# Qtap Guides Standalone deployment guides for Qtap with local YAML-based configuration. Maximum control and flexibility for self-managed environments. ## What You'll Learn These guides cover: * **Local configuration** - Writing and managing qtap.yaml files * **Storage backends** - Configuring S3, MinIO, and other object stores * **Traffic processing** - Using plugins, stacks, and rulekit expressions * **Conditional capture** - Smart filtering to reduce noise and costs * **Production deployment** - Best practices for long-term operation ## Available Guides ### Getting Started #### [5-Minute Quickstart](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/getting-started/qtap-starter-configuration-stdout-only) The simplest possible Qtap setup - everything outputs to your terminal for immediate visibility. **Perfect for:** * Quick testing and experimentation * Development environments * Understanding Qtap basics before adding complexity **What's included:** * Minimal YAML configuration (15 lines) * Stdout-only output (no external services needed) * Test commands to verify it works **Time to complete:** 5 minutes **Skill level:** Beginner *** #### [Complete Guide - From Hello World to Production](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/getting-started/getting-started-complete-guide) A progressive, hands-on tutorial that takes you from basic setup to production-ready configuration in four levels: **Level 1: Dead Simple - Verify It's Working** (5 minutes) * Basic qtap configuration * Verify HTTPS visibility * Understand output format **Level 2: Basic Filtering and Selective Capture** (10 minutes) * Filter out noisy processes * Apply different capture levels by domain * Use multiple stacks **Level 3: Conditional Capture with Rulekit** (15 minutes) * Use rulekit expressions for intelligent capture * Create reusable macros * Capture only errors and specific request types **Level 4: Production Storage with S3** (20 minutes) * Configure S3-compatible object storage * Keep sensitive data in your network * Implement cost-effective storage strategies **Time to complete:** 50 minutes total (or do one level at a time) **Skill level:** Beginner to Advanced *** #### [Ingress Traffic Capture with Python](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/getting-started/ingress-traffic-capture-with-python) Learn how to capture **incoming HTTP requests** to your applications using a Python FastAPI server example. **Perfect for:** * Monitoring API endpoints you expose * Debugging incoming client requests * Security auditing of inbound traffic * Understanding ingress vs egress capture **What's included:** * Complete FastAPI server example * Ingress-specific Qtap configuration * Step-by-step testing instructions * Loopback traffic handling **Key concepts:** * `direction: ingress` configuration * `ignore_loopback: false` for localhost capture * Full request/response visibility for incoming traffic **Time to complete:** 15 minutes **Skill level:** Beginner *** ### Web Server Integration #### [Capturing NGINX Traffic](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/web-server-integration/capturing-nginx-traffic) Monitor HTTP traffic flowing through NGINX reverse proxy with process-aware visibility. **Time to complete:** 30 minutes **Skill level:** Beginner-Intermediate *** #### [Capturing Caddy Traffic](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/web-server-integration/capturing-caddy-traffic) Observe HTTP traffic in Caddy web server environments. **Time to complete:** 30 minutes **Skill level:** Beginner-Intermediate *** #### [Capturing Traefik Traffic](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/web-server-integration/capturing-traefik-traffic) Capture cloud-native proxy traffic with Traefik integration. **Time to complete:** 30 minutes **Skill level:** Beginner-Intermediate *** #### [Capturing HAProxy Traffic](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/web-server-integration/capturing-haproxy-traffic) Load balancer analytics and visibility with HAProxy. **Time to complete:** 30 minutes **Skill level:** Intermediate *** #### [Capturing Envoy Traffic](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/web-server-integration/capturing-envoy-traffic) Service mesh visibility with Envoy proxy. **Time to complete:** 30 minutes **Skill level:** Intermediate *** ### Observability & Integration #### [Monitoring Qtap with Prometheus and Grafana](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/observability-and-integration/monitoring-qtap-with-prometheus-and-grafana) Complete guide to setting up observability for Qtap using Prometheus metrics and Grafana dashboards. **What you'll learn:** * Exposing Qtap's Prometheus metrics endpoints * Configuring Prometheus to scrape metrics * Importing and customizing Grafana dashboards * Setting up alerts for error rates and latency * Optimizing metrics for production **What's included:** * Prometheus configuration examples (Docker Compose + Kubernetes) * Pre-built Grafana dashboard with RED metrics * Alert rules for errors, latency, and traffic spikes * PromQL queries for troubleshooting * Production optimization tips **Perfect for:** * Production deployments requiring observability * Teams using existing Prometheus/Grafana stacks * Performance monitoring and capacity planning * SRE teams managing Qtap at scale **Time to complete:** 45 minutes **Skill level:** Intermediate *** #### [Sending Qtap Events to OpenTelemetry](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/observability-and-integration/sending-qtap-events-to-opentelemetry) Send Qtap network observability data to any OpenTelemetry-compatible backend using the OTLP protocol. **What you'll learn:** * Exporting Qtap events as OpenTelemetry Logs * Configuring OTLP endpoints (gRPC and HTTP) * Deploying with OpenTelemetry Collector * Backend-specific configurations (Datadog, Honeycomb, New Relic, Grafana Cloud, Elastic) * Understanding log event structure and attributes * Querying and filtering events **What's included:** * Docker Compose setup with OTel Collector * Kubernetes deployment with OpenTelemetry Operator * Configuration examples for major observability platforms * Complete log structure documentation * Troubleshooting guide **Perfect for:** * Teams using existing OpenTelemetry infrastructure * Organizations standardizing on OTLP * Multi-platform observability strategies * Sending data to SaaS observability platforms **Key insight:** Qtap exports events as **OpenTelemetry Logs**, making it compatible with any log aggregation or observability platform that supports OTLP. Events include connection metadata and HTTP transaction summaries (artifact\_record events) with rich structured attributes. **Time to complete:** 30 minutes **Skill level:** Intermediate *** #### [Capturing All HTTP Traffic with Fluent Bit](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/observability-and-integration/capturing-all-http-traffic-with-fluent-bit) High-volume batching and processing with Fluent Bit integration. **Time to complete:** Variable **Skill level:** Intermediate-Advanced *** ### Advanced Use Cases #### [HTTPS Header Capture Without Proxies](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/advanced-use-cases/transparent-https-header-capture-without-proxies) Deep dive into how Qtap uses eBPF to capture HTTPS traffic without proxies, certificates, or decryption. **What you'll learn:** * How eBPF hooks into TLS libraries (OpenSSL, GoTLS, etc.) * Capturing plaintext before encryption happens * Using rulekit expressions for conditional capture * Storing captured data in S3 * Analyzing captured traffic with jq **Perfect for:** * Understanding how eBPF enables TLS visibility * Security teams evaluating the technology * Advanced users who want granular control **Time to complete:** 30 minutes **Skill level:** Intermediate *** #### [CI Security Validation](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/advanced-use-cases/ci-security-validation-with-qtap) Build pipeline validation and security checks with Qtap. **Time to complete:** Variable **Skill level:** Advanced *** ## Why Choose Qtap Standalone? **Maximum Control** * Full control over configuration via YAML * Version control your configs with git * No dependency on external control plane **Data Sovereignty** * All data stays in your network * Configure your own S3-compatible storage * No external API calls (except to your chosen storage) **Flexibility** * Run in air-gapped environments * Customize every aspect of traffic processing * Use with your existing tooling and workflows *** ## Next Steps **New to Qtap?** Start with the [5-Minute Quickstart](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/getting-started/qtap-starter-configuration-stdout-only) or the comprehensive [Complete Guide](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/getting-started/getting-started-complete-guide). **Integrating with web servers?** Browse our [Web Server Integration](https://github.com/qpoint-io/documentation/blob/main/guides/web-servers/README.md) guides for NGINX, Caddy, Traefik, HAProxy, and Envoy. **Need observability?** Check out [Prometheus/Grafana](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/observability-and-integration/monitoring-qtap-with-prometheus-and-grafana), [OpenTelemetry](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/observability-and-integration/sending-qtap-events-to-opentelemetry), or [Fluent Bit](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qtap-guides/observability-and-integration/capturing-all-http-traffic-with-fluent-bit) integration. **Want centralized management?** Check out the [Qplane Guides](https://docs.qpoint.io/guides/qplane-guides) for cloud-connected deployment.