing binary operator sides sequentially when they share the same optimized aggregate rollup result expression. This allows the second side to reuse rollup result cache populated by the first side. See [#10575](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10575). Thanks to @xhebox for the contribution.
-* FEATURE: [vmauth](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmauth/): prevent possible password brute-force attacks with an artificial 2-3 second delay as recommended by [OWASP](https://owasp.org/Top10/2025/A07_2025-Authentication_Failures). See [#11180](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11180).
-* FEATURE: [alerts](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/blob/master/deployment/docker/rules): add `InvalidAuthTokenRequestErrors` alerting rule to [vmauth alerts](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/blob/master/deployment/docker/rules/alerts-vmauth.yml). The new rule notifies when vmauth receives requests with invalid or missing auth tokens, which may indicate a client misconfiguration, expired token use, or brute-force attack. See [#11180](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11180).
 * FEATURE: [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/): Add the support of vmselect RPC to vmsingle so that single node can be queried by a vmselect from a vmcluster deployment. See [4328](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/4328), [10926](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/10926), and the [documentation](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#multi-tenancy).
+* FEATURE: [alerts](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/blob/master/deployment/docker/rules): add `InvalidAuthTokenRequestErrors` alerting rule to [vmauth alerts](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/blob/master/deployment/docker/rules/alerts-vmauth.yml). The new rule notifies when vmauth receives requests with invalid or missing auth tokens, which may indicate a client misconfiguration, expired token use, or brute-force attack. See [#11180](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11180).
+* FEATURE: [alerts](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/blob/master/deployment/docker/rules): add `AlertingRuleResultsApproachingLimit` and `RecordingRuleResultsApproachingLimit` alerting rules to [vmalert alerts](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/blob/master/deployment/docker/rules/alerts-vmalert.yml). These alerts notify when a rule's last evaluation samples exceed 90% of the configured group results limit. See [#11179](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11179). Thanks to @vinyas-bharadwaj for the contribution.
+* FEATURE: [vmauth](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmauth/): prevent possible password brute-force attacks with an artificial 2-3 second delay as recommended by [OWASP](https://owasp.org/Top10/2025/A07_2025-Authentication_Failures). See [#11180](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11180).
 * FEATURE: [vmauth](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmauth/): allow log requests with missing or invalid auth tokens to [access log](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmauth/#access-log). This is useful for identifying `remote_addr` IPs performing brute-force attacks. See [#11180](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11180).
 * FEATURE: [vmauth](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmauth/): fall through to `unauthorized_user` when a [JWT token](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmauth/#jwt-token-auth-proxy) has no `vm_access` claim and no `default_vm_access_claim` is configured. Previously, vmauth returned `401 Unauthorized` immediately in this case, which prevented `unauthorized_user` from handling such requests. See [#5740](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/5740).
 * FEATURE: [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/metricsql/): improve the selection algorithm of [buckets_limit](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/metricsql/#buckets_limit) to remove consecutive empty buckets at the beginning and end to obtain more accurate min and max values. See [#10417](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10417).
 * FEATURE: [vmalert](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmalert/): expose `vmalert_group_rule_results_limit` metric to indicate the number of alerts or recording results that a single rule within the group can produce. See [#11179](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11179). Thanks to @vinyas-bharadwaj for the contribution.
-* FEATURE: [alerts](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/blob/master/deployment/docker/rules): add `AlertingRuleResultsApproachingLimit` and `RecordingRuleResultsApproachingLimit` alerting rules to [vmalert alerts](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/blob/master/deployment/docker/rules/alerts-vmalert.yml). These alerts notify when a rule's last evaluation samples exceed 90% of the configured group results limit. See [#11179](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11179). Thanks to @vinyas-bharadwaj for the contribution.
 
 * BUGFIX: all VictoriaMetrics components: cancel in-flight HTTP requests shortly before `-http.maxGracefulShutdownDuration` elapses during graceful shutdown, so they can drain and the shutdown completes cleanly within that window instead of timing out and exiting via `logger.Fatalf` -> `os.Exit`. This prevents skipping the storage flush and losing in-memory data when long-lived requests are in flight (such as VictoriaLogs live tailing). See [#1502](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaLogs/issues/1502).
 * BUGFIX: `vminsert` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/) and [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/): properly check values range for the limits configured with flags `-maxLabelsPerTimeseries`, `-maxLabelNameLen` and `-maxLabelValueLen`. It must be in range `1..65535`. See [#11128](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11128).
@@ -80,7 +84,6 @@ Released at 2026-06-22
 * FEATURE: [vmctl](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmctl/): add `-vm-headers` and `-vm-bearer-token` flags for authenticating requests to the VictoriaMetrics import destination. The flags are available in `opentsdb`, `influx`, `remote-read`, `prometheus`, `mimir`, and `thanos` vmctl sub-commands. See [#8897](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/8897).
 * FEATURE: [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/) and `vmselect` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): log calls to [/api/v1/admin/tsdb/delete_series](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/url-examples/#apiv1admintsdbdelete_series) API handler. This should help to identify events of metrics deletion from the database. See [#11104](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/11104).
 * FEATURE: [vmui](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#vmui): add the `last` value to graph legend statistics. See [#10759](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/10759).
-* FEATURE: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): add support for [Monitoring Data eXchange (MDX)](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/#monitoring-data-exchange): the ability to route only metrics from VictoriaMetrics services to a specific `-remoteWrite.url`. MDX is useful for building monitoring-of-monitoring where one remote storage should receive the full metric stream and another should receive only VictoriaMetrics metrics. Enable per destination with `-remoteWrite.mdx.enable=true`. See [#10600](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10600).
 
