Apache SkyWalking website screenshot

Apache SkyWalking

Apache SkyWalking is an open-source APM (Application Performance Monitoring) system that provides monitoring, tracing, and diagnosing capabilities for distributed systems in cloud native architectures. It supports auto-instrumentation for Java, .NET, Python, Go, Node.js, PHP, and Ruby, offering distributed tracing, metrics collection, log aggregation, and continuous profiling through a unified observability platform governed by the Apache Software Foundation.

Apache SkyWalking publishes 3 APIs on the APIs.io network. Tagged areas include APM, Application Performance Monitoring, Cloud Native, Distributed Tracing, and Monitoring.

Apache SkyWalking’s developer surface includes documentation, developer portal, engineering blog, release notes, support, and 13 more developer resources.

31.1/100 thin ▬ flat Agent 3/100 human only Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-07-28 · rubric v0.6
AccessFreemium
3 APIs 10 Features 5 Use Cases
APMApplication Performance MonitoringCloud NativeDistributed TracingMonitoringObservabilityOpen SourceTracing

Kin Score

Kin Score Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-07-28 · rubric v0.6
Composite quality — 31.1/100 · thin
Contract Quality 0.0 / 25
Developer Ergonomics 7.8 / 20
Commercial Clarity 10.0 / 20
Operational Transparency 6.8 / 13
Governance 0.0 / 12
Discoverability 6.5 / 10
Agent readiness — 3/100 · human only
Machine-Readable Contract 0 / 18
Agentic Access Contract 0 / 10
MCP Server 0 / 12
Machine-Readable Auth 0 / 10
Idempotency 0 / 9
Stable Error Semantics 0 / 8
Request/Response Examples 0 / 7
Rate-Limit Signaling 7 / 7
Typed Event Surface 0 / 6
Agent Skills 0 / 5
Well-Known Catalog 0 / 4
Consent & Bot Identity 0 / 3
A2A Agent Card 0 / 8
Dry-Run / Simulate Mode 0 / 4
Improve this rating by publishing the missing artifacts — every area above can be raised, and the full rubric is at apis.io/rating/. This rating is computed from github.com/api-evangelist/apache-skywalking: open an issue to ask a question, or submit a pull request to add artifacts. Want it done for you? Prioritized profiling — $2,500 →

APIs 3

Individual APIs this provider publishes, each with its own machine-readable definition.

Apache SkyWalking GraphQL Query API

The SkyWalking GraphQL Query API provides a comprehensive query interface for retrieving observability data including traces, metrics, logs, alarms, topology maps, and profiling...

Apache SkyWalking REST API

The SkyWalking HTTP REST API exposes endpoints on port 12800 for health checks, PromQL-compatible metrics queries (Prometheus Query Language), LogQL log queries, and dynamic con...

Apache SkyWalking gRPC Data Collect Protocol

The SkyWalking data collection protocol defines gRPC service definitions for telemetry data ingestion from language agents and service mesh proxies. It covers trace data (v3), J...

GraphQL 1

GraphQL schemas published by this provider.

Apache SkyWalking GraphQL API

The SkyWalking GraphQL Query API provides a comprehensive query interface for retrieving observability data including traces, metrics, logs, alarms, topology maps, and profiling...

GRAPHQL

Pricing Plans 1

Published pricing tiers and plan structures.

Rate Limits 1

Documented rate limits and quota policies.

Apache Skywalking Rate Limits

5 limits

RATE LIMITS

FinOps 1

Cost, billing, and metering signals for API financial operations.

Features 10

Notable capabilities this provider offers.

Distributed Tracing

Auto-instrumented distributed tracing across 10+ languages with trace correlation and cross-service propagation.

Metrics Collection

Service, instance, and endpoint metrics with SkyWalking Metrics Query Expression (MQE) engine.

Log Aggregation

Centralized log collection and search with LAL (Log Analysis Language) rules.

Service Topology

Automatic service dependency mapping and topology visualization.

Alarm System

Rule-based alerting on metrics thresholds with webhook and notification integrations.

Continuous Profiling

CPU, memory, and network profiling via async-profiler, pprof, and eBPF.

eBPF Network Profiling

Out-of-process network performance profiling using eBPF without code instrumentation.

PromQL Compatibility

Prometheus Query Language API for Grafana and other Prometheus-compatible tools.

BanyanDB Storage

Native observability database optimized for time-series and trace data storage.

Multi-Layer Service Model

Hierarchical service model supporting mesh, Kubernetes, APISIX gateway, and custom layers.

Scroll for all 10

Security Posture 2

Authentication, domain security, vulnerability disclosure, and trust-center signals.

