GreptimeDB is an open-source observability database designed for the "Observability 2.0" paradigm, unifying metrics, logs, and traces into a single data model. It aims to replace disparate systems like Prometheus, Loki, and Elasticsearch with a single, cost-effective engine. Targeted at engineers and researchers managing observability data at scale, it offers significant cost reductions and simplified operations by consolidating data sources and query languages.

How It Works

GreptimeDB employs a unified columnar engine written in Rust, treating all observability signals as timestamped "wide events." It leverages object storage (S3, GCS, Azure Blob) as its primary storage layer, decoupling compute and storage for independent scaling and cost efficiency. The architecture supports advanced indexing (full-text, inverted, skipping) to achieve sub-second query performance even at petabyte-to-exabyte scales, enabling cross-signal analysis via SQL and PromQL.

Quick Start & Requirements

• Primary install/run command: docker pull greptime/greptimedb followed by docker run ... greptime/greptimedb:latest standalone start ... (details in README).
• Non-default prerequisites: Rust toolchain (nightly), Protobuf compiler (>= 3.15), C/C++ build essentials (gcc/g++, autoconf, glibc library). Python toolchain is optional.
• Links: User Guide, API Docs, Roadmap 2025, Install Guide, Demo Scenes.

Highlighted Details

• Acts as a drop-in replacement for Prometheus remote write, Jaeger, and OpenTelemetry native protocols.
• Achieves up to 50x lower storage costs by utilizing object storage.
• Supports unified querying through both SQL and PromQL.
• Demonstrates sub-second query performance at PB-EB scale.
• Optimized for AI/LLM observability workloads, handling high-volume conversational data and agent traces.

Maintenance & Community

The project is currently in Release Candidate (RC) status, actively marching toward v1.0 General Availability (GA) targeted for March 2026. It features stable APIs and is deployed in production handling billions of data points daily. Community engagement is encouraged via [Slack Discussions](https://join.slack.com/t/greptimeteam/shared_invite/zt-1k7q6o2ns-7_30Q8~177_77303334), the [Official Website](https://greptime.com/), [Blog](https://greptime.com/blog), [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/greptimeteam/), [X (Twitter)](https://twitter.com/GreptimeTeam), and [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@GreptimeDB).

Licensing & Compatibility

GreptimeDB is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. This permissive license allows for commercial use and integration within closed-source applications without significant copyleft restrictions.

Limitations & Caveats

As of the provided information, GreptimeDB is in a Release Candidate phase, with General Availability (v1.0) anticipated in March 2026. While production-ready and actively maintained, users should be aware that it has not yet reached its final GA milestone.