 * BUGFIX: [enterprise](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/enterprise/) [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/) and `vmstorage` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): properly expose metric `vm_retention_filters_partitions_scheduled_rows`. See [#11138](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11138)
 * BUGFIX: [stream aggregation](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/stream-aggregation/): fix issue with producing aggregated samples with identical timestamps between flushes. See [#10808](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/10808).
@@ -90,8 +93,8 @@ Released at 2026-06-22
 * BUGFIX: [vmrestore](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmrestore/): disallow restoring parts outside the configured `-storageDataPath` directory. See [710c920d](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/commit/710c920d6083327042a309e449fae4383617d817).
 * BUGFIX: `vmselect` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): correctly apply long tenant filters. Previously, such filters could be truncated, causing tenants to be matched incorrectly. See [#11096](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/11096). Thanks for @fxrlv for the contribution.
 * BUGFIX: `vmselect` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): fix corrupted metrics metadata when a response contains multiple rows. See [#11115](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/11115). Thanks for @fxrlv for the contribution.
-* BUGFIX: [vmbackup](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/vmbackup/), [vmbackupmanager](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmbackupmanager/): do not fail backup list if directory is absent while using `fs://` destination to align with other protocols. See [6c3c548](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/commit/6c3c548ddb0385b749e731f52276f130e2a4e4a8)
 * BUGFIX: `vmselect` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): don't cache empty responses for tenant IDs discovery during [multitenant queries](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/Cluster-VictoriaMetrics.html#multitenant-reads). This problem was visible during integration tests when multitenant queries were executed before the first ingestion happened. See [#10982](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/10982)
+* BUGFIX: [vmbackup](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/vmbackup/), [vmbackupmanager](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmbackupmanager/): do not fail backup list if directory is absent while using `fs://` destination to align with other protocols. See [6c3c548](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/commit/6c3c548ddb0385b749e731f52276f130e2a4e4a8)
 * BUGFIX: [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/) and `vmselect` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): properly escape `metricFamilyName` at metrics metadata response. See [#11129](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/11129). Thanks for @fxrlv for the contribution.
 * BUGFIX: [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/) and `vmstorage` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): prevent more cases of panic during directory deletion on `NFS`-based mounts. See [#11060](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11060).
 
@@ -116,9 +119,9 @@ Released at 2026-06-08
 * BUGFIX: [vmauth](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmauth/): properly calculate number of loaded users to be printed in startup log. Previously, it was only accounting for static users and skipped JWT configuration entries. See [#11050](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/11050/).
 * BUGFIX: [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/metricsql/): `integrate()` no longer extrapolates the last sample's value past the end of the time series. Previously, querying `integrate(metric[1h])` at a timestamp where the series had already ended would keep accruing area as if the last value continued indefinitely, producing values much larger than the true integral. See [#9474](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/9474). Thanks to @wtfashwin for contribution.
 * BUGFIX: `vmselect` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): avoid returning HTTP 503 for queries with partial results when a storage group is unavailable and `-search.denyPartialResponse` is disabled. See [#11009](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/11009). Thanks to @fxrlv for the contribution.
+* BUGFIX: `vmselect` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): fix intermittent `write: connection timed out` errors caused by silently dropped TCP connections being reused from the connection pool. See [#10735](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10735#issuecomment-4535832301).
 * BUGFIX: [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/) and `vmselect` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): properly escape `utf-8` label names for [/federate](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/#federation) API requests. See [#10968](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10968).
 * BUGFIX: [vmui](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#vmui): persist the `Disable deduplication` toggle under its own local storage key. Before this fix, the toggle state was lost after reload and could overwrite the `Compact view` table setting. See [#11004](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/11004). Thanks to @immanuwell for the contribution.
-* BUGFIX: `vmselect` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): fix intermittent `write: connection timed out` errors caused by silently dropped TCP connections being reused from the connection pool. See [#10735](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10735#issuecomment-4535832301).
 
