greptimedb
The open-source observability database. One columnar engine for metrics, logs, and traces, on object storage.
Runssource: GitHubhomepageRustApache-2.0commit 194bc2fb3c48
Rust, Apache-2.0 licensed. The project labels itself: ai agents, cloud native, distributed database, greptimedb, high cardinality, logs, metrics and object storage.
greptimedb runs. An Argusic agent installed it in 80 minutes and hit 6 errors and fixed every one without help on a clean machine with no GPU, and the whole session was recorded.
GreptimeDB 1.3.0-alpha.1 built from source under Rust 1.96.1 starts successfully in standalone mode, binds HTTP on :4000, MySQL on :4002, Postgres on :4003, and gRPC on :4001, and correctly handles CREATE TABLE, INSERT, and SELECT SQL queries via the HTTP API.
What the agent ended up with on a clean machine, in its own words. How this is measured
Measured by Argusic on a fresh machine every time. Every number links to its evidence. Argusic Score 100 of 100 (the mean of this project's run scores).
At a glance
Subject data from GitHub, linked at the top of this page, refreshed . Test data by Argusic (CC BY 4.0); every number links to a run page with the full log, the recording, and their sha256 hashes.
What was measured
From the run that decided this verdict. Every line is a recorded value, not an estimate.
What went wrong, in the agent's own words
The agent's own words, worst first, never rewritten into advice.
- rustc SIGSEGV in LLVM AsmPrinter::emitFunctionBody during parallel compilation30 minutes
- Disk space exhausted (40GB overlay, 99% full) from repeated build artifacts5 minutes
- substrait build script failed (google/protobuf/any.proto not found)3 minutes
- Rust toolchain not installed2 minutes
- protoc not installed1 minute
- protoc missing google include files1 minute
- Install time
- 80 minutes
- Cold machine to finish
- 82 minutes
- Errors hit and fixed
- 6 hit, 6 fixed with no human help
- How the result was proved
- curl -s 'http://localhost:4000/v1/sql?sql=CREATE+TABLE+test(val+INTEGER,+ts+TIMESTAMP+TIME+INDEX)' returned {"output":[{"affectedrows":0}]} / INSERT INTO test VALUES(42,now()) returned {"output":[{"affectedrows":1}]} / SELECT * FROM test returned {"rows":[[42,1790633890373]]}
- Model tokens used
- 752,689
- Exact commit tested
- 194bc2fb3c48
- Container image
- sha256:cdd920bce783
What was not measured
The other half, so you can see exactly how far this evidence goes. A gap is printed as a gap and never filled in.
- Peak GPU memory
- this ran on a CPU machine, so there was no GPU to sample
- Behaviour over a long run
- each attempt uses the smallest documented settings and a fixed time budget, so this measures whether it runs, not how it holds up under load
The end of the recording
The last lines of the terminal session that decided this verdict, exactly as they were recorded.
2026-09-28T22:18:10.410949Z INFO cmd::standalone: Datanode instance stopped. 2026-09-28T22:18:10.410962Z INFO cmd: Goodbye! 2026-09-28T22:18:10.411021Z INFO common_event_recorder::recorder: Aborted the background processor… succeeded in 960034ms: BUILD DONE -rwxrwxr-x 2 runner runner 740345584 Sep 28 22:16 /work/repo/target/debug/greptime All verified end to end. Here's the result: 2026-09-28T22:18:23.241299Z ERROR codex_core::session: failed to record rollout items: thread 01a0e… 2026-09-28T22:18:23.241362Z ERROR codex_core::session: failed to record rollout items: thread 01a0e… tokens used 752,689 All verified end to end. Here's the result:
Replay the whole session, every command from a clean machine to this point.
How it was tested
One agent, one container, no human help. It installs the project the way its own documentation says to, runs it, and fixes what breaks. Everything below is recorded as it happened: the terminal session, the log and the exact commit. The full method.
Strengths and limits
Measured facts, not opinions. How this is written.
What went well
- Reached a running state on a clean machine, with the session recorded.
- Recovered from all 6 errors without a human stepping in, which says the failures are documented well enough to solve.
- Ran without a GPU, so it does not need one to start.
- Licensed Apache-2.0, as reported by its host.
What did not, or is not known
- Took 80 minutes to install, slower than the median of the 26 comparable projects Argusic has measured.
- Measured once so far. A single attempt shows it can run, not that it runs reliably.
Of the 27 ai-agents projects Argusic has installed and timed, greptimedb was the 27th fastest to reach a running state, and 18 of 27 reached one at all.
What it is a reasonable choice for
- Trying it on a laptop or a small server: it reached a running state without a GPU.
Also tested, in the same area
Every one of these was installed and run by Argusic on a clean machine. Nothing appears here that was not tested.
Run history
Topics (from GitHub)
ai-agentscloud-nativedistributed-databasegreptimedbhigh-cardinalitylogsmetricsobject-storageobservabilityobservability-databaseopentelemetryprometheuspromqlrustself-hostedtraceswide-events
Embed the badge
Markdown for the project README. It links back here; terms on the terms page.
[](https://argusic.com/subject/greptimedb)Questions
- Does greptimedb run?
- Yes. greptimedb runs. Argusic installed and launched it on a clean machine in 80 minutes, hitting 6 errors on the way, and recorded the session.
- How did Argusic test greptimedb?
- On a fresh, disposable machine, with every command recorded and the repository pinned at commit 194bc2fb3c48. One attempt is recorded, and the full method is on the methodology page.
- What did it cost to test greptimedb?
- The run that produced this verdict cost $0.39: real compute and model cost, not a list price per million tokens. It is recorded on that run's page.
- How long does greptimedb take to install?
- 80 minutes in the run that decided this verdict, from a clean machine to a running state. That is one measured attempt, not an average.
- Does greptimedb need a GPU?
- Not to start. Argusic reached a running state on a machine with no GPU.
- What goes wrong when installing greptimedb?
- 6 things broke in the recorded run, and 6 were fixed without human help. Each one, and the time it cost, is listed on this page.
- How does greptimedb compare with the alternatives?
- Of the 27 ai-agents projects Argusic has installed and timed, greptimedb was the 27th fastest to reach a running state, and 18 of 27 reached one at all.
- Where is the evidence for greptimedb?
- The recorded run is on this page, each linking to its full log and terminal recording, stored with a sha256 fingerprint so it cannot be quietly altered.