Apache Skywalking Domain Security

TLSv1.3 · HSTS · DMARC

SECURITY

Apache Skywalking Vulnerability Disclosure

security.txt · contact published

SECURITY

Use Cases 5

What developers build with this provider.

Microservices Observability

End-to-end monitoring and tracing for microservices architectures in Kubernetes.

Service Mesh Monitoring

Integration with Istio and other service meshes for traffic and performance monitoring.

Root Cause Analysis

Trace-based root cause analysis for distributed system failures and latency issues.

SLA Monitoring

Service level agreement monitoring with metrics dashboards and alerting.

Continuous Profiling

Always-on profiling for performance optimization without overhead in production.

Integrations 8

Pre-built integrations with other platforms and tools.

Kubernetes

Native Kubernetes monitoring via skywalking-kubernetes Helm charts and event integration.

Grafana

PromQL-compatible metrics API enables native Grafana dashboard integration.

Istio

Service mesh telemetry collection from Istio-managed service traffic.

APISIX

API Gateway integration for monitoring API traffic through Apache APISIX.

Elasticsearch

Elasticsearch and OpenSearch backend storage for trace and log data.

BanyanDB

Native high-performance observability database built for SkyWalking.

Kafka

Kafka-based data pipeline for high-throughput telemetry ingestion.

OpenTelemetry

OpenTelemetry receiver for ingesting OTLP traces, metrics, and logs.

Scroll for all 8

Resources

Get Started 1

Portal, sign-up, and the first successful call

Documentation 1

Reference material describing how the API behaves

Build 10

SDKs, sample code, and the tooling you integrate with

Scroll for all 10

Access & Security 2

Authentication, authorization, and security posture

Operate 2

Status, limits, changes, and where to get help

Commercial 1

Pricing, plans, and the legal terms of use

Company 1

The organization behind the API

Source (apis.yml)