 ## [v1.144.0](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/releases/tag/v1.144.0)
 
@@ -126,28 +129,28 @@ Released at 2026-05-22
 
 * FEATURE: all VictoriaMetrics components: improve logging for the `-memory.allowedBytes` flag to warn about excessively low value (less than 1MB). See issue [#10935](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10935).
 * FEATURE: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/) and [vmalert](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmalert/): add `basicAuth.usernameFile` command-line flags for reading basic auth username from a file, similar to the existing `basicAuth.passwordFile`. The file is re-read every second. See [#9436](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/9436). Thanks to @kimjune01 for the contribution.
+* FEATURE: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): drain in-memory remote write queue on shutdown within the 5-second grace period before falling back to persisting blocks to disk. See [#9996](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/9996)
 * FEATURE: [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/), `vminsert` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/) and [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): add `-opentelemetry.labelNameUnderscoreSanitization` command-line flag to control whether to enable prepending of `key` to labels starting with `_` when `-opentelemetry.usePrometheusNaming` is enabled. See [OpenTelemetry](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/integrations/opentelemetry/) docs and [#9663](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/9663). Thanks to @andriibeee for the contribution.
 * FEATURE: [vmui](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#vmui): improve the [Top Queries](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#top-queries) table UI. Duration columns now display human-readable values (e.g. `1.23s`) instead of raw seconds, memory column shows human-readable sizes (e.g. `1.23 MB`), instant queries are labeled as `instant` instead of empty string, and column headers now show tooltips with descriptions. See [#10790](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/10790).
-* FEATURE: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): drain in-memory remote write queue on shutdown within the 5-second grace period before falling back to persisting blocks to disk. See [#9996](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/9996)
+* FEATURE: [vmui](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#vmui): display `null` values on `Raw Query` chart. `null` values can be actual `NaN` or `null` values exposed by the exporter, or [stale markers](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/#prometheus-staleness-markers). Before, vmui Raw Query was silently dropping non-numeric values. Displaying such values on the chart could improve the debugging experience. See [#10986](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/10986).
 * FEATURE: `vminsert` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): Improve [slowness-based rerouting](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/#slowness-based-re-routing) to prevent rerouting storms under high cluster load. Previously, rerouting could cascade across storage nodes when the whole cluster was saturated, making the situation worse. Now rerouting only activates when the cluster p90 saturation is below 60%, and the slowest node is more than 20% slower than p90. See [#10876](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10876).
 * FEATURE: [vmauth](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmauth/): add `{{.MetricsAccountID}}` and `{{.MetricsProjectID}}` [JWT claim placeholders](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmauth/#jwt-claim-based-request-templating) for use in `headers` and `url_prefix` config fields. Previously, only the combined `{{.MetricsTenant}}` (`accountID:projectID`) JWT placeholder was supported, making it impossible to configure [multitenancy via headers](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/#multitenancy-via-headers). See [#10927](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10927). Thanks to @Vinayak9769 for the contribution.
-* FEATURE: [vmui](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#vmui): display `null` values on `Raw Query` chart. `null` values can be actual `NaN` or `null` values exposed by the exporter, or [stale markers](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/#prometheus-staleness-markers). Before, vmui Raw Query was silently dropping non-numeric values. Displaying such values on the chart could improve the debugging experience. See [#10986](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/10986).
 
