What it is
KairosDB is fast distributed scalable time series database. It is written in Java. It is built on top of Cassandra. It sits in Infrastructure & Operations / Databases. Its topics are java, kairosdb, metrics, timeseries, timeseries-database. It uses Apache-2.0 license. Its tagline and GitHub description both say fast scalable time series database. It has 1761 stars, 340 forks, 141 open issues, and no contributor count. Its repo age is 14 years. Its last push is 2026-03-05T22:27:54Z.
KairosDB solves metrics and time series storage problem. It provides database for time series data. It uses Cassandra as underlying distributed foundation. README states it is fast distributed scalable time series database. README includes Travis CI build status badge. README says documentation, FAQ, releases, installation instructions, Helm chart, discussion group, and contribution paths are listed. README says KairosDB is mainly developed in Java. README says contributions are welcome and non-Java programmers can help. README lists core, website, and documentation contribution areas.
Key capabilities
- Stores metrics and time series data from java, kairosdb, metrics, timeseries, timeseries-database topics.
- Runs as distributed time series database according to README.
- Is built on top of Cassandra.
- Is written in Java and mainly developed in Java.
- Provides downloadable releases from KairosDB GitHub releases.
- Provides installation instructions and Getting Started documentation.
- Provides KairosDB Helm chart for Kubernetes testing from deployment/helm README.
Who uses it and how
- Infrastructure and operations teams use KairosDB for metrics data in category Infrastructure & Operations / Databases.
- Cassandra users deploy KairosDB on top of Cassandra when they need time series database layer.
- Kubernetes users test KairosDB with KairosDB Helm chart from deployment/helm README.
- Developers download latest KairosDB release and follow installation instructions from Getting Started documentation.
- Contributors work on KairosDB core, website, or documentation and join KairosDB discussion group for questions.
Getting started
Download latest KairosDB release and follow installation instructions from Getting Started documentation. Test in Kubernetes by following KairosDB Helm chart README from deployment/helm.
When to use it — and when not to
Use KairosDB when you need open-source Java time series database built on Cassandra. Avoid KairosDB when you need database without operating Cassandra separately, because self-hoster must operate Cassandra and may also operate Kubernetes deployment for Helm testing. Provided facts list no paid products replaced, show 141 open issues, no contributor count, and no hosted option.
project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline
KairosDB is a fast distributed scalable time series database written on top of Cassandra.
Documentation
Documentation is found here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Installing
Download the latest KairosDB release.
Installation instructions are found here
If you want to test KairosDB in Kubernetes please follow the instructions from KairosDB Helm chart.
Getting Involved
Join the KairosDB discussion group.
Contributing to KairosDB
Contributions to KairosDB are very welcome. KairosDB is mainly developed in Java, but there's a lot of tasks for non-Java programmers too, so don't feel shy and join us!
What you can do for KairosDB:
- KairosDB Core: join the development of core features of KairosDB.
- Website: improve the KairosDB website.
- Documentation: improve our documentation, it's a very important task.
If you have any questions about how to contribute to KairosDB, join our discussion group and tell us your issue.
License
The license is the Apache License 2.0