Documentation

InfluxDB inch tool

Use the InfluxDB inch tool to simulate streaming data to InfluxDB and measure your performance (for example, the impact of cardinality on write throughput). To do this, complete the following tasks:

Install InfluxDB inch

  1. To install inch, run the following command in your terminal:

    $ go install github.com/influxdata/inch/cmd/inch
  2. Verify inch is successfully installed in your GOPATH/bin (default on Unix $HOME/go/bin).

Use InfluxDB inch

  1. Log into the InfluxDB instance you want to test (for InfluxDB Enterprise, log into the data node(s) to test).

  2. Run inch, specifying options (metrics) to test (see Options table below). For example, your syntax may look like this:

    inch -v -c 8 -b 10000 -t 2,5000,1 -p 100000 -consistency any

    This example starts generating a workload with:

    • 8 concurrent (-c) write streams
    • 10000 points per batch (-b)
    • tag cardinality (-t) of 10000 unique series (2x5000x1)
    • 10000 points (-p) per series
    • any write -consistency

    Note: By default, inch writes generated test results to a database named stress. To change the name of the inch database, include the -db string option, for example, inch -db test.

  3. To view the last 50 inch results, run the following query against the inch database:

     > select * from stress limit 50

Options

inch options listed in alphabetical order.

OptionDescriptionExample
-b intbatch size (default 5000; recommend between 5000-10000 points)-b 10000
-c intnumber of streams writing concurrently (default 1)-c 8
-consistency stringwrite consistency (default “any”); values supported by the Influxdb API include “all”, “quorum”, or “one”.-consistency any
-db stringname of the database to write to (default “stress”)-db stress
-delay durationdelay between writes (in seconds s, minutes m, or hours h)-delay 1s
-drydry run (maximum write performance perf possible on the specified database)-dry
-f inttotal unique field key-value pairs per point (default 1)-f 1
-host stringhost (default http://localhost:8086")-host http://localhost:8086
-m intthe number of measurements (default 1)-m 1
-max-errors intthe number of InfluxDB errors that can occur before terminating the inch command-max-errors 5
-p intpoints per series (default 100)-p 100
-report-host stringhost to send metrics toreport-host http://localhost:8086
-report-tags stringcomma-separated k=v (key-value?) tags to report alongside metrics-report-tags cpu=cpu1
-shard-duration stringshard duration (default 7d)-shard-duration 7d
-t [string]**comma-separated integers that represent tags.-t [100,20,4]
-target-latency durationif specified, attempt to adapt write delay to meet target.
-time durationtime span to spread writes over.-time 1h
-vverbose; prints out details as you’re running the test.-v

** -t [string] each integer represents a tag key and the number of tag values to generate for the key (default [10,10,10]). Multiply each integer to calculate the tag cardinality. For example, -t [100,20,4] has a tag cardinality of 8000 unique series.


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InfluxDB OSS 2.9.0: API tokens are hashed by default

Stronger token security in InfluxDB OSS 2.9.0 — tokens are hashed on disk by default. Existing tokens are hashed on first startup and can’t be recovered afterward. Capture any plaintext tokens you still need before you upgrade.

View InfluxDB OSS 2.9.0 release notes

Hashed tokens authenticate exactly like unhashed tokens — clients and integrations keep working.

Also new in 2.9.0:

  • Configurable backup compression
  • Restore support for backups containing hashed tokens
  • Tighter Edge Data Replication queue validation
  • Flux upgrade
  • Compaction reliability improvements

Key enhancements in Explorer 1.8

Explorer 1.8 is now available with streaming data subscriptions (beta), line protocol preview, and query history & saved queries.

View Explorer 1.8 release notes

Explorer 1.8 includes new features and improvements that make it easier to ingest, explore, and manage data.

Highlights:

  • Streaming data subscriptions (beta): Stream data into Explorer from MQTT, Kafka, and AMQP sources.
  • Line protocol preview: Preview line protocol, schema, and parse errors before data is written.
  • Custom sample data: Generate custom sample datasets with line protocol and schema preview.
  • Query history and saved queries: Browse query history and save/re-run named queries.
  • Retention period management: Set, update, or clear retention periods on databases and tables.

For more details, see Explorer 1.8 release notes

InfluxDB 3.9: Performance upgrade preview

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise 3.9 includes a beta of major performance upgrades with faster single-series queries, wide-and-sparse table support, and more.

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise 3.9 includes a beta of major performance and feature updates.

Key improvements:

  • Faster single-series queries
  • Consistent resource usage
  • Wide-and-sparse table support
  • Automatic distinct value caches for reduced latency with metadata queries

Preview features are subject to breaking changes.

For more information, see:

Telegraf Enterprise now in public beta

Get early access to the Telegraf Controller and provide feedback to help shape the future of Telegraf Enterprise.

See the Blog Post

The upcoming Telegraf Enterprise offering is for organizations running Telegraf at scale and is comprised of two key components:

  • Telegraf Controller: A control plane (UI + API) that centralizes Telegraf configuration management and agent health visibility.
  • Telegraf Enterprise Support: Official support for Telegraf Controller and Telegraf plugins.

Join the Telegraf Enterprise beta to get early access to the Telegraf Controller and provide feedback to help shape the future of Telegraf Enterprise.

For more information:

Telegraf Controller v0.0.7-beta now available

Telegraf Controller v0.0.7-beta is now available with new features, improvements, bug fixes, and an important breaking change.

View the release notes
Download Telegraf Controller v0.0.7-beta

InfluxDB Docker latest tag changing to InfluxDB 3 Core

On May 27, 2026, the latest tag for InfluxDB Docker images will point to InfluxDB 3 Core. To avoid unexpected upgrades, use specific version tags in your Docker deployments.

If using Docker to install and run InfluxDB, the latest tag will point to InfluxDB 3 Core. To avoid unexpected upgrades, use specific version tags in your Docker deployments. For example, if using Docker to run InfluxDB v2, replace the latest version tag with a specific version tag in your Docker pull command–for example:

docker pull influxdb:2