Beyla

---
name: beyla
license: Apache-2.0
description: Auto-instrument an application's HTTP / gRPC / DB traffic with Grafana Beyla eBPF — no code changes, no SDK, no restart. Covers requirements (Linux 5.8+ with BTF, CAP_SYS_ADMIN, host PID), language matrix (Go / Java / Python / Ruby / Node / .NET / Rust / C++ / PHP), Docker + Helm + DaemonSet install, port- / process- / Kubernetes-metadata discovery, OTLP traces + Prometheus metrics export, routes decorator (cardinality control), trace sampling, and Grafana Cloud via Alloy. Use when adding observability to a service you can't recompile, instrumenting a closed-source binary, getting RED metrics + spans onto Tempo/Mimir without touching the app, or rolling Beyla as a cluster-wide DaemonSet — even when the user says "zero-code APM", "instrument legacy app", "trace this binary", "eBPF observability", or "no SDK" without naming Beyla.
---

# Grafana Beyla

> **Docs**: https://grafana.com/docs/beyla/latest/

Zero-code HTTP / gRPC / DB instrumentation via eBPF. Emits OTLP traces + Prometheus metrics.

## Prerequisites

- Linux kernel **5.8+** with BTF enabled (`ls /sys/kernel/btf/vmlinux` must exist)
- Root or `CAP_SYS_ADMIN` (or `privileged: true` in Kubernetes + `hostPID: true`)
- x86_64 or ARM64
- An OTLP receiver (Tempo, Alloy, OTel Collector) reachable from Beyla

## Common Workflows

### 1. Instrument a single binary with Docker

```bash
# 1. Run Beyla against the app's port (the app must already be running, listening on 8080)