prometheus/prometheus

What is it?

Key features

• 01Multi-dimensional time series data model identified by metric name and labels
• 02PromQL query language for analyzing time series
• 03Pull-based collection with service discovery or static target configuration
• 04Alerting based on rule expressions
• 05Pushing samples through a gateway for batch jobs
• 06Federation and built-in graphing UI

Use cases

• Monitoring server and service health across a infrastructure fleet
• Collecting application metrics and building dashboards for latency and error rates
• Triggering alerts when metrics cross defined thresholds
• Aggregating metrics from multiple Prometheus servers via federation

Quick start

1. 1

   Run the Prometheus Docker container for a quick try

   docker run --name prometheus -d -p 127.0.0.1:9090:9090 prom/prometheus
2. 2

   Download precompiled binaries from the download page on prometheus.io

3. 3

   Clone the repository and build from source with make

   make build
4. 4

   Run the built binary with your config file

   ./prometheus --config.file=your_config.yml

Things to know

• !Building from source requires Go, Node.js and npm 10 or greater.
• !The repository builds a standalone program and is not designed for use as a Go library.

Topics

FAQ

What is prometheus?

Prometheus is an open-source systems and service monitoring system that collects metrics, evaluates rules, and triggers alerts. Prometheus collects metrics from configured targets at set intervals, evaluates rule expressions, displays the results, and can fire alerts when specified conditions are met. It stores data as multi-dimensional time series, each identified by a metric name and a set of key/value labels, and is queried with PromQL.

Is prometheus free to use? What license does it have?

prometheus is open source under the Apache-2.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.

Is prometheus still maintained?

Actively maintained. The last commit to prometheus was on Oct 21, 2026.

What can I use prometheus for?

Monitoring server and service health across a infrastructure fleet Collecting application metrics and building dashboards for latency and error rates Triggering alerts when metrics cross defined thresholds Aggregating metrics from multiple Prometheus servers via federation

How do I install prometheus?

Run the Prometheus Docker container for a quick try: docker run --name prometheus -d -p 127.0.0.1:9090:9090 prom/prometheus Download precompiled binaries from the download page on prometheus.io Clone the repository and build from source with make: make build Run the built binary with your config file: ./prometheus --config.file=your_config.yml

Where can I get prometheus?

The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/prometheus/prometheus