FAQ

​

General

​

What is MoleSignal?

MoleSignal is a self-hosted, OpenTelemetry-native observability platform. It stores logs, metrics, traces, and profiles as Parquet files in object storage and queries them with SQL and PromQL-compatible queries. See Core concepts.

​

Which license applies?

MoleSignal is open source under the Apache License 2.0. See Open source edition.

​

Is there a hosted version?

MoleSignal Cloud is the hosted offering. Details are on molesignal.com/cloud.

​

Which services does a deployment need?

PostgreSQL and object storage. The local object backend replaces object storage for a single node and for development. No Kafka, Redis, or consensus service is involved. See Deploy MoleSignal.

​

Which database stores the metadata?

PostgreSQL. Set [meta_database].dsn to its connection string. See Configuration.

​

Can MoleSignal run without containers?

Yes. MoleSignal ships as a single binary. The deployment guide covers Docker Compose, a binary with systemd, and Kubernetes.

​

Data

​

Where does the data live?

Logs, metrics, and traces live as Parquet files in object storage. PostgreSQL stores metadata, identities, the file catalog, and product resources. Records that are not flushed yet live in the write-ahead log on the local disk of the intake node. See Backup and restore.

​

How long is data kept?

30 days by default. Settings → Data retention in the _sys organization sets the default, and each stream can set its own retention. See Streams.

​

Which protocols accept data?

OTLP over HTTP and gRPC, Prometheus remote_write, the Elasticsearch _bulk protocol, Loki push in JSON form, native JSON over HTTP, and the Kinesis Firehose, Cloudflare Logpush, and Heroku log drains. See Datasource.

​

Why do records appear at the wrong time?

_timestamp counts microseconds since the Unix epoch. Values in seconds, milliseconds, or nanoseconds land at the wrong time. See Troubleshooting.

​

How to query with a SQL client?

Enable [flight_sql] and connect DBeaver, JDBC, or ADBC clients to port 5083 with an API token. See Connect with a database client.

​

Accounts and security

​

How to sign in the first time?

A fresh deployment creates the root account from [auth].root_email and [auth].root_password. The sample configuration uses [email protected] and admin. Change both before real use. See Production checklist.

​

How to reset a forgotten password?

Use the password reset link on the sign-in page. MoleSignal emails the link, so [notify.smtp] and [http].external_url must be configured.

​

Is single sign-on supported?

Yes. OIDC, SAML, and LDAP providers are configured in the web UI under Identity & Access → SSO providers and stored in PostgreSQL. See Identity & access.

​

What does MS_CIPHER_KEY protect?

It is the root key for secrets that MoleSignal stores in PostgreSQL, such as API tokens, notification connector credentials, and Mole Agent provider keys. Keep a backup of it. See Production checklist.

​

Operations

​

How to scale a deployment?

Start with a single standalone node. To scale intake, query, and background work independently, split the roles across processes: the router role serves the web UI and the API, forwards writes to intake nodes, and sends queries to querier nodes. See Role-based deployment and Known limitations.

​

How to find the running version?

Run molesignal --version, or call GET /api/v1/version with a bearer token.

​

Where to get help or report a problem?

See Support and community. Report security issues privately through the channels listed there.