Pixie

What Pixie is

Pixie is open-source observability and debugging software for developers working with Kubernetes. It collects metrics, events, traces and logs without code changes, using dynamic eBPF probes and ingestors. Developers can run community, team or custom scripts to debug as code and share sessions. Its CLI provides health checks and charts, with a browser interface available when needed. Pixie supports hosted and self-hosted deployments, and its Vizier collection component runs in the Kubernetes cluster. It requires Kubernetes v1.21 or later and Linux nodes; pods that install BPF programs need privileged access to the Linux kernel. The project lists Cosmic Cloud and New Relic Cloud as free hosted versions. Pixie says telemetry traffic is encrypted in transit. Its requirements page says telemetry passes through Pixie Cloud without persistence, while its install guide says hosted-backend telemetry data is stored exclusively on the Kubernetes cluster, not in Pixie Cloud. Listed unsupported environments include EKS Fargate, GKE Autopilot, Docker Desktop, k3d, kind and Windows. Support options include Community Slack, a troubleshooting guide and GitHub issues.

Who it suits

Pixie suits developers debugging or monitoring workloads on supported Kubernetes environments with Linux nodes. Teams must be able to grant privileged kernel access to the pods that install BPF programs.

Limits

The free hosted options are listed as free. Pixie requires Kubernetes v1.21 or later and Linux nodes, and does not support EKS Fargate, GKE Autopilot, Docker Desktop, k3d, kind, or Windows.

Getting started

1. Choose the hosted Cosmic Cloud or New Relic Cloud option, or a self-hosted deployment.
2. Use a Kubernetes environment such as Minikube, EKS, GKE, AKS, or self-managed Kubernetes.
3. Confirm the cluster runs Kubernetes v1.21 or later on Linux nodes.
4. Install Pixie so its Vizier component can collect data in the cluster.
5. Use the CLI for health checks and charts, or open the browser interface.
6. Run community, team, or custom scripts to debug and share sessions.

Verdict

Pixie provides Kubernetes telemetry collection and script-based debugging, with both hosted and self-hosted deployment options. Check its Kubernetes and Linux requirements, unsupported environments and privileged-access requirement before choosing it.