---
title: "Introducing ClickStack embedded in ClickHouse"
description: "ClickHouse 26.2 introduces an embedded distribution of the ClickStack observability UI packaged directly inside the ClickHouse binary. Designed for local exploration and instance inspection, this distribution allows developers to visualize internal query logs, traces, and system metrics without deploying external services. To preserve build integrity and keep the added binary footprint around 4.1 to 4.2 MB, the team avoided a Node.js dependency by embedding a pre-built static Next.js application using CMake-generated C++ structs. Supporting components such as MongoDB, Express, and the Pyodide WebAssembly runtime were omitted, disabling alerting and persistent dashboards in favor of simplicity. Users can access the interface directly over HTTP to monitor local databases and query performance out of the box."
---

# Introducing ClickStack embedded in ClickHouse

[Clickhouse](https://yomu.fyi/company/clickhouse) · The ClickStack Team · Mar 5, 2026

**Type:** Announcement

## Summary

ClickHouse 26.2 introduces an embedded distribution of the ClickStack observability UI packaged directly inside the ClickHouse binary. Designed for local exploration and instance inspection, this distribution allows developers to visualize internal query logs, traces, and system metrics without deploying external services. To preserve build integrity and keep the added binary footprint around 4.1 to 4.2 MB, the team avoided a Node.js dependency by embedding a pre-built static Next.js application using CMake-generated C++ structs. Supporting components such as MongoDB, Express, and the Pyodide WebAssembly runtime were omitted, disabling alerting and persistent dashboards in favor of simplicity. Users can access the interface directly over HTTP to monitor local databases and query performance out of the box.

## Context

ClickStack previously required Docker containers, multi-service deployment setups, or ClickHouse Cloud to run its observability UI alongside ClickHouse. Setting up local experimentation and instance inspection required deploying additional services, creating friction for developers seeking fast local observability and performance diagnostics.

## Approach / What changed

In version 26.2, ClickHouse embeds a static Next.js build of the ClickStack UI directly into the C++ database binary, adding approximately 4.1 to 4.2 MB. The team eliminated dependencies on Node.js, Express, MongoDB, and Pyodide by using client-side direct HTTP queries, browser storage, and automated CMake tooling that gzips and packages static files into C++ structs.

## Takeaways

- ClickStack UI is embedded directly into the ClickHouse 26.2 binary, adding roughly 4.1 to 4.2 MB to the binary size while enabling out-of-the-box local observability at localhost:8123/clickstack.
- To avoid introducing a Node.js dependency during C++ builds, release tooling bundles static Next.js output into a submodule that CMake compresses with gzip and converts into C++ struct definitions.
- The embedded distribution omits persistent backend dependencies like MongoDB and Express along with the Pyodide WebAssembly runtime, disabling alerting, query persistence, and event patterns.

**Tags:** [Architecture](https://yomu.fyi/topic/architecture), [Developer Experience](https://yomu.fyi/topic/developer-experience), [Monitoring](https://yomu.fyi/topic/monitoring), [Observability](https://yomu.fyi/topic/observability), [Open Source](https://yomu.fyi/topic/open-source)

- Source: [Clickhouse](https://clickhouse.com/blog/clickstack-embedded-clickhouse)
- Source URL: https://clickhouse.com/blog/clickstack-embedded-clickhouse
- Ingested by Yomu: 2026-08-28T01:21:33.788Z

[Read original post](https://clickhouse.com/blog/clickstack-embedded-clickhouse)