alibaba/arthas
Alibaba Java Diagnostic Tool Arthas/Alibaba Java诊断利器Arthas
How arthas is put together
Arthas is Alibaba's open-source Java diagnostic tool that attaches to a running JVM as a Java agent (agent module, Premain/Agent-Class com.taobao.arthas.agent334.AgentBootstrap) without code changes or restarts. The core module hosts the command engine (watch/trace/jad/sc/mc/retransform etc.), starting an embedded server that serves interactive sessions over Telnet, HTTP, and WebSocket, with the Vue-based web-ui console connecting through WebSocket. Supporting modules include spy (in-process instrumentation hooks loaded into the target JVM), memorycompiler (in-memory javac), arthas-vmtool/JNI libraries and bundled async-profiler natives for VM-level operations, tunnel-client/tunnel-common for connecting agents to a remote tunnel-server, and arthas-mcp-server exposing diagnostics over the Model Context Protocol. Primary language is Java (target 1.8, supporting up to JDK 25), built with a multi-module Maven reactor (${revision} = 4.3.4), plus TypeScript/Vite frontends.
Languages
Frameworks
Infrastructure
Major components
agent
Java agent entry point (arthas-agent.jar) whose bootstrap class attaches Arthas to the target JVM via premain/agentmain.
core
Main engine implementing all diagnostic commands, session management, and the embedded Telnet/HTTP/WebSocket server (ArthasServer).
spy
Minimal hook classes injected into the target application's classpath to relay method-invocation data back to the core.
boot / client
Standalone bootstrap jar (arthas-boot.jar) and interactive CLI client used to select a JVM process and attach/connect.
tunnel-client / tunnel-common (+ tunnel-server on JDK17 profile)
Client-side connectivity so agents register with a central remote tunnel server for browser/cluster access.
arthas-mcp-server
Exposes Arthas diagnostic capabilities as tools over the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for AI clients.
web-ui/arthasWebConsole
Vue 3 + Vite web console with mode-specific builds (ui, tunnel, native-agent) proxied to backend /api endpoints.
memorycompiler + arthas-vmtool + native libs
In-memory Java compilation for mc/retransform, plus JNI libraries and bundled async-profiler for VM-level and profiling operations.
A busy release week that added Kubernetes cross-container debugging support and shipped versions 4.3.3 and 4.3.4.
The past several weeks focused on making Arthas easier to use inside Kubernetes, with a major new ability to attach the tool across container boundaries and namespaces for debugging. Two releases shipped (4.3.3 and 4.3.4) alongside an MCP file-upload capability and supporting documentation and logging improvements. A smaller maintenance week fixed the Docker multi-platform build image.
Week by week
2026-08-10A busy release week that added Kubernetes cross-container debugging support and shipped versions 4.3.3 and 4.3.4.latest6 changes
Feature
Attach to processes across containers in Kubernetes
Arthas can now attach to a running Java process from a separate ephemeral debug container in Kubernetes, even when the two live in different mount namespaces.
Feature
Log successful cross-namespace attachments
When attaching succeeds across different namespaces, Arthas now records it in its logs so users can confirm what happened.
Feature
New upload_file tool for AI assistants
The MCP (AI-assistant) interface gained a tool that lets a connected assistant upