Self-hosting Uptrace
Uptrace is an open source APM and observability platform that you can run on your own infrastructure. A self-hosted deployment keeps all telemetry in your own databases and consists of the Uptrace binary plus three dependencies:
- ClickHouse — stores traces, logs, and metrics.
- PostgreSQL — stores users, projects, and dashboards.
- Redis — caches data and coordinates background jobs.
This page helps you pick a deployment method, then points to the configuration, scaling, and troubleshooting guides you'll need afterwards.
Quick decision guide
Want to try Uptrace or run a small deployment?
Use Docker Compose — every dependency is pre-configured, so you get a working instance in minutes.
Already running Kubernetes?
Install the Helm chart to deploy Uptrace and its dependencies into your cluster.
Deploying to bare-metal or VM servers?
Use the Ansible playbook to automate provisioning and upgrades across hosts.
Need full control over every component?
Follow the manual installation to wire up ClickHouse, PostgreSQL, and Redis yourself.
Prefer not to manage infrastructure at all?
Use Uptrace Cloud or a Managed edition and let our team handle hosting, scaling, and upgrades.
Configure and operate
Once Uptrace is running, use these guides to tune and maintain it:
| Guide | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Configuration reference | Every option in uptrace.yml — databases, networking, TLS, auth, and pipelines. |
| Scaling | Tune processing pipelines and ClickHouse inserts, and add Kafka for high volume. |
| Troubleshooting | Check versions, read service logs, and enable verbose diagnostics. |
Hardware requirements
Self-hosted Uptrace scales from a single VM to large clusters. As a starting point, 30 TB of spans and logs with 2 million time series needs roughly 24 vCPUs, 48 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, and 6 TB HDD. See the installation guide for the full sizing table.
Send your first data
With Uptrace running, finish the loop and start ingesting telemetry:
- Open the Uptrace UI and create a project to obtain its DSN — a connection string that bundles the endpoint and access token.
- Point an OpenTelemetry SDK or the Collector at your instance using that DSN.
- See Getting started for language-specific distributions and how to confirm that traces, metrics, and logs are arriving.
Not ready to self-host?
Uptrace Cloud gives you the same platform without the operational overhead — usage-based pricing, no installation, and no scaling to manage. Compare every deployment option on the editions page.