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Docker Deployment

All examples are launched from the repo - clone it first or download the current GitHub release archive:

git clone https://github.com/tinyolly/tinyolly

1. Deploy TinyOlly Core (Required)

Start the observability backend (OTel Collector, TinyOlly Receiver, Redis, UI):

cd docker
./01-start-core.sh

This starts: - OTel Collector: Listening on localhost:4317 (gRPC) and localhost:4318 (HTTP)
- TinyOlly UI: http://localhost:5005
- TinyOlly OTLP Receiver and its Redis storage: OTLP observability back end and storage
- Rebuilds images if code changes are detected

Open the UI: http://localhost:5005 (empty until you send data)

Stop core services: 

./02-stop-core.sh

2. Deploy Demo Apps (Optional)

Deploy two Flask microservices with automatic traffic generation:

cd docker-demo
./01-deploy-demo.sh

Wait 30 seconds. The demo apps automatically generate traffic - traces, logs, and metrics will appear in the UI!

Stop demo apps: 

./02-cleanup-demo.sh

This leaves TinyOlly core running. To stop everything: 

cd docker
./02-stop-core.sh

3. OpenTelemetry Demo (~20 Services - Optional)

Prerequisites: Clone the OpenTelemetry Demo first: 

git clone https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-demo
cd opentelemetry-demo

Configure: Edit src/otel-collector/otelcol-config-extras.yml: 

exporters:
  otlphttp/tinyolly:
    endpoint: http://otel-collector:4318

service:
  pipelines:
    traces:
      exporters: [spanmetrics, otlphttp/tinyolly]

Deploy: 

export OTEL_COLLECTOR_HOST=host.docker.internal
docker compose up \
  --scale otel-collector=0 \
  --scale prometheus=0 \
  --scale grafana=0 \
  --scale jaeger=0 \
  --scale opensearch=0 \
  --force-recreate \
  --remove-orphans \
  --detach

Stop: 

docker compose down

Note

This disables the demo's built-in collector, Jaeger, OpenSearch, Grafana, and Prometheus. All telemetry routes to Otel Collector -> TinyOlly.

4. Use TinyOlly with Your Own Apps

After deploying TinyOlly core (step 1 above), instrument your application to send telemetry:

For apps running in Docker containers:
Point your OpenTelemetry exporter to:
- gRPC: http://otel-collector:4317
- HTTP: http://otel-collector:4318

For apps running on your host machine (outside Docker):
Docker Desktop automatically exposes container ports to localhost. Point your OpenTelemetry exporter to:
- gRPC: http://localhost:4317
- HTTP: http://localhost:4318

Example environment variables: 

export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4318

The Otel Collector will forward everything to TinyOlly's OTLP receiver, which process telemetry and stores it in Redis in OTEL format for the backend and UI to access.