 * BUGFIX: [stream aggregation](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/stream-aggregation/): stop emitting stale values for `quantiles(...)` outputs when a time series has no samples during the current aggregation interval. See [#10918](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/10918). Thanks to @alexei38 for the contribution.
 * BUGFIX: [stream aggregation](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/stream-aggregation/): extend delay on aggregation windows flush by the biggest lag among pushed samples. Before, the delay was calculated as 95th percentile across samples, which could underrepresent outliers and reject them from aggregation as "too old". See [#10402](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10402).
 * BUGFIX: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): fix a bug in [cardinality limiters](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/#cardinality-limiter) where series with different labels, like `{a="bc"}` and `{ab="c"}`, could be incorrectly treated as identical and dropped. See [#10937](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/10937).
 * BUGFIX: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): hide values passed to `-remoteWrite.headers` in startup logs, `/metrics`, and `/flags`, since they can contain sensitive HTTP headers such as `Authorization` and API keys.
 * BUGFIX: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): hide values passed to `-remoteWrite.proxyURL` in startup logs, `/metrics`, and `/flags`, since they can contain sensitive credentials.
+* BUGFIX: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): return error on startup if `-remoteWrite.disableOnDiskQueue` is not configured uniformly across all `-remoteWrite.url` targets when `-remoteWrite.shardByURL` is enabled. Either all targets must have it enabled or all must have it disabled. See [#10507](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10507).
+* BUGFIX: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): prevent unintentional rerouting of samples to other sharding targets when one of the `-remoteWrite.url` targets with `-remoteWrite.disableOnDiskQueue` becomes blocked. Previously this could break the sharding guarantee by sending samples to wrong targets instead of dropping or retrying them. See [#10507](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10507).
 * BUGFIX: [vmalert](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmalert/): hide values passed to `-remoteWrite.headers`,`remoteRead.headers`, `datasource.headers` and `notifier.headers` in startup logs, `/metrics`, and `/flags`, since they can contain sensitive HTTP headers such as `Authorization` and API keys.
 * BUGFIX: `vminsert` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): properly establish [mtls](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/#mtls-protection) connection between vmstorage and vminsert. Regression was introduced in v1.130.0 release for the enterprise version of vmstorage. See [#10972](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10972).
 * BUGFIX: [vmrestore](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmrestore/): fix a bug where specifying `-storageDataPath` with a trailing slash could cause `vmrestore` to panic. See [#10823](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10823). Thanks to @utafrali for the contribution.
-* BUGFIX: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): prevent unintentional rerouting of samples to other sharding targets when one of the `-remoteWrite.url` targets with `-remoteWrite.disableOnDiskQueue` becomes blocked. Previously this could break the sharding guarantee by sending samples to wrong targets instead of dropping or retrying them. See [#10507](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10507).
-* BUGFIX: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/): return error on startup if `-remoteWrite.disableOnDiskQueue` is not configured uniformly across all `-remoteWrite.url` targets when `-remoteWrite.shardByURL` is enabled. Either all targets must have it enabled or all must have it disabled. See [#10507](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10507).
 * BUGFIX: [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/) and `vmselect` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): hide values passed to `vmalert.proxyURL` in startup logs, `/metrics`, and `/flags`, since they can contain sensitive HTTP headers such as `Authorization` and API keys.
-* BUGFIX: [vmui](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#vmui): preserve exact series values in graph tooltips instead of rounding them by significant digits. See [#10952](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10952).
-* BUGFIX: all VictoriaMetrics components: fix int64 overflow when parsing [timestamp parameters](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#timestamp-formats) with relative durations. See [#10880](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10880).
 * BUGFIX: [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/) and `vmstorage` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): `-denyQueriesOutsideRetention` now also rejects queries whose end time is beyond `-futureRetention`. See [#10879](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10879).
+* BUGFIX: [vmui](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#vmui): preserve exact series values in graph tooltips instead of rounding them by significant digits. See [#10952](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10952).
 * BUGFIX: [vmui](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#vmui): add missing `__timestamp__` and `__value__` columns to CSV exported from the table view on the Query tab. See [#10975](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10975).
+* BUGFIX: all VictoriaMetrics components: fix int64 overflow when parsing [timestamp parameters](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#timestamp-formats) with relative durations. See [#10880](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10880).
 
 ## [v1.143.0](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/releases/tag/v1.143.0)
 
@@ -157,10 +160,10 @@ Released at 2026-05-08
 
 * FEATURE: all VictoriaMetrics components: suppress TCP health check errors when `-tls` flag is set. See [#10538](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10538).
 * FEATURE: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/) and [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/): add `__meta_hetzner_robot_datacenter` label for `robot` role in [hetzner_sd_configs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/sd_configs/#hetzner_sd_configs). See [#10909](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10909). Thanks to @juliusrickert for contribution.
+* FEATURE: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/), [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/), `vmselect` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/) and `vmstorage` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): introduce the `vm_fs_info` metric. It exposes the filesystem type (e.g., ext4, xfs, nfs) used for `-*Path` related flags. See [#10482](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10482).
+* FEATURE: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/), [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/), `vminsert` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): add support for [Prometheus native histogram](https://prometheus.io/docs/specs/native_histograms/) during ingestion. See [#10743](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10743).
 * FEATURE: [vmalert](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmalert/): add `-rule.stripFilePath` to support stripping rule file paths in logs and all API responses, including /metrics. See [#5625](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/5625).
 * FEATURE: [vmalert](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmalert/): add `formatTime` template function for formatting a Unix timestamp using the provided layout. For example, `{{ now | formatTime "2006-01-02T15:04:05Z07:00" }}` returns the current time in RFC3339 format. See issue [#10624](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10624). Thanks to @andriibeee for the contribution.
-* FEATURE: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/), [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/), `vminsert` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): add support for [Prometheus native histogram](https://prometheus.io/docs/specs/native_histograms/) during ingestion. See [#10743](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10743).
-* FEATURE: [vmagent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/), [vmsingle](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/), `vmselect` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/) and `vmstorage` in [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/): introduce the `vm_fs_info` metric. It exposes the filesystem type (e.g., ext4, xfs, nfs) used for `-*Path` related flags. See [#10482](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/10482).
 * FEATURE: [dashboards/vmagent](https://grafana.com/grafana/dashboards/12683): add `Kafka (Enterprise)` row with panels for monitoring traffic (bytes), messages in/out, producer and consumer errors. See [#10728](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/10728).
 * FEATURE: [vmalert](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmalert/): support sending data to the configured `-remoteWrite.url` via [VictoriaMetrics remote write protocol](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmagent/#victoriametrics-remote-write-protocol). See [#10929](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/10929).
 

