beyla
Grafana Beyla is an eBPF-based tool that automatically instruments web applications and gRPC services to collect observability data without code changes. It captures metrics and traces in OpenTelemetry and Prometheus formats, supporting HTTP/S, gRPC, SQL, Redis, Kafka, and MongoDB protocols across multiple programming languages.
Key facts
Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | grafana/beyla |
| Owner | grafana |
| Primary language | Go |
| License | Apache-2.0 — OSI-approved |
| Stars | 2k |
| Forks | 184 |
| Open issues | 112 |
| Latest release | v3.25.0 (2026-06-29) |
| Last updated | 2026-07-08 |
| Source | https://github.com/grafana/beyla |
What beyla is
Beyla uses Linux eBPF to hook into application executables and OS networking layers at runtime, generating OpenTelemetry spans and RED metrics without application instrumentation. It requires Linux kernel 5.8+ with BTF support, elevated privileges (sudo or Kubernetes capabilities), and supports Go, Java, .NET, Node.js, Python, Ruby, and Rust applications.
Get the beyla source
Clone the repository and explore it locally.
git clone https://github.com/grafana/beyla.gitcd beyla# follow the project's README for install & configurationNeed it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.
Best use cases
Implementation considerations
- Kernel version and BTF availability must be verified before deployment; BTF is default on kernel 5.14+ but may require recompilation for older systems.
- Go programs require compilation with Go 1.17 or later; version skew support is limited to 3 major versions behind current stable.
- HTTPS instrumentation is currently limited to Go and libraries using libssl3; other languages only support HTTP.
- Project is in transition to OpenTelemetry eBPF Instrumentation (OBI) upstream; new PRs should target the upstream repository unless documentation-only.
- Elevated privileges (sudo, SYS_ADMIN capability, or privileged container) are mandatory; plan security and RBAC accordingly.
When to avoid it — and what to weigh
- Kernel < 5.8 or No BTF Support — Beyla requires Linux kernel 5.8+ with BTF enabled; systems running older kernels or Windows/macOS are not supported.
- No Elevated Privileges Available — Beyla requires `sudo` on bare hosts, `SYS_ADMIN` capability in containers, or privileged mode in Docker Compose; air-gapped or highly restricted environments may be impractical.
- Existing Native Agent Investment — If you have already instrumented applications with language-specific agents (e.g., Java APM agents, Python tracing libraries), the overhead of running Beyla in parallel may be redundant.
- Sub-Second Latency Sensitivity — eBPF overhead is minimal but non-zero; applications with strict sub-millisecond SLA requirements should validate impact in your environment.
License & commercial use
Apache License 2.0 (SPDX: Apache-2.0), a permissive OSI-approved license allowing commercial use, modification, and distribution with attribution and liability disclaimers.
Apache-2.0 permits commercial use without explicit licensing restrictions. However, consult internal legal review for compliance with your commercial deployment model and any upstream CNCF/OpenTelemetry project agreements that may apply as Beyla transitions to OBI.
DEV.co evaluation signals
Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.
| Signal | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | Active |
| Documentation | Adequate |
| License clarity | Clear |
| Deployment complexity | Moderate |
| DEV.co fit | Strong |
| Assessment confidence | High |
Beyla operates with elevated privileges (sudo/SYS_ADMIN) to access kernel eBPF subsystem; this is architecturally necessary but expands attack surface if compromised. No public security audit data is available in the provided materials. Kubernetes unprivileged example reduces blast radius to a DaemonSet/sidecar scope. eBPF programs are part of the binary and not user-configurable. Input validation and memory safety depend on the underlying Linux kernel and eBPF verifier. Review upstream OBI repository for any security disclosures or advisories.
Alternatives to consider
OpenTelemetry Instrumentation Libraries (language-specific agents)
Provide fine-grained, code-integrated observability but require code modification and language-specific setup; Beyla offers zero-code alternative at the cost of less detailed span context.
Envoy/Istio Service Mesh Observability
Captures network-level metrics and traces at the proxy layer; requires mesh control plane deployment but provides multi-language support without eBPF kernel constraints.
Datadog or Elastic APM Agents
Commercial or open-source hosted agents with deeper application-level instrumentation; require agent installation but include vendor-specific features and cloud integration.
Build on beyla with DEV.co software developers
Deploy Beyla to automatically capture metrics and traces without modifying your code. Works across languages and integrates with Grafana, Prometheus, and OpenTelemetry ecosystems.
Talk to DEV.coRelated open-source tools
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beyla FAQ
Does Beyla require code changes to my application?
What are the minimum kernel requirements?
Can Beyla instrument Windows or macOS applications?
Does Beyla support HTTPS?
Custom software development services
DEV.co is a software development agency delivering custom software development services to companies building on open source. Our software developers and web developers design, integrate, and ship production systems — spanning web development, APIs, AI, data, and cloud. If beyla is part of your open-source observability roadmap, our team can implement, customize, migrate, and maintain it.
Start Auto-Instrumenting Your Applications
Deploy Beyla to automatically capture metrics and traces without modifying your code. Works across languages and integrates with Grafana, Prometheus, and OpenTelemetry ecosystems.