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wtf is newrelic-java-agent?

fieldju/newrelic-java-agent — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-17 · repo last pushed 2022-05-13

JavaAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5DormantSetup · moderate

TL;DR

The New Relic Java agent monitors a running Java application, tracking performance and errors, and sends that data to New Relic's dashboards without requiring source code changes.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Tracks performance
      Catches errors
    Tech Stack
      Java
      JVM
      Spring Boot
    Use Cases
      Find slow queries
      Debug memory leaks
    Audience
      DevOps engineers
      Backend developers
    Install
      Command line flag
      No code changes

Code map

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filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Discover that a checkout feature is timing out for certain users by inspecting agent-collected performance data.

REASON 2

Catch a background job that's leaking memory before it causes a production outage.

REASON 3

Understand why response times suddenly jumped in a Spring Boot microservice.

REASON 4

Add custom monitoring to specific parts of your own Java code using the agent's guides.

What's in the stack?

JavaJVMSpring Boot

How it stacks up

fieldju/newrelic-java-agentasutosh936/job-finder-appasutosh936/spring-boot
Stars—0—
LanguageJavaJavaJava
Last pushed2022-05-13—2016-07-02
MaintenanceDormant—Dormant
Setup difficultymoderatemoderatemoderate
Complexity3/52/53/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires a New Relic account and adding a startup flag to your Java application launch command.

Open source project maintained by New Relic, exact license terms are not stated in the explanation.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Show me the command-line flag needed to attach the New Relic Java agent to my app at startup.
Prompt 2
Explain how the New Relic Java agent tracks slow database queries without changing my source code.
Prompt 3
Help me add custom instrumentation to a specific method using the New Relic Java agent.
Prompt 4
What Java frameworks does the New Relic agent support out of the box?

Frequently asked questions

wtf is newrelic-java-agent?

The New Relic Java agent monitors a running Java application, tracking performance and errors, and sends that data to New Relic's dashboards without requiring source code changes.

What language is newrelic-java-agent written in?

Mainly Java. The stack also includes Java, JVM, Spring Boot.

Is newrelic-java-agent actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2022-05-13).

What license does newrelic-java-agent use?

Open source project maintained by New Relic, exact license terms are not stated in the explanation.

How hard is newrelic-java-agent to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is newrelic-java-agent for?

Mainly developer.

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