Updated README.md

README.md

@@ -12,6 +12,38 @@ Building the server
 From the `gostatsd/` directory run `go build`. The binary will be built in place
 and called `gostatsd`
 
+Running the server
+------------------
+`gostatsd -help` gives a complete description of available options and their
+defaults.
+
+Sending metrics
+---------------
+The server listens for UDP packets on the address given by the `-l` flag,
+aggregates them, then sends them to graphite server address given by the `-g`
+flag.
+
+The format of each metric is:
+
+    <bucket name>:<value>|<type>\n
+
+* `<bucket name>` is a string like `abc.def.g`, just like a graphite bucket name
+* `<value>` is a string representation of a floating point number
+* `<type>` is one of `c`, `g`, or `ms` for "counter", "gauge", and "timer"
+respectively.
+
+A single packet can contain multiple metrics, each ending with a newline.
+
+A simple way to test your installation or send metrics from a script is to use
+`echo` and the [netcat][netcat] utility `nc`:
+
+    echo 'abc.def.g:10|c' | nc -w1 -u localhost 8125
+
+Monitoring
+----------
+Currently you can get some basic idea of the status of the server by visiting the
+address given by the `-c` option with your web browser.
+
 Using the library
 -----------------
 In your source code:
@@ -23,3 +55,4 @@ http://go.pkgdoc.org/github.com/kisielk/gostatsd/statsd
 
 [etsy]: http://www.etsy.com
 [statsd]: http://www.github.com/etsy/statsd
+[netcat]: http://netcat.sourceforge.net/