docs/victoriametrics/stream-aggregation/README.md

@@ -645,9 +645,9 @@ See also [why you shouldn't put an aggregator behind a load balancer](https://do
 
 # Troubleshooting
 
-- [Unexpected spikes for `total` or `increase` outputs](#data-delay-and-staleness).
+- [Unexpected spikes for `total` or `increase` outputs](#staleness).
 - [Excessively large values for `total*`, `increase*`, and `rate*` outputs](#counter-resets).
-- [Lower than expected values for `total_prometheus` and `increase_prometheus` outputs](#data-delay-and-staleness).
+- [Lower than expected values for `total_prometheus` and `increase_prometheus` outputs](#staleness).
 - [High memory usage and CPU usage](#high-resource-usage).
 - [Unexpected results in vmagent cluster mode](#cluster-mode).
 - [Inaccurate aggregation results for histograms](#aggregation-windows)

docs/victoriametrics/vmagent.md

@@ -141,7 +141,6 @@ to other remote storage systems that support Prometheus `remote_write` protocol
 If a single remote storage instance is temporarily unavailable, the collected data remains available on the other remote storage instances.
 `vmagent` buffers the collected data in files at `-remoteWrite.tmpDataPath` until the remote storage becomes available again.
 Then it sends the buffered data to the remote storage in order to prevent data gaps.
-See how `vmagent` [selects shards and places replicas](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmagent-how-it-works/#step-4-sharding--replication) for implementation details.
 
 [VictoriaMetrics cluster](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victoriametrics/) already supports replication,
 so there is no need to specify multiple `-remoteWrite.url` flags when writing data to the same cluster.
@@ -151,8 +150,7 @@ See [these docs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/cluster-victor
 
 `vmagent` can add, remove, or update labels on the collected data before sending it to the remote storage.
 It can filter scrape targets or remove unwanted samples via Prometheus-like relabeling.
-Please see the [Relabeling cookbook](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/relabeling/) for configuration examples.
-For ingestion pipeline internals, see how `vmagent` [applies global relabeling and cardinality limits](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmagent-how-it-works/#step-2-global-relabeling-cardinality-reduction).
+Please see the [Relabeling cookbook](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/relabeling/) for details.
 
 ### Sharding among remote storages
 
@@ -270,9 +268,7 @@ for the collected samples. Examples:
   ```sh
   ./vmagent -remoteWrite.url=http://remote-storage/api/v1/write -streamAggr.dropInputLabels=replica -streamAggr.dedupInterval=60s
   ```
-
-See how `vmagent` [orders global deduplication and stream aggregation](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmagent-how-it-works/#step-3-global-deduplication--stream-aggregation) in the ingestion pipeline.
-
+  
 ### Monitoring Data eXchange
 
 The Monitoring Data eXchange (MDX){{% available_from "v1.147.0" %}} feature allows `vmagent` to forward only VictoriaMetrics metrics to selected `-remoteWrite.url` destinations while dropping metrics from non-VictoriaMetrics services.
@@ -361,8 +357,6 @@ in addition to the pull-based Prometheus-compatible targets' scraping:
 * Prometheus exposition format via `http://<vmagent>:8429/api/v1/import/prometheus`. See [these docs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#how-to-import-data-in-prometheus-exposition-format) for details.
 * Arbitrary CSV data via `http://<vmagent>:8429/api/v1/import/csv`. See [these docs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#how-to-import-csv-data).
 
-See how `vmagent` [handles concurrency, decompression, and stream parsing](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmagent-how-it-works/#step-1-receiving-data-via-api-or-scrape) during ingestion.
-
 ## How to collect metrics in Prometheus format
 
 Specify the path to the `prometheus.yml` file via the `-promscrape.config` command-line flag. `vmagent` takes into account the following
@@ -1004,7 +998,6 @@ This behavior can be changed with the `-remoteWrite.inmemoryQueues` {{% availabl
 When set to a non-zero value, vmagent starts the given number of additional workers,
 which send only recently ingested data from the in-memory queue, while the workers configured via `-remoteWrite.queues` drain the file-based backlog concurrently.
 This reduces the delivery lag for fresh samples after remote storage outages or slowdowns. The flag can be set individually per each `-remoteWrite.url`.
-See how the [in-memory and file-based queues manage blocks](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/vmagent-how-it-works/#in-memory-queue) for implementation details.
 
