Quickwit is a cloud-native, distributed search engine designed for observability data such as logs, traces, and metrics. It functions as an observability backend that decouples compute from storage by persisting indices directly in S3-compatible cloud object stores.
The system is distinguished by its compatibility with the Elasticsearch REST API, allowing it to integrate with existing clients and log shippers without reconfiguration. It also serves as an OpenTelemetry data indexer, ingesting technical data via the OpenTelemetry Protocol using gRPC and HTTP.
The engine utilizes a hybrid of columnar and inverted indexing to support both full-text search and analytical aggregations. Its capability surface covers multi-tenant data isolation through index partitioning, schema-flexible ingestion, and automated index lifecycle management including data retention policies. Data can be consumed from various sources, including message brokers and streaming queues.
The project provides tools for local service orchestration using containers to deploy development environments.