pyroscope
Grafana Pyroscope is an open-source continuous profiling platform that helps developers identify performance bottlenecks down to specific lines of code. It collects CPU, memory, and I/O profiling data from applications and provides a queryless UI for analysis. Pyroscope 2.0 simplifies operations by writing profiles directly to object storage, eliminating in-memory ingesters and local disk requirements.
Key facts
Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | grafana/pyroscope |
| Owner | grafana |
| Primary language | Go |
| License | AGPL-3.0 — OSI-approved |
| Stars | 11.5k |
| Forks | 772 |
| Open issues | 400 |
| Latest release | v2.1.0 (2026-06-17) |
| Last updated | 2026-07-07 |
| Source | https://github.com/grafana/pyroscope |
What pyroscope is
Pyroscope is a Go-based profiling platform with an AGPL-3.0 license that ingests profiling data via language SDKs, Grafana Alloy, or OTLP sources. Its v2 architecture routes profiles by service directly to object storage, performs background compaction, and serves queries through fan-out reads. It integrates with Grafana Profiles Drilldown for visualization and supports Go, Java, Python, Ruby, and other languages.
Get the pyroscope source
Clone the repository and explore it locally.
git clone https://github.com/grafana/pyroscope.gitcd pyroscope# follow the project's README for install & configurationNeed it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.
Best use cases
Implementation considerations
- Requires SDKs integrated into application code (push) or agent-based instrumentation (Grafana Alloy, OTLP). Plan for SDK compatibility with your language stack.
- Object storage backend (S3-compatible) is mandatory for v2; no local-disk-only option. Ensure bucket permissions, versioning, and lifecycle policies are configured.
- Compaction workers run as background processes; configure CPU/memory limits and parallelism based on data volume and retention policies.
- Grafana integration is primary (Profiles Drilldown); standalone Pyroscope UI exists but Grafana provides richer experience. Plan Grafana licensing if not already in place.
- v1 to v2 migration available without data loss via opt-in flag; test migration in non-production first if upgrading from v1.
When to avoid it — and what to weigh
- Strict Proprietary Source Code Requirements — AGPL-3.0 license requires derivative works or network-exposed modifications to be open-sourced. Closed-source internal forks or heavily modified deployments exposed via network may trigger reciprocal licensing obligations.
- Real-Time Sub-Second Latency Profiling — Pyroscope is designed for continuous profiling and observability, not real-time low-latency profiling or sampling at sub-millisecond intervals. Use specialized low-overhead profilers for that use case.
- Minimal DevOps / Infrastructure Complexity — v2 architecture requires object storage (S3, GCS, Azure Blob, etc.) and operational expertise in configuring compaction workers and query services. Simpler single-box profiling solutions may be easier to deploy.
- No In-House Observability Stack — Pyroscope integrates tightly with Grafana. Organizations without Grafana or observability infrastructure will need additional setup. Consider SaaS alternatives if you lack internal DevOps capacity.
License & commercial use
Licensed under AGPL-3.0 (GNU Affero General Public License v3.0). This is a copyleft license: any modifications or network-exposed derivative works must be open-sourced and licensed under AGPL-3.0. Linking or bundling AGPL code into proprietary software requires legal review.
Commercial use of unmodified Pyroscope is permitted. However, AGPL-3.0 requires that any modifications to the source code, or if Pyroscope is run as a service/network application, the modified code or corresponding source must be made available under AGPL-3.0. Grafana offers commercial Grafana Cloud with Pyroscope included; for on-premises proprietary deployments, review AGPL compliance requirements with legal counsel.
DEV.co evaluation signals
Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.
| Signal | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | Active |
| Documentation | Strong |
| License clarity | Clear |
| Deployment complexity | Moderate |
| DEV.co fit | Strong |
| Assessment confidence | High |
Pyroscope collects performance data including stack traces and function call patterns; this may contain sensitive business logic or service architecture details. Ensure access controls on the Pyroscope server (authentication, RBAC via Grafana integration) and object storage (IAM/bucket policies). No security audit or CVE information provided in the data; review security disclosures and Grafana security advisories. OTLP and SDK endpoints may require TLS/authentication depending on deployment. No mention of encryption at rest or in transit defaults.
Alternatives to consider
Datadog Continuous Profiler
Proprietary SaaS with agent-based profiling. No AGPL licensing concerns, easier onboarding, but higher cost and vendor lock-in; less control over data.
Linux Perf / BPF-based profilers (bcc, bpftrace)
Low-overhead kernel-based profiling, no app instrumentation needed, fully open-source. Limited aggregation and visualization; requires deep Linux/kernel knowledge and manual analysis.
Async Profiler (Java) / py-spy (Python)
Language-specific, lightweight, open-source profilers. Lower operational burden for single-language stacks, but not unified across polyglot services; limited historical/long-term storage.
Build on pyroscope with DEV.co software developers
Start with Pyroscope's Docker quick-start, review the v2 architecture and migration guide, and integrate SDKs into your services. For proprietary deployments, consult legal on AGPL-3.0 compliance.
Talk to DEV.coRelated open-source tools
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pyroscope FAQ
Can I use Pyroscope in a proprietary product without open-sourcing my code?
What object storage backends does Pyroscope v2 support?
Do I need Grafana to use Pyroscope?
Can I migrate from Pyroscope v1 to v2 without losing data?
Work with a software development agency
Adopting pyroscope is usually one piece of a larger software development effort. As a software development agency, DEV.co provides software development services and web development expertise — pairing senior software developers and web developers with your team to design, build, and operate open-source devops software in production.
Ready to Profile Your Applications?
Start with Pyroscope's Docker quick-start, review the v2 architecture and migration guide, and integrate SDKs into your services. For proprietary deployments, consult legal on AGPL-3.0 compliance.