 Note that these workers are started in addition to the workers configured via `-remoteWrite.queues`, so the total number of concurrent connections to
 the remote storage becomes the sum of both flags. Take this into account if the remote storage limits the number of concurrent requests.

docs/victoriametrics/vmalert.md

@@ -982,9 +982,6 @@ Try the following tips to avoid common issues:
     In that case, the default step will be used (`-datasource.queryStep`) and may cause unexpected results compared to
     executing this query in vmui/Grafana, where step is adjusted differently.
 
-See [practical examples for reducing alert noise](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/alerting-best-practices/#reducing-noise),
-including aggregating alerts and configuring inhibition.
-
 ### Rule state
 
 vmalert keeps the last `-rule.updateEntriesLimit` updates (or `update_entries_limit` [per-rule config](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/vmalert/#alerting-rules))
@@ -1040,9 +1037,6 @@ Sometimes, it's hard to understand why a specific alert fired or not. Keep in mi
 If evaluation returns error (i.e. datasource is unavailable), alert state doesn't change.
 If at least one evaluation returns no data, then alert's `for` state resets.
 
-See [how to tune the `for` parameter](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/alerting-best-practices/#the-for-param),
-including its tradeoff with the query lookbehind window.
-
 > Note: The alert state is tracked separately for each time series returned during evaluation.
 > For example, if the 1st evaluation returns series A and B, and the 2nd evaluation returns only B – the alert will remain active **only for B**.
 
@@ -1116,9 +1110,6 @@ How to reduce the chance for a rule to flap:
 
 See [common mistakes](#common-mistakes) for rules config.
 
-See [how to tune `keep_firing_for`](https://victoriametrics.com/blog/alerting-best-practices/#the-keep_firing_for-param)
-to avoid alert flapping during brief data gaps.
-
 ### Never-firing alerts
 
 vmalert can detect {{% available_from "v1.91.0" %}} if alert's expression doesn't match any time series in runtime.

lib/storage/storage_synctest_test.go

@@ -551,7 +551,7 @@ func TestStorageAddRows_nextDayIndexPrefill(t *testing.T) {
 		nextDaySlowInserts := m.SlowPerDayIndexInserts
 		slowInserts := nextDaySlowInserts - currDaySlowInserts
 		if slowInserts >= numSeries {
-			t.Errorf("unexpected amount of slow inserts: got %d, want < %d", slowInserts, numSeries)
+			t.Fatalf("unexpected amount of slow inserts: got %d, want < %d", slowInserts, numSeries)
 		}
 
 	})
@@ -842,7 +842,7 @@ func TestStorageLastPartitionMetrics(t *testing.T) {
 		s.AddRows(mrs, defaultPrecisionBits)
 		s.DebugFlush()
 		if got := s.newTimeseriesCreated.Load(); got != want {
-			t.Errorf("unexpected number of new timeseries: got %d, want %d", got, want)
+			t.Fatalf("unexpected number of new timeseries: got %d, want %d", got, want)
 		}
 		// wait for merged parts to be attached to the table
 		time.Sleep(time.Minute)
@@ -1218,7 +1218,7 @@ func TestStorage_denyQueriesOutsideRetention(t *testing.T) {
 		slices.Sort(gotData)
 
