# apache/thrift

Apache Thrift

Repository: https://github.com/apache/thrift
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/thrift
Language: C++
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: d, thrift, cplusplus, dart, actionscript, http, network-client, network-server, csharp, library, c
Last push: 2026-08-24T14:23:19+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 86/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 60, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 6193, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 53, "gap_med": 244, "n_releases_24m": 4}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 10953, forks 4105 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:44.817837+00:00)

## What it is
Apache Thrift is a lightweight, language-independent software stack for point-to-point RPC, combining an interface definition language, a code generator, and runtime libraries for transport, serialization, and protocol handling. It supports 28 programming languages, enabling interoperable clients and servers with non-atomic version compatibility.

## Use cases
- build cross-language rpc services
- generate client and server stubs from an idl
- serialize data between services written in different languages
- upgrade server apis while keeping old clients compatible
- implement microservices communication across polyglot stacks

## When to choose
- you need rpc between services written in different programming languages
- you want a mature, apache-backed idl with broad language support
- backward and forward compatibility across client/server versions matters

## When to avoid
- you only need simple rest or json apis without an idl
- you want a modern single-language rpc stack like grpc with first-class http/2 streaming
- your team cannot maintain multi-language generated code

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: rpc, serialization, http-client, http-server
- domain: microservices, apis, developer-tools, backend
- platform: cross-platform, cpp, jvm, python, go, rust, dotnet, php, ruby
- tags: idl, code-generator, microservices, cross-language, apache, network-client, network-server, binary-protocol, code-generation, nodejs

## Member repositories
- apache/thrift (main) score 86

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:44.817837+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 2026-08-29T17:17:18.291895+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/apache/thrift (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:44.817837+00:00, sha cd90ad6201e9)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.