Observability platforms often become a patchwork of specialized tools — one for metrics, another for traces, and a third for logs. SigNoz takes a different approach by unifying all three telemetry signals in a single platform with a single backend datastore. This architectural choice enables correlated queries across logs, metrics, and traces, simplifying how we analyze complex distributed systems.
What SigNoz offers: a unified observability platform built on OpenTelemetry and ClickHouse
SigNoz is an open-source observability platform designed to provide unified visibility into logs, metrics, and distributed traces. It is built natively on OpenTelemetry, which means it supports instrumentation for all major programming languages without vendor lock-in. This foundation ensures broad compatibility and standardization out of the box.
The platform is primarily written in TypeScript and uses ClickHouse as its core datastore. ClickHouse is a columnar OLAP database well-known for handling large-scale analytical workloads at companies like Uber and Cloudflare. Using ClickHouse as a single backend for all telemetry data — logs, metrics, and traces — is a key architectural choice that sets SigNoz apart.
Unlike the common approach of stitching together separate tools — such as Prometheus for metrics, Jaeger for tracing, and Elasticsearch or Loki for logs — SigNoz stores everything in ClickHouse. This unified data layer enables faster aggregate queries and correlations across high-cardinality telemetry data.
The platform’s feature set includes application performance monitoring (APM) with pre-built charts for p99 latency, error rate, and Apdex scores. It supports distributed tracing visualized through flame graphs and Gantt charts, plus comprehensive log management with a powerful query builder. Customizable dashboards, alerting with anomaly detection, and exception monitoring round out the offering.
For deployment, SigNoz provides self-hosted options via Docker or Kubernetes Helm charts. There is also a managed cloud offering for users who prefer a hosted experience.
Technical strengths and architectural tradeoffs
The standout technical aspect of SigNoz is its unified storage of telemetry data in ClickHouse. This approach contrasts with the usual multi-tool stacks that require stitching together different data stores and query languages. By consolidating logs, metrics, and traces into a single columnar OLAP database, SigNoz simplifies data correlation and reduces operational complexity.
ClickHouse is designed for strong analytical query performance on large datasets with high cardinality, which suits telemetry data well. This enables SigNoz to run fast aggregate queries across all telemetry signals using one query builder interface. The platform leverages this to provide rich visualizations and analysis capabilities.
The tradeoff is that ClickHouse is a powerful but complex system to operate and tune, especially in a production observability environment with high ingestion rates. It requires familiarity with columnar databases and query optimization. The decision to build the platform primarily in TypeScript suggests a focus on developer experience and maintainability, though it might not be as performant as lower-level languages in some hot paths.
SigNoz’s native OpenTelemetry support means it can collect telemetry from a wide variety of languages and frameworks without extra instrumentation overhead or vendor lock-in. This standardization simplifies adoption and integration.
While the platform offers a comprehensive feature set, users should be aware that managing a self-hosted ClickHouse cluster and the SigNoz platform involves infrastructure and operational overhead. The managed cloud option mitigates this but at the cost of relinquishing control.
Explore the project
The SigNoz repository organizes its codebase primarily in TypeScript, with ClickHouse as its backend. The README provides detailed instructions for deploying the platform.
Getting started options include:
Creating a SigNoz Cloud account for a managed experience.
Self-hosted deployment using Docker. The README links to detailed installation and troubleshooting steps.
Self-hosted deployment using Kubernetes Helm charts, suitable for production or larger-scale environments.
The documentation and installation guides are accessible from the project’s main page and linked prominently in the README. Users interested in self-hosting should review the Docker and Helm chart instructions carefully to understand resource requirements and configuration options.
Verdict
SigNoz is a well-architected observability platform that distinguishes itself by unifying logs, metrics, and traces into a single backend datastore using ClickHouse. This design simplifies correlated querying and analysis, which is a real pain point in traditional observability stacks.
It is especially relevant for teams seeking an open-source alternative to commercial tools like Datadog or New Relic, with native OpenTelemetry support ensuring broad compatibility.
The tradeoffs include the operational complexity of running ClickHouse and the platform itself, as well as the learning curve associated with the underlying technologies. Those willing to invest in understanding and managing a columnar OLAP database will find SigNoz a compelling choice.
For users who prefer to avoid infrastructure management, the managed cloud option offers a practical alternative.
Overall, SigNoz is worth evaluating for production observability needs if you value a unified telemetry backend and are comfortable with the infrastructure requirements this entails.
→ GitHub Repo: SigNoz/signoz ⭐ 26,779 · TypeScript