 		if diff := cmp.Diff(wantData, gotData); diff != "" {
-			t.Errorf("unexpected tag value suffixes (-want, +got):\n%s", diff)
+			t.Fatalf("unexpected tag value suffixes (-want, +got):\n%s", diff)
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -1487,3 +1487,100 @@ func TestStorageAddRows_MaxBackfillAge(t *testing.T) {
 		s.MustClose()
 	})
 }
+
+func TestStorageAddRows_currHourMetricIDs(t *testing.T) {
+	defer testRemoveAll(t)
+
+	f := func(t *testing.T, disablePerDayIndex bool) {
+		synctest.Test(t, func(t *testing.T) {
+			s := MustOpenStorage(t.Name(), OpenOptions{
+				DisablePerDayIndex: disablePerDayIndex,
+			})
+			defer s.MustClose()
+
+			now := time.Now().UTC()
+			currHourTR := TimeRange{
+				MinTimestamp: time.Date(now.Year(), now.Month(), now.Day(), now.Hour(), 0, 0, 0, time.UTC).UnixMilli(),
+				MaxTimestamp: time.Date(now.Year(), now.Month(), now.Day(), now.Hour(), 59, 59, 999_999_999, time.UTC).UnixMilli(),
+			}
+			currHour := uint64(currHourTR.MinTimestamp / 1000 / 3600)
+			prevHourTR := TimeRange{
+				MinTimestamp: currHourTR.MinTimestamp - msecPerHour,
+				MaxTimestamp: currHourTR.MaxTimestamp - msecPerHour,
+			}
+			rng := rand.New(rand.NewSource(1))
+
+			// Test current hour metricIDs population when data ingestion takes the
+			// slow path. The database is empty, therefore the index and the
+			// tsidCache contain no metricIDs, therefore the data ingestion will
+			// take slow path.
+
+			mrs := testGenerateMetricRowsWithPrefix(rng, 1000, "slow_path", currHourTR)
+			s.AddRows(mrs, defaultPrecisionBits)
+			s.DebugFlush()
+			s.updateCurrHourMetricIDs(currHour)
+			if got, want := s.currHourMetricIDs.Load().m.Len(), 1000; got != want {
+				t.Fatalf("[slow path] unexpected current hour metric ID count: got %d, want %d", got, want)
+			}
+
+			// Test current hour metricIDs population when data ingestion takes the
+			// fast path (when the metricIDs are found in the tsidCache)
+
+			// First insert samples to populate the tsidCache. The samples belong to
+			// the previous hour, therefore the metricIDs won't be added to
+			// currHourMetricIDs.
+			mrs = testGenerateMetricRowsWithPrefix(rng, 1000, "fast_path", prevHourTR)
+			s.AddRows(mrs, defaultPrecisionBits)
+			s.DebugFlush()
+			s.updateCurrHourMetricIDs(currHour)
+			if got, want := s.currHourMetricIDs.Load().m.Len(), 1000; got != want {
+				t.Fatalf("[fast path] unexpected current hour metric ID count after ingesting samples for previous hour: got %d, want %d", got, want)
+			}
+
+			// Now ingest the same metrics. This time the metricIDs will be found in
+			// tsidCache so the ingestion will take the fast path.
+			mrs = testGenerateMetricRowsWithPrefix(rng, 1000, "fast_path", currHourTR)
+			s.AddRows(mrs, defaultPrecisionBits)
+			s.DebugFlush()
+			s.updateCurrHourMetricIDs(currHour)
+			if got, want := s.currHourMetricIDs.Load().m.Len(), 2000; got != want {
+				t.Fatalf("[fast path] unexpected current hour metric ID count: got %d, want %d", got, want)
+			}
+
+			// Test current hour metricIDs population when data ingestion takes the
+			// slower path (when the metricIDs are not found in the tsidCache but
+			// found in the index)
+
+			// First insert samples to populate the index. The samples belong to
+			// the previous hour, therefore the metricIDs won't be added to
+			// currHourMetricIDs.
+			mrs = testGenerateMetricRowsWithPrefix(rng, 1000, "slower_path", prevHourTR)
+			s.AddRows(mrs, defaultPrecisionBits)
+			s.DebugFlush()
+			s.updateCurrHourMetricIDs(currHour)
+			if got, want := s.currHourMetricIDs.Load().m.Len(), 2000; got != want {
+				t.Fatalf("[slower path] unexpected current hour metric ID count after ingesting samples for previous hour: got %d, want %d", got, want)
+			}
+			// Inserted samples were also added to the tsidCache. Drop it to
+			// enforce the fallback to index search.
+			s.resetAndSaveTSIDCache()
+
+			// Now ingest the same metrics. This time the metricIDs will be searched
+			// and found in index so the ingestion will take the slower path.
+			mrs = testGenerateMetricRowsWithPrefix(rng, 1000, "slower_path", currHourTR)
+			s.AddRows(mrs, defaultPrecisionBits)
+			s.DebugFlush()
+			s.updateCurrHourMetricIDs(currHour)
+			if got, want := s.currHourMetricIDs.Load().m.Len(), 3000; got != want {
+				t.Fatalf("[slower path] unexpected current hour metric ID count: got %d, want %d", got, want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+
+	t.Run("disablePerDayIndex=false", func(t *testing.T) {
+		f(t, false)
+	})
+	t.Run("disablePerDayIndex=true", func(t *testing.T) {
+		f(t, true)
+	})
+}

lib/storage/storage_test.go

@@ -3477,103 +3477,6 @@ func TestStorageAddRows_SamplesWithZeroDate(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
-func TestStorageAddRows_currHourMetricIDs(t *testing.T) {
-	defer testRemoveAll(t)
-
-	f := func(t *testing.T, disablePerDayIndex bool) {
-		t.Helper()
-
-		s := MustOpenStorage(t.Name(), OpenOptions{
-			DisablePerDayIndex: disablePerDayIndex,
-		})
-		defer s.MustClose()
-
-		now := time.Now().UTC()
-		currHourTR := TimeRange{
-			MinTimestamp: time.Date(now.Year(), now.Month(), now.Day(), now.Hour(), 0, 0, 0, time.UTC).UnixMilli(),
-			MaxTimestamp: time.Date(now.Year(), now.Month(), now.Day(), now.Hour(), 59, 59, 999_999_999, time.UTC).UnixMilli(),
-		}
-		currHour := uint64(currHourTR.MinTimestamp / 1000 / 3600)
-		prevHourTR := TimeRange{
-			MinTimestamp: currHourTR.MinTimestamp - 3600*1000,
-			MaxTimestamp: currHourTR.MaxTimestamp - 3600*1000,
-		}
-		rng := rand.New(rand.NewSource(1))
-
-		// Test current hour metricIDs population when data ingestion takes the
-		// slow path. The database is empty, therefore the index and the
-		// tsidCache contain no metricIDs, therefore the data ingestion will
-		// take slow path.
-
-		mrs := testGenerateMetricRowsWithPrefix(rng, 1000, "slow_path", currHourTR)
-		s.AddRows(mrs, defaultPrecisionBits)
-		s.DebugFlush()
-		s.updateCurrHourMetricIDs(currHour)
-		if got, want := s.currHourMetricIDs.Load().m.Len(), 1000; got != want {
-			t.Errorf("[slow path] unexpected current hour metric ID count: got %d, want %d", got, want)
-		}
-
-		// Test current hour metricIDs population when data ingestion takes the
-		// fast path (when the metricIDs are found in the tsidCache)
-
-		// First insert samples to populate the tsidCache. The samples belong to
-		// the previous hour, therefore the metricIDs won't be added to
-		// currHourMetricIDs.
-		mrs = testGenerateMetricRowsWithPrefix(rng, 1000, "fast_path", prevHourTR)
-		s.AddRows(mrs, defaultPrecisionBits)
-		s.DebugFlush()
-		s.updateCurrHourMetricIDs(currHour)
-		if got, want := s.currHourMetricIDs.Load().m.Len(), 1000; got != want {
-			t.Errorf("[fast path] unexpected current hour metric ID count after ingesting samples for previous hour: got %d, want %d", got, want)
-		}
-
-		// Now ingest the same metrics. This time the metricIDs will be found in
-		// tsidCache so the ingestion will take the fast path.
-		mrs = testGenerateMetricRowsWithPrefix(rng, 1000, "fast_path", currHourTR)
-		s.AddRows(mrs, defaultPrecisionBits)
-		s.DebugFlush()
-		s.updateCurrHourMetricIDs(currHour)
-		if got, want := s.currHourMetricIDs.Load().m.Len(), 2000; got != want {
-			t.Errorf("[fast path] unexpected current hour metric ID count: got %d, want %d", got, want)
-		}
-
-		// Test current hour metricIDs population when data ingestion takes the
-		// slower path (when the metricIDs are not found in the tsidCache but
-		// found in the index)
-
-		// First insert samples to populate the index. The samples belong to
-		// the previous hour, therefore the metricIDs won't be added to
-		// currHourMetricIDs.
-		mrs = testGenerateMetricRowsWithPrefix(rng, 1000, "slower_path", prevHourTR)
-		s.AddRows(mrs, defaultPrecisionBits)
-		s.DebugFlush()
-		s.updateCurrHourMetricIDs(currHour)
-		if got, want := s.currHourMetricIDs.Load().m.Len(), 2000; got != want {
-			t.Errorf("[slower path] unexpected current hour metric ID count after ingesting samples for previous hour: got %d, want %d", got, want)
-		}
-		// Inserted samples were also added to the tsidCache. Drop it to
-		// enforce the fallback to index search.
-		s.resetAndSaveTSIDCache()
-
-		// Now ingest the same metrics. This time the metricIDs will be searched
-		// and found in index so the ingestion will take the slower path.
-		mrs = testGenerateMetricRowsWithPrefix(rng, 1000, "slower_path", currHourTR)
-		s.AddRows(mrs, defaultPrecisionBits)
-		s.DebugFlush()
-		s.updateCurrHourMetricIDs(currHour)
-		if got, want := s.currHourMetricIDs.Load().m.Len(), 3000; got != want {
-			t.Errorf("[slower path] unexpected current hour metric ID count: got %d, want %d", got, want)
-		}
-	}
-
-	t.Run("disablePerDayIndex=false", func(t *testing.T) {
-		f(t, false)
-	})
-	t.Run("disablePerDayIndex=true", func(t *testing.T) {
-		f(t, true)
-	})
-}
-
 // testSearchMetricIDs returns metricIDs for the given tfss and tr.
 //
 // The returned metricIDs are sorted. The function panics in in case of error.