apis.yml Raw ↑
aid: apache-skywalking
name: Apache SkyWalking
description: Apache SkyWalking is an open-source APM (Application Performance Monitoring) system that provides monitoring,
  tracing, and diagnosing capabilities for distributed systems in cloud native architectures. It supports auto-instrumentation
  for Java, .NET, Python, Go, Node.js, PHP, and Ruby, offering distributed tracing, metrics collection, log aggregation, and
  continuous profiling through a unified observability platform governed by the Apache Software Foundation.
type: Index
accessModel:
  pricing: freemium
  onboarding: unknown
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Freemium
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - plans
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
position: Consumer
access: 3rd-Party
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/apache-skywalking.png
tags:
- APM
- Application Performance Monitoring
- Cloud Native
- Distributed Tracing
- Monitoring
- Observability
- Open Source
- Tracing
created: '2026-03-16'
modified: '2026-04-19'
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/apache-skywalking/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
- aid: apache-skywalking:apache-skywalking-graphql-query-api
  name: Apache SkyWalking GraphQL Query API
  description: The SkyWalking GraphQL Query API provides a comprehensive query interface for retrieving observability data
    including traces, metrics, logs, alarms, topology maps, and profiling results. It supports metadata queries (services,
    instances, endpoints), topology queries, metrics via SkyWalking Metrics Query Expression (MQE), log queries, trace queries,
    alarm queries, and profiling queries. The API is served on port 12800 and consumed by the native UI and CLI tools.
  humanURL: https://github.com/apache/skywalking-query-protocol
  tags:
  - GraphQL
  - Metrics
  - Observability
  - Tracing
  - Logs
  - Alarms
  - Profiling
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://skywalking.apache.org/docs/main/next/en/api/query-protocol/
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/apache/skywalking-query-protocol
  - url: graphql/apache-skywalking-graphql.md
    type: GraphQL
- aid: apache-skywalking:apache-skywalking-rest-api
  name: Apache SkyWalking REST API
  description: The SkyWalking HTTP REST API exposes endpoints on port 12800 for health checks, PromQL-compatible metrics queries
    (Prometheus Query Language), LogQL log queries, and dynamic configuration management. PromQL support enables integration
    with Grafana and other Prometheus-compatible visualization tools. LogQL support enables integration with Grafana Loki-compatible
    tooling.
  humanURL: https://skywalking.apache.org/docs/main/next/en/api/promql-service/
  tags:
  - REST
  - HTTP
  - PromQL
  - LogQL
  - Health Check
  - Metrics
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://skywalking.apache.org/docs/main/next/en/api/promql-service/
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://skywalking.apache.org/docs/main/next/en/api/logql-service/
- aid: apache-skywalking:apache-skywalking-grpc-data-collect-protocol
  name: Apache SkyWalking gRPC Data Collect Protocol
  description: The SkyWalking data collection protocol defines gRPC service definitions for telemetry data ingestion from
    language agents and service mesh proxies. It covers trace data (v3), JVM metrics, meter protocol, event reporting, browser
    performance data, instance properties, continuous profiling, eBPF profiling, and log data protocols. Agents report data
    to OAP server on port 11800.
  humanURL: https://github.com/apache/skywalking-data-collect-protocol
  tags:
  - gRPC
  - Protocol Buffers
  - Telemetry
  - Agents
  - Tracing
  - Metrics
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://skywalking.apache.org/docs/main/next/en/api/trace-data-protocol-v3/
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/apache/skywalking-data-collect-protocol
common:
- type: VulnerabilityDisclosure
  url: security/apache-skywalking-vulnerability-disclosure.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/apache-skywalking-domain-security.yml
- type: GitHubOrganization
  url: https://github.com/apache?q=skywalking
- type: GitHubRepository
  url: https://github.com/apache/skywalking
- type: Documentation
  url: https://skywalking.apache.org/docs/
- type: Portal
  url: https://skywalking.apache.org/
- type: Blog
  url: https://skywalking.apache.org/blog/
- type: ReleaseNotes
  url: https://github.com/apache/skywalking/releases
- type: Support
  url: https://skywalking.apache.org/community/
- type: TermsOfService
  url: https://www.apache.org/licenses/
- type: SDKs
  url: https://github.com/apache/skywalking-java
  title: Java Agent SDK
- type: SDKs
  url: https://github.com/apache/skywalking-python
  title: Python Agent SDK
- type: SDKs
  url: https://github.com/apache/skywalking-go
  title: Go Agent SDK
- type: SDKs
  url: https://github.com/apache/skywalking-nodejs
  title: Node.js Agent SDK
- type: SDKs
  url: https://github.com/apache/skywalking-php
  title: PHP Agent SDK
- type: SDKs
  url: https://github.com/apache/skywalking-ruby
  title: Ruby Agent SDK
- type: SDKs
  url: https://github.com/apache/skywalking-rust
  title: Rust Agent SDK
- type: SDKs
  url: https://github.com/apache/skywalking-client-js
  title: JavaScript Browser Agent SDK
- type: Features
  data:
  - name: Distributed Tracing
    description: Auto-instrumented distributed tracing across 10+ languages with trace correlation and cross-service propagation.
  - name: Metrics Collection
    description: Service, instance, and endpoint metrics with SkyWalking Metrics Query Expression (MQE) engine.
  - name: Log Aggregation
    description: Centralized log collection and search with LAL (Log Analysis Language) rules.
  - name: Service Topology
    description: Automatic service dependency mapping and topology visualization.
  - name: Alarm System
    description: Rule-based alerting on metrics thresholds with webhook and notification integrations.
  - name: Continuous Profiling
    description: CPU, memory, and network profiling via async-profiler, pprof, and eBPF.
  - name: eBPF Network Profiling
    description: Out-of-process network performance profiling using eBPF without code instrumentation.
  - name: PromQL Compatibility
    description: Prometheus Query Language API for Grafana and other Prometheus-compatible tools.
  - name: BanyanDB Storage
    description: Native observability database optimized for time-series and trace data storage.
  - name: Multi-Layer Service Model
    description: Hierarchical service model supporting mesh, Kubernetes, APISIX gateway, and custom layers.
- type: UseCases
  data:
  - name: Microservices Observability
    description: End-to-end monitoring and tracing for microservices architectures in Kubernetes.
  - name: Service Mesh Monitoring
    description: Integration with Istio and other service meshes for traffic and performance monitoring.
  - name: Root Cause Analysis
    description: Trace-based root cause analysis for distributed system failures and latency issues.
  - name: SLA Monitoring
    description: Service level agreement monitoring with metrics dashboards and alerting.
  - name: Continuous Profiling
    description: Always-on profiling for performance optimization without overhead in production.
- type: Integrations
  data:
  - name: Kubernetes
    description: Native Kubernetes monitoring via skywalking-kubernetes Helm charts and event integration.
  - name: Grafana
    description: PromQL-compatible metrics API enables native Grafana dashboard integration.
  - name: Istio
    description: Service mesh telemetry collection from Istio-managed service traffic.
  - name: APISIX
    description: API Gateway integration for monitoring API traffic through Apache APISIX.
  - name: Elasticsearch
    description: Elasticsearch and OpenSearch backend storage for trace and log data.
  - name: BanyanDB
    description: Native high-performance observability database built for SkyWalking.
  - name: Kafka
    description: Kafka-based data pipeline for high-throughput telemetry ingestion.
  - name: OpenTelemetry
    description: OpenTelemetry receiver for ingesting OTLP traces, metrics, and logs.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: info@apievangelist.com