Saturday, October 24, 2026 4,350 lists 78,096 records on file
List your app or device

  1. Home
  2. Time-Series Databases
  3. Cortex

Cortex

On the record

API
Cortex exposes an HTTP API for pushing and querying time-series data and operating the cluster.cortexmetrics.io · read 9 Oct 2026
Deployment modes
Cortex can run as a single binary for learning, development, and testing, or as independent microservices for production deployments.cortexmetrics.io · read 9 Oct 2026
Encryption
Cortex supports TLS between its components and S3 server-side encryption using SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS for supported storage paths.cortexmetrics.io · read 8 Oct 2026
HTTP API
Cortex exposes an HTTP API for pushing and querying time series data and operating the cluster.cortexmetrics.io · read 8 Oct 2026
Kubernetes
The production-style microservices setup runs Cortex components as separate services in Kubernetes.cortexmetrics.io · read 8 Oct 2026
License
Cortex is an open-source project licensed under Apache License 2.0.cortexmetrics.io · read 9 Oct 2026
Metrics and queries
Prometheus sends metrics to Cortex using remote_write, and Grafana can query Cortex using PromQL.cortexmetrics.io · read 9 Oct 2026
Purpose
Cortex is a horizontally scalable, highly available, multi-tenant long-term storage solution for Prometheus and OpenTelemetry metrics.cortexmetrics.io · read 9 Oct 2026
Query and ingestion
Prometheus sends samples to Cortex through its remote write API, and users query metrics with PromQL.cortexmetrics.io · read 8 Oct 2026
Scalability and availability
Cortex can run across multiple machines, and clustered deployments can replicate data between machines.cortexmetrics.io · read 9 Oct 2026
Scaling and availability
Cortex can run across multiple machines in a cluster and replicate data between machines.cortexmetrics.io · read 8 Oct 2026
Security audit
A third-party audit reported seven vulnerabilities, and the project says fixes shipped in Cortex v1.21.1, released June 4, 2026.cortexmetrics.io · read 9 Oct 2026
Security boundary
Cortex requires authentication and authorization to be configured externally, typically through a reverse proxy.cortexmetrics.io · read 8 Oct 2026
Security configuration
Cortex supports TLS between its components, while authentication and authorization are typically added through a reverse proxy.cortexmetrics.io · read 9 Oct 2026
Storage integrations
Cortex supports S3, Google Cloud Storage, Swift, and Microsoft Azure for long-term metric storage.cortexmetrics.io · read 9 Oct 2026
Support
The project directs users to its CNCF Slack channel, GitHub issues, and the cortex-users mailing list for questions.cortexmetrics.io · read 9 Oct 2026
Supported release targets
Regular release artifacts include Linux and macOS binaries; other operating systems may work from source but are not regular supported release targets.cortexmetrics.io · read 9 Oct 2026
Tenant access limitation
Cortex components trust the X-Scope-OrgID tenant header, so the security guide says an additional protection layer is needed to guard the installation.cortexmetrics.io · read 8 Oct 2026

Alternatives to Cortex

Every alternative, ranked