Perses
Perses is a free, open dashboard tool for displaying observability data.
What Perses is
Perses is a free, open dashboard tool for displaying observability data. It supports Prometheus metrics, Tempo traces, Loki logs, and Pyroscope profiles. Prometheus users get specialized visualization panels, a metrics explorer, and a PromQL debugger. SDKs let teams write dashboards as code and reuse components, while Perses npm packages let developers embed panels or dashboards in their own interfaces without running the full application. The percli command-line tool supports CI/CD actions, and a Kubernetes operator manages instances and dashboards declaratively through Custom Resources. Its plugin architecture allows extensions. Perses provides native user management, external OIDC or OAuth providers, and Kubernetes-inspired role-based access controls with fine-grained permissions. Grafana dashboards can be imported through the web interface or migrated in batches with percli, though translation is described as best effort. Documentation covers Docker, Podman, and Homebrew installation on macOS or Linux. The project is a Cloud Native Computing Foundation sandbox project under the Apache 2.0 License. The Perses plan costs nothing.
Good
- Supports metrics, traces, logs, and profiles
- Dashboard-as-Code SDKs enable reusable components
- Embeddable panels and dashboards via npm packages
- Kubernetes operator manages resources declaratively
- Apache 2.0 open-source project
Watch out
- Grafana migration translation is best effort
- Installation and operation require technical tooling
- General support uses GitHub Discussions or CNCF Slack
Who it suits
It suits engineering teams building observability dashboards around open-source telemetry systems. Developers needing dashboard-as-code, embedding, Kubernetes management, or CI/CD automation may find its tooling relevant.
Verdict
Perses combines broad observability inputs with code-driven dashboards, embedding, and Kubernetes administration. Its open licensing and extensible architecture suit teams comfortable managing technical infrastructure.
Plans and prices
From Perses's own pricing page, checked 5 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Perses | Free | 100% open source · Apache 2.0 License |
The facts
Each one read from Perses's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Authentication
- Perses supports native user management and external OIDC or OAuth identity providers.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Authorization
- Its access controls use a Kubernetes-inspired RBAC system with roles, role bindings, and fine-grained permissions.checked 5 Oct 2026
- CI/CD
- The native percli command-line tool can perform actions in CI/CD pipelines.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Dashboard-as-Code
- Perses provides SDKs for writing dashboards as code and reusing components across dashboards.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Embed dashboards
- Developers can embed panels and dashboards in their own UIs using Perses npm packages, without running the full application.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Grafana migration
- Grafana dashboards can be imported through the web UI or migrated in batches with percli, with translation described as best effort.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Install options
- The documentation describes container installation with Docker or Podman and Homebrew installation on macOS or Linux.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Kubernetes
- The Perses operator manages instances and dashboards declaratively using Kubernetes Custom Resources.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Plugins
- Perses has a plugin-based architecture that lets users extend its capabilities.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Project status
- Perses is a Cloud Native Computing Foundation sandbox project and is released under the Apache 2.0 License.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Prometheus tools
- Prometheus support includes specialized visualization panels, a metrics explorer, and a PromQL debugger.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Perses is an open dashboard tool for displaying observability data.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Security contact
- The project directs security issues to an email list seen only by core team members.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Support
- For general questions, the project points users to GitHub Discussions or its CNCF Slack channel.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Supported data
- It supports Prometheus metrics, Tempo traces, Loki logs, and Pyroscope profiles.checked 5 Oct 2026
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