Install New Relic on Your Application

Install and configure the New Relic monitoring agent on your application to measure and improve performance, with step-by-step instructions for multiple runtimes.

Prerequisites

• A New Relic account (create one at newrelic.com )
• Your New Relic License Key (found under Account settings)
• Access to restart or redeploy your application

Step 1 — Get Your License Key

1. Log into your New Relic account.
2. Navigate to Account settings.
3. Copy your License Key — you'll need it for the agent configuration.

Step 2 — Install the Agent

Choose the agent for your runtime:

Node.js

npm install newrelic --save

Create newrelic.js in the root of your project:

exports.config = {
  app_name: ['Your App Name'],
  license_key: process.env.NEW_RELIC_LICENSE_KEY,
  logging: {
    level: 'info',
  },
};

Require the agent at the very top of your entry file:

require('newrelic');
// rest of your app

Python

pip install newrelic

Generate a config file:

export NEW_RELIC_LICENSE_KEY=your-license-key
newrelic-admin generate-config $NEW_RELIC_LICENSE_KEY newrelic.ini

Run your app through the agent:

NEW_RELIC_CONFIG_FILE=newrelic.ini newrelic-admin run-program python app.py

Java

Add the agent JAR to your startup command:

java -javaagent:/path/to/newrelic.jar -jar your-app.jar

Configure newrelic.yml with your license_key and app_name.

Step 3 — Restart the Application

Once the agent is configured, restart or redeploy your application. New Relic will start sending data to your account within a few minutes.

Monitoring Alternatives

Tool	Strengths	Considerations
New Relic	Easy setup, broad language support	Cost at scale
Datadog	Excellent multi-cloud and integrations	Can be costly at scale
Dynatrace	AI-driven auto-optimization	Steeper learning curve
AppDynamics	Deep performance analytics	Requires detailed initial config

Best Practices

• Continuous monitoring: Regularly review metrics and configure alerts to respond quickly to incidents.
• Cost analysis: Re-evaluate your plan as application traffic grows to avoid unexpected charges.
• Keep configuration updated: Revisit agent settings after significant application changes.
• Follow official docs: Always check New Relic's documentation for the latest agent versions and configuration options.