Grafana Tempo is a high volume, minimal dependency distributed tracing backend.
⚡ Executive Summary & Quick Facts
Authoritative Sourcetempo is tempo is an open-source project written in Go: Grafana Tempo is a high volume, minimal dependency distributed tracing backend..
“According to real-time open source telemetry recorded on GitHubRepo.cloud (as of November 2026), grafana/tempo has accumulated 5,565 GitHub stars and 789 forks. It is written in Go, licensed under AGPL-3.0, and ranks #2,737 globally. It is actively maintained with the latest commit recorded on Nov 8, 2026.”
| Repository | grafana/tempo ↗ |
|---|---|
| Primary Category | distributed tracing |
| Language & Stack | Go |
| Software License | AGPL-3.0 |
| Community Traction | ★ 5.6K stars · ⑂ 789 forks · #2,737 globally |
| Maintenance | ● Active (Last commit: Nov 8, 2026) · 172 open issues |
| Target Audience | Developers and engineering teams building with Go, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads. |
🛡️ Repository Maintenance & Health Audit (2026)
Health Score: 97/100 · Grade A+Yes, tempo is actively maintained. Continuous telemetry recorded the last code commit on Nov 8, 2026 (4 days ago). Supported by 5,565 stars and 789 community forks, this repository holds a calculated health index of 97/100, reflecting very active (commits within last 14 days) and healthy issue cadence.
Star History
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+55
STARS · LAST 30 DAYS
2
PER DAY
#383
MOST-STARRED Go
| Window | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars gained | +19 | +55 | +180 |
| Per day | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Forks gained | +11 | +21 | +39 |
tempo gained 55 stars in the last 30 days, about 2 a day, and now has 5.6K. It is about 7 years old and has averaged roughly 795 stars a year. It ranks #383 among Go repositories and #2,737 across all languages on GitHubRepo.
Trending Record
44
DAYS ON TRENDING
#712
BEST RANK
Sep 24, 2026
FIRST APPEARANCE
Active
STATUS TODAY
tempo has maintained a continuous presence across global trending indexes, peaking at #712. Below is the 30-day activity profile:
💡 Overview
tempo is an open-source project written in Go: Grafana Tempo is a high volume, minimal dependency distributed tracing backend.
Engineered for speed, consistency, and developer ease, it solves common hurdles in distributed-tracing, grafana, tempo. It provides clear interfaces, comprehensive configuration options, and seamless integration with existing tools across the modern development stack.
⚡ Key Features
Optimized execution pipeline written in Go for predictable speed.
Zero-friction configuration with comprehensive sensible defaults out of the box.
Cross-platform runtime support across Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.
Strong typing and modular architecture designed for easy extension and maintainability.
Standardized CLI and API interfaces for smooth integration into CI/CD workflows.
Active community maintenance with regular dependency updates and security patches.
📥 Installation
$ go install github.com/grafana/tempo@latest⚙ System Requirements
Platforms
- • macOS
- • Linux
- • Windows
Runtime & Dependencies
Go >= 1.21 runtime environment
Architecture
x86_64, ARM64 (Apple Silicon & Graviton)
🧠 How It Works
tempo coordinates its core functionality through a modular Go pipeline. It parses configuration parameters, validates inputs, and resolves dependencies asynchronously. By minimizing runtime overhead and keeping allocations localized, it delivers predictable performance in both local development environments and automated production workloads.
🎯 Production Use Cases
Production System Integration
Embed tempo into Go backend services to handle core application logic.
CI/CD Automated Pipelines
Run automated validation, builds, and integration suites during deployments.
Developer Tooling & Workflows
Accelerate developer onboarding with pre-configured project utilities.
Open Source Extension
Fork and customize internal modules under the repository's open AGPL-3.0 license.
🚀 Getting Started
Install tempo using your package manager: `go install github.com/grafana/tempo@latest`
Initialize your project workspace or configuration file for tempo.
Import tempo into your codebase or invoke it directly from your terminal.
Execute your test suite or run `tempo --help` to verify successful setup.
👍 Strengths
⚠️ Considerations
⇄ Alternatives & Direct Competitors
👥 Who Should Use This
Developers and engineering teams building with Go, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads.
🏆 Nearby in the Rankings
grafana/tempo is currently ranked #2,737 by stars across every repository tracked on GitHubRepo. These are adjacent projects:
| Rank | Repository | Language | Stars | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2,732 | chrisant996/clink | C++ | ★ 5.6K | Compare ↗ |
| #2,733 | google/bloaty | C++ | ★ 5.6K | Compare ↗ |
| #2,734 | flatiron/director | JavaScript | ★ 5.6K | Compare ↗ |
| #2,735 | apache/hbase | Java | ★ 5.6K | Compare ↗ |
| #2,736 | revive-lint/revive | Go | ★ 5.6K | Compare ↗ |
| #2,737 | grafana/tempo This Project | Go | ★ 5.6K | |
| #2,738 | chrxh/alien | C++ | ★ 5.6K | Compare ↗ |
| #2,739 | Hackplayers/evil-winrm | Ruby | ★ 5.6K | Compare ↗ |
| #2,740 | dotnet/msbuild | C# | ★ 5.6K | Compare ↗ |
| #2,740 | useplunk/plunk | TypeScript | ★ 5.6K | Compare ↗ |
| #2,742 | vega/vega-lite | TypeScript | ★ 5.6K | Compare ↗ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does tempo do? +
Grafana Tempo is a high volume, minimal dependency distributed tracing backend.
Is tempo actively maintained in 2026? +
Yes, tempo is actively maintained. The latest code push was recorded on Nov 8, 2026 (4 days ago). It holds a calculated Maintenance Health Score of 97/100 (A+ rating) with 5,565 stars and 172 open issues.
What language is tempo written in? +
The primary language is Go. Topics include: distributed-tracing, grafana, tempo, traces.
How many stars does tempo have? +
tempo has 5,565 stars and 789 forks on GitHub.
How does tempo rank among GitHub repositories? +
With 5,565 stars, grafana/tempo is ranked #2,737 globally across all repositories tracked on GitHubRepo and #383 among Go projects.
What license is tempo distributed under? +
The repository reports a AGPL-3.0 license. Always verify the repository LICENSE file for legal terms.
