{
 "categories": [
  "observability",
  "developer-tools"
 ],
 "deployment": "saas",
 "evidence": [
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "homepage",
   "note": "Honeycomb presents a commercial observability platform for high-cardinality traces, logs, metrics, Canvas, and a hosted MCP server. The page offers start for free and get a demo.",
   "source": "https://www.honeycomb.io/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "license",
   "note": "Free is described as free forever, up to 20M events and 100M metrics data points per month. Pro starts at $150 per month. Enterprise is custom. Honeycomb Intelligence, Canvas, and Honeycomb MCP appear in the plan comparison.",
   "source": "https://www.honeycomb.io/pricing",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.api.exists",
   "note": "Honeycomb documents a public API for programmatic management of datasets, queries, Triggers, SLOs, Environments, API keys, and related resources, with an OpenAPI spec.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/api/introduction",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.api.kinds[0]",
   "note": "US base URL is https://api.honeycomb.io and EU is https://api.eu1.honeycomb.io. V1 paths under /1/ use application/json. V2 paths under /2/ use application/vnd.api+json for team-level Environments, API keys, and markers.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/api/introduction",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.api.auth[0]",
   "note": "Ingest and Configuration keys authenticate with the X-Honeycomb-Team header. Configuration keys manage Environment resources such as Datasets, queries, Boards, Triggers, and SLOs.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/api/authentication",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.api.auth[1]",
   "note": "Management keys authenticate as Authorization: Bearer with Key ID and Secret joined by a colon. They are team-scoped and can only be created in the UI.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/api/authentication",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.api.coverage",
   "note": "The Query Data API that runs a Query and returns aggregated results is documented as a Honeycomb Enterprise plan feature. Create-a-query only stores a specification. Coverage is therefore partial for non-Enterprise tenants.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/api/query-data/create-a-query-result",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.exists",
   "note": "Honeycomb documents official send-data paths: OpenTelemetry instrumentation tutorials and Libhoney helper libraries for the Events API.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/send-data",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.official",
   "note": "The send-data overview lists Honeycomb-supported OpenTelemetry tutorials and first-party Libhoney libraries. These are ingest SDKs, not Query or Management API clients.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/send-data",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.languages[0]",
   "note": "Official send-data list includes Go (OpenTelemetry tutorial and Libhoney).",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/send-data",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.languages[1]",
   "note": "Official send-data list includes Java (OpenTelemetry tutorial and Libhoney).",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/send-data",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.languages[2]",
   "note": "Official send-data list includes JavaScript (browser tutorial and Libhoney).",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/send-data",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.languages[3]",
   "note": "Official send-data list includes Python (OpenTelemetry tutorial and Libhoney).",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/send-data",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.languages[4]",
   "note": "Official send-data list includes Ruby (OpenTelemetry tutorial and Libhoney).",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/send-data",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.languages[5]",
   "note": "Official send-data list includes .NET as an OpenTelemetry instrumentation tutorial.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/send-data",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.mcp.first_party",
   "note": "Honeycomb documents a vendor-hosted MCP at https://mcp.honeycomb.io/mcp (US) and https://mcp.eu1.honeycomb.io/mcp (EU). HTTP transport. OAuth is recommended. Honeycomb Intelligence must be enabled.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/integrations/mcp/configuration-guide",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.mcp.verdict",
   "note": "The tools reference lists first-party read and write tools for queries, traces, Boards, Triggers, SLOs, recipients, Canvas, and related discovery. Write tools require mcp:write.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/integrations/mcp/tools",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.cli.exists",
   "note": "Honeycomb documents honeymarker as a lightweight official CLI for marker add, list, update, and delete, using a Configuration key with Manage Markers permission.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/investigate/query/customize-results/marker-cli-reference",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.extensibility.scripting[0]",
   "note": "Honeycomb documents an official Terraform provider for Boards, calculated fields, SLOs, Triggers, and other API-managed resources.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/integrations/hashicorp-terraform",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.extensibility.webhooks",
   "note": "Honeycomb POSTs JSON Trigger and SLO burn-alert payloads to configured webhook URLs, with X-Honeycomb-Webhook-Token, a delivery ID, optional shared secret, and documented retry rules.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/notify/webhooks",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.data_access.export[0]",
   "note": "V1 endpoints return application/json. V2 endpoints return application/vnd.api+json. List and get operations expose datasets, queries, and related resources as JSON.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/api/introduction",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.data_access.import[0]",
   "note": "The API accepts JSON (V1) or JSON:API (V2) request bodies to create and update datasets, queries, Triggers, SLOs, Environments, and keys.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/api/introduction",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "modalities.agent_docs.llms_txt",
   "note": "Opened https://docs.honeycomb.io/llms.txt. It is a documentation index covering Get Started, Investigate, MCP, API Reference, and OpenAPI.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/llms.txt",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "verdict.scores.api",
   "note": "The REST APIs are versioned, regional, and documented, including Boards, Triggers, SLOs, and Management V2. Query Data execution is Enterprise-only, so the path is documented and practical but not full-coverage for query results.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/api/introduction",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "verdict.scores.mcp",
   "note": "The official hosted server exposes query, trace, Board, Trigger, SLO, and Canvas tools with published rate limits. Intelligence must be enabled, API-key generation is Team Owner-only, and some tools are plan-gated, so the score is useful official coverage rather than 9-10.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/integrations/mcp/tools",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "verdict.scores.cli",
   "note": "honeymarker is official and non-interactive but covers markers only. That is a narrow CLI, not a general Honeycomb command surface.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/investigate/query/customize-results/marker-cli-reference",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[0].url",
   "note": "Opened the current Honeycomb MCP configuration guide, including US/EU URLs, OAuth, Management API-key Bearer auth, and the Honeycomb Intelligence prerequisite.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/integrations/mcp/configuration-guide",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[1].url",
   "note": "Opened the current MCP tools reference, including read/write tool tables, mcp:write requirements, and per-tool rate limits.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/integrations/mcp/tools",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[2].url",
   "note": "Opened the current Honeycomb API introduction, including US/EU base URLs, /1/ and /2/ versions, and content types.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/api/introduction",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[3].url",
   "note": "Opened the current API authentication page for Ingest, Configuration, and Management key headers.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/api/authentication",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-07",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[4].url",
   "note": "Opened the current Honeycomb docs llms.txt index, including MCP and API Reference entries.",
   "source": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/llms.txt",
   "tier": "declared"
  }
 ],
 "freshness": {
  "last_verified": "2026-09-07",
  "volatility": "high",
  "watch": [
   {
    "type": "mcp",
    "url": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/integrations/mcp/configuration-guide"
   },
   {
    "type": "mcp",
    "url": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/integrations/mcp/tools"
   },
   {
    "type": "docs",
    "url": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/api/introduction"
   },
   {
    "type": "docs",
    "url": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/api/authentication"
   },
   {
    "type": "docs",
    "url": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/llms.txt"
   }
  ]
 },
 "homepage": "https://www.honeycomb.io/",
 "id": "honeycomb",
 "license": "freemium",
 "modalities": {
  "agent_docs": {
   "llms_txt": true
  },
  "api": {
   "auth": [
    "x-honeycomb-team",
    "bearer"
   ],
   "coverage": "partial",
   "docs": "https://docs.honeycomb.io/api/introduction",
   "exists": true,
   "kinds": [
    "rest"
   ]
  },
  "cli": {
   "exists": true
  },
  "computer_use": {
   "issues": [],
   "viability": "unknown"
  },
  "data_access": {
   "export": [
    "api-json"
   ],
   "import": [
    "api-json"
   ]
  },
  "extensibility": {
   "scripting": [
    "terraform"
   ],
   "webhooks": true
  },
  "integrations": {
   "make": "unknown",
   "n8n": "unknown",
   "power_automate": "unknown",
   "zapier": "unknown"
  },
  "mcp": {
   "first_party": true,
   "third_party": [],
   "verdict": "official"
  },
  "rpa": {
   "drivability": "unknown",
   "notes": "No repeatable UI probe was run. Honeycomb's REST APIs, hosted MCP, alert webhooks, and honeymarker CLI cover practical observability automation without browser control.\n",
   "ui_stack": [
    "web-dom"
   ],
   "vendor_support": []
  },
  "sdk": {
   "exists": true,
   "languages": [
    "go",
    "java",
    "javascript",
    "python",
    "ruby",
    "csharp"
   ],
   "official": true
  }
 },
 "name": "Honeycomb",
 "platforms": [
  "web"
 ],
 "related": {
  "alternatives": [
   "datadog",
   "new-relic",
   "dynatrace",
   "grafana"
  ],
  "our_products": []
 },
 "schema_version": 1,
 "score_version": 1,
 "status": "active",
 "vendor": "Honeycomb",
 "verdict": {
  "best_path": "mcp",
  "scores": {
   "api": 7,
   "cli": 3,
   "computer_use": null,
   "integrations": null,
   "mcp": 8,
   "overall": 8,
   "rpa": null
  },
  "summary": "Honeycomb observability is automatable today through the official hosted MCP. This record is Honeycomb query, investigation, Boards, Triggers, SLOs, and related team resources as exposed by https://mcp.honeycomb.io/mcp (US) and https://mcp.eu1.honeycomb.io/mcp (EU). It is not Datadog, New Relic, Grafana, or Dynatrace. The archived honeycombio/honeycomb-mcp GitHub repository is not the current product. A Team Owner must enable Honeycomb Intelligence before MCP works. OAuth is the documented default. Unattended agents may use a Management API key that a Team Owner creates with Model Context Protocol and Environments scopes, sent as Authorization: Bearer KEY_ID:SECRET. Read is required for all MCP operations; write (mcp:write) is required to create or update Boards, Triggers, SLOs, recipients, and Canvas investigations. Documented tools include workspace discovery, run_query, traces, BubbleUp, Boards, Triggers, SLOs, recipients, and Canvas. Per-tool rate limits apply. get_service_map is Enterprise. The REST APIs at api.honeycomb.io and api.eu1.honeycomb.io manage datasets, query specs, Boards, Triggers, SLOs, Environments, and keys. Configuration and Ingest keys use the X-Honeycomb-Team header. Management keys use Authorization: Bearer. Creating a Query spec does not run it. The Query Data API that returns results is Enterprise-only, with a 7-day window and 10 requests per minute. Official send-data libraries include Libhoney and OpenTelemetry paths. honeymarker is a marker CRUD CLI, not a general Honeycomb CLI. Trigger and SLO burn alerts can POST JSON to webhooks. iPaaS catalogs were not opened. Computer-use viability is unassessed. MCP scores 8 and is the best path because it can run queries without the Enterprise Query Data API. The REST API scores 7 because query results stay Enterprise- gated.\n"
 }
}