# grpc-ecosystem/grpc-health-probe

A command-line tool to perform health-checks for gRPC applications in Kubernetes and elsewhere

Repository: https://github.com/grpc-ecosystem/grpc-health-probe
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/grpc-health-probe
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: grpc, grpc-health, kubernetes
Last push: 2026-08-20T12:34:41+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 98/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 98, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2911, "days_push": 13, "days_rel": 13, "gap_med": 28.5, "n_releases_24m": 23}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1572, forks 210 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:05.584888+00:00)

## What it is
A command-line utility that queries gRPC services implementing the gRPC Health Checking Protocol and exits with success or failure based on the SERVING status. It is designed primarily for Kubernetes exec probes but works anywhere, with support for TLS, timeouts, and custom metadata.

## Use cases
- health-check gRPC services in Kubernetes exec probes
- verify a gRPC server is serving before deploying
- add liveness and readiness probes to gRPC apps on older Kubernetes versions
- script gRPC health checks with connect and RPC timeouts
- check gRPC service health over TLS
- monitor gRPC endpoints outside Kubernetes

## When to choose
- you run gRPC services on Kubernetes versions without native gRPC health checking
- you need TLS, custom metadata, or fine-grained timeout tuning for health checks
- you want a simple static binary for scripted gRPC health checks outside Kubernetes

## When to avoid
- you are on modern Kubernetes with built-in native gRPC health checking support
- your services do not implement the gRPC Health Checking Protocol v1
- you need rich monitoring dashboards rather than a binary pass/fail probe

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: cli, monitoring, rpc
- domain: developer-tools, monitoring, apis
- platform: windows, cli
- tags: grpc, health-check, kubernetes-probes, exec-probe, golang, devops, containers, linux, macos, kubernetes, docker

## Member repositories
- grpc-ecosystem/grpc-health-probe (main) score 98

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:05.584888+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:58:10.843337+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/grpc-ecosystem/grpc-health-probe (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:05.584888+00:00, sha 803d1f1a3e54)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.