Telegraf was created by InfluxData in 2015 as part of the InfluxDB ecosystem. InfluxData needed a reliable agent to collect metrics from various sources and write them to InfluxDB. Telegraf was designed with a plugin-driven architecture that would make it easy to extend and maintain.
The name “Telegraf” combines “telegraphy” (long-distance communication) with “graph” (recording instrument)—suggesting a tool that transmits measurement data.
- First release alongside InfluxDB 0.9
- Plugin-based architecture from day one
- Focus on system metrics and InfluxDB integration
- 100+ input plugins available
- Output support beyond InfluxDB
- Adoption outside InfluxDB ecosystem
- Processor and aggregator plugins
- Enhanced security features
- Better scaling and performance
¶ 2020-Present - Industry Standard
- 200+ input plugins
- 50+ output plugins
- Part of the TICK stack (Telegraf, InfluxDB, Chronograf, Kapacitor)
Telegraf’s plugin system is its defining feature:
- Input plugins: Collect metrics from various sources
- Output plugins: Write metrics to destinations
- Processor plugins: Modify metrics in flight
- Aggregator plugins: Combine multiple metrics
- Go language: Performance and single-binary deployment
- No external dependencies: Easy deployment
- Configuration-driven: TOML configuration file
- Memory efficient: Stream processing, no buffering by default
Telegraf is licensed under the MIT License, making it freely usable in commercial products.
Telegraf is actively developed by InfluxData:
- Regular releases (typically monthly)
- Active plugin development
- Strong community contributions
- Part of InfluxData’s commercial offerings
| Version |
Year |
Notable Features |
| 0.1.x |
2015 |
Initial release |
| 1.0.x |
2016 |
Stable release, core plugins |
| 1.1-1.5 |
2017-2018 |
Plugin expansion |
| 1.6-1.10 |
2018-2019 |
Processor plugins, performance |
| 1.11-1.20 |
2020-2022 |
Enhanced outputs, security |
| 1.21+ |
2023-Present |
Continued development |
Telegraf is part of InfluxData’s monitoring stack:
- Telegraf: Metrics collection
- InfluxDB: Time-series database
- Chronograf: Visualization (now deprecated in favor of other tools)
- Kapacitor: Stream processing and alerting
| Feature |
Telegraf |
collectd |
Prometheus |
| Language |
Go |
C |
Go |
| Plugins |
200+ |
100+ |
N/A (exporters) |
| Model |
Push |
Push |
Pull |
| Memory |
~50 MB |
~10 MB |
Varies |
| Backend |
50+ |
Many |
Native |
- Kubernetes and cloud-native integrations
- Enhanced security (TLS, authentication)
- Performance improvements
- New input/output plugins
- Better error handling and recovery
Any questions?
Feel free to contact us. Find all contact information on our contact page.