Grafana Tempo is a high volume, minimal dependency distributed tracing backend.
Star History
Momentum
+137
STARS · LAST 30 DAYS
5
PER DAY
#144
MOST-STARRED Go
| Window | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars gained | +35 | +137 | +450 |
| Per day | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Forks gained | +4 | +15 | +38 |
tempo gained 137 stars in the last 30 days, about 5 a day, and now has 5.5K. It is about 7 years old and has averaged roughly 784 stars a year. It ranks #144 among Go repositories and #1,033 across all languages on GitHubRepo.
Trending Record
5
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 #1,033 by stars across every repository tracked on GitHubRepo. These are adjacent projects:
| Rank | Repository | Language | Stars | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1,028 | Docile-Alligator/Infinity-For-Reddit | Java | ★ 5.5K | Compare ↗ |
| #1,029 | chrisant996/clink | C++ | ★ 5.5K | Compare ↗ |
| #1,030 | psviderski/uncloud | Go | ★ 5.5K | Compare ↗ |
| #1,030 | xtool-org/xtool | Swift | ★ 5.5K | Compare ↗ |
| #1,032 | dotnet/skills | C# | ★ 5.5K | Compare ↗ |
| #1,033 | grafana/tempo This Project | Go | ★ 5.5K | |
| #1,034 | openemr/openemr | PHP | ★ 5.5K | Compare ↗ |
| #1,035 | qpdf/qpdf | C++ | ★ 5.4K | Compare ↗ |
| #1,036 | rmosolgo/graphql-ruby | Ruby | ★ 5.4K | Compare ↗ |
| #1,037 | tokio-rs/topcoat | Rust | ★ 5.4K | Compare ↗ |
| #1,038 | pest-parser/pest | Rust | ★ 5.4K | Compare ↗ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does tempo do? +
Grafana Tempo is a high volume, minimal dependency distributed tracing backend.
What language is tempo written in? +
The primary language is Go. Topics include: distributed-tracing, grafana, tempo, traces.
Is tempo actively maintained? +
Yes, the last recorded push was on Sep 26, 2026 with 206 open issues being tracked.
How many stars does tempo have? +
tempo has 5,490 stars and 762 forks on GitHub.
How does tempo rank among GitHub repositories? +
With 5,490 stars, grafana/tempo is ranked #1,033 globally across all repositories tracked on GitHubRepo and #144 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.
