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Stan's Robot Shop is a sample microservices application designed for learning and testing containerized application orchestration and monitoring. It includes multiple technology stacks (Node.js, Java, Python, Go, PHP) and integrates with Instana for distributed tracing and performance monitoring.
Key facts
Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | instana/robot-shop |
| Owner | instana |
| Primary language | JavaScript |
| License | Apache-2.0 — OSI-approved |
| Stars | 997 |
| Forks | 6.4k |
| Open issues | 25 |
| Latest release | Unknown |
| Last updated | 2026-05-14 |
| Source | https://github.com/instana/robot-shop |
What robot-shop is
A multi-language microservices sandbox built with Express, Spring Boot, Flask, and Go, persisting to MongoDB, Redis, and MySQL, with RabbitMQ for messaging and Nginx for routing. Includes pre-configured Instana instrumentation for end-to-end tracing and metrics collection, plus Prometheus endpoints on cart and payment services.
Get the robot-shop source
Clone the repository and explore it locally.
git clone https://github.com/instana/robot-shop.gitcd robot-shop# 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 Docker and Docker Compose (newer versions); Kubernetes deployment needs Helm and kubectl familiarity.
- Instana agent key and account needed to enable full tracing visibility; trial account available but vendor-specific integration.
- Limited ARM support means x86/x64 infrastructure required; DCOS requires separate cluster infrastructure.
- Load generation (Locust-based) is manual and optional; requires Python setup in load-gen directory.
- Website/EUM monitoring requires separate Instana configuration and environment variables (INSTANA_EUM_KEY, INSTANA_EUM_REPORTING_URL).
When to avoid it — and what to weigh
- Production or Security-Critical Use — README explicitly states error handling is patchy and no security is built in. Not suitable for any production environment or data handling.
- Need for Latest/Stable Release Cycle — No official release tags; last push was 2026-05-14 (future date suggests data anomaly). No predictable versioning or release schedule documented.
- ARM Architecture Deployment — README notes limited ARM support. Avoid if targeting edge devices, Raspberry Pi, or ARM-based Kubernetes clusters.
- Reference Implementation for Production Code — Explicitly stated as not a comprehensive reference; error handling and patterns shown are not production-grade models to follow.
License & commercial use
Apache License 2.0 (Apache-2.0). Permissive OSI-approved license allowing modification, distribution, and private use with attribution and liability disclaimer.
Apache-2.0 permits commercial use, modification, and distribution. However, the application itself is explicitly a learning/sandbox tool with no production-grade security or error handling. Commercial viability depends on use case: safe as a demo/learning environment within a commercial context; not suitable as a base for commercial products without substantial hardening. Review your compliance needs independently.
DEV.co evaluation signals
Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.
| Signal | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | Moderate |
| Documentation | Adequate |
| License clarity | Clear |
| Deployment complexity | Moderate |
| DEV.co fit | Good |
| Assessment confidence | High |
README explicitly states 'there is not any security built into the application.' No authentication, authorization, secrets management, or input validation guarantees. Data flows unencrypted in default setup. Unsuitable for handling sensitive data. Use only in isolated lab/learning environments or behind air-gapped networks.
Alternatives to consider
Sock Shop (Weaveworks)
Similar microservices sandbox for learning; vendor-neutral (not tied to Instana); more active maintenance and broader platform support.
Online Boutique (Google Cloud)
Cloud-native microservices demo; Kubernetes-first; includes gRPC and modern patterns; better documentation and GCP integration examples.
Hipster Shop (ex-Google Cloud)
E-commerce microservices reference; includes load generation and monitoring setup; actively maintained with broader language examples.
Build on robot-shop with DEV.co software developers
Explore Stan's Robot Shop as a hands-on sandbox for testing monitoring tools, orchestration platforms, and distributed tracing. Free to run locally with Docker Compose or deploy to Kubernetes.
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robot-shop FAQ
Can I use this in production?
Do I need an Instana account to run it?
What orchestration platforms does it support?
How active is maintenance?
Senior engineers for your next build
robot-shop rarely ships on its own. As a software development company, DEV.co handles the surrounding work — data modeling, service integration, deployment, and the open-source observability glue code that production actually requires.
Ready to Learn Microservices?
Explore Stan's Robot Shop as a hands-on sandbox for testing monitoring tools, orchestration platforms, and distributed tracing. Free to run locally with Docker Compose or deploy to Kubernetes.