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Quick start for Tempo

The Tempo repository provides multiple examples to help you quickly get started using Tempo and distributed tracing data.

Every example has a docker-compose.yaml manifest that includes all of the options needed to explore trace data in Grafana, including resource configuration and trace data generation.

The Tempo examples running with Docker using docker-compose include a version of Tempo and a storage configuration suitable for testing or development.

Before you begin

To follow this guide, you need:

  • Git
  • Docker
  • The Docker Compose plugin (included with Docker Desktop)

Tip

Alternatively, you can try out this example in our interactive learning environment: Quick start for Tempo.

It’s a fully configured environment with all the dependencies installed.

Provide feedback, report bugs, and raise issues in the Grafana Killercoda repository.

Clone the Tempo repository and start Docker

This quick start guide uses the local example running Tempo as a single binary (monolithic). Any data is stored locally in the tempo-data folder. To learn more, read the local storage example README.

  1. Clone the Tempo repository:

    bash 
    git clone https://github.com/grafana/tempo.git

  2. Go into the examples directory:

    bash 
    cd tempo/example/docker-compose/local

  3. Start the services defined in the docker-compose file:

    bash 
    docker compose up -d

  4. Verify that the services are running:

    bash 
    docker compose ps

    You should see something like:

    console 
    docker compose ps
NAME                 COMMAND                  SERVICE             STATUS              PORTS
local-grafana-1      "/run.sh"                grafana             running             0.0.0.0:3000->3000/tcp
local-k6-tracing-1   "/k6-tracing run /ex…"   k6-tracing          running
local-prometheus-1   "/bin/prometheus --c…"   prometheus          running             0.0.0.0:9090->9090/tcp
local-tempo-1        "/tempo -config.file…"   tempo               running             0.0.0.0:3200->3200/tcp, 0.0.0.0:4317-4318->4317-4318/tcp, 0.0.0.0:9411->9411/tcp, 0.0.0.0:14268->14268/tcp

Explore the traces in Grafana

As part of the Docker Compose manifest, Grafana is now accessible on port 3000. You can use Grafana to explore the traces generated by the k6-tracing service.

  1. Open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000.

  2. Once logged in, navigate to the Explore page, select the Tempo data source and select the Search tab. Select Run query to list the recent traces stored in Tempo. Select one to view the trace diagram:

    Use the query builder to explore tracing data in Grafana

  3. A couple of minutes after Tempo starts, select the Service graph tab for the Tempo data source in the Explore page. Select Run query to view a service graph, generated by Tempo’s metrics-generator.

    Service graph sample

  4. To stop the services:

    bash 
    docker compose down -v

Next steps

You have successfully set up Tempo and Grafana to explore traces generated by the k6-tracing service.

Alternative: Complete MLTP example

If you would like to use a demo with multiple telemetry signals, then try the Introduction to Metrics, Logs, Traces, and Profiling in Grafana. Intro-to-mltp provides a self-contained environment for learning about Mimir, Loki, Tempo, Pyroscope, and Grafana. The project includes detailed explanations of each component and annotated configurations for a single-instance deployment. Data from intro-to-mltp can also be pushed to Grafana Cloud.

Further reading

Here are some resources to help you learn more about Tempo: