FAQ
What do I need to do to try out Foam?
Connect your GitHub account and point Foam at your repositories. Foam scans your codebase, opens a setup PR with the instrumentation it needs, and starts collecting data once you merge it.
Do I need to write code, or instrument anything?
No. Foam does it all for you. All you have to do is review and deploy Foam’s PRs.
How long does installation take?
Scanning your repositories usually takes 20 to 40 minutes, depending on their size and complexity. After that, installing and testing each selected app typically takes 2 to 5 hours, depending on the size of your repositories and the number of services involved.
What does Foam do during that time, and why does it take that long?
Foam automatically installs and tests each selected app to make sure it is fully visible, and you do not have to do anything during this process, since Foam handles it all itself. The testing exercises many parts of your application to confirm that data is captured correctly everywhere, which is why it takes longer than a simple install. In exchange, you get a full coverage guarantee: Foam ensures full visibility is achieved before it calls installation complete.
Do I need to uninstall Datadog, Sentry, or other observability tools?
No. Foam is built to run alongside your existing tools, and installation is designed to guarantee they keep working exactly as they do today. Keep everything you already have.
How do I know the data is complete?
Foam verifies it. During install, it scans every service for gaps in what your code emits, opens PRs to fill them, and runs test traffic to confirm every signal lands. Foam delivers a coverage report so you know exactly what coverage you have.
What if Foam doesn't have the telemetry to answer a question?
It fills the gap. If a question cannot be answered with what is currently in the telemetry, Foam opens a PR to add the missing telemetry. Once deployed and data is flowing, Foam answers the question.
Do you charge for indexing, querying, or data volume?
No. Foam pricing does not scale with indexing, querying, or event volume. We want to incentivize, not penalize, sending more logs and adding more instrumentation, because that lets Foam be a better product for you.
“We asked Foam what was going wrong and it answered before we even finished the question. Their CEO stayed in our channel until it was fully useful.”
“Forty alerts a day and none of them meant anything. Now Foam tells us what actually matters and acts on the rest.”
“Before our users even get to ping us, Foam has already explained the issue and pointed us to the cause.”
“I used to lose a whole day checking my changes in prod. Now I just ask Foam and get answers in seconds.”
“Frontend and backend are fully linked now. I ask one question and get the full picture across every service.”
“We asked Foam what was going wrong and it answered before we even finished the question. Their CEO stayed in our channel until it was fully useful.”
“Forty alerts a day and none of them meant anything. Now Foam tells us what actually matters and acts on the rest.”
“Before our users even get to ping us, Foam has already explained the issue and pointed us to the cause.”
“I used to lose a whole day checking my changes in prod. Now I just ask Foam and get answers in seconds.”
“Frontend and backend are fully linked now. I ask one question and get the full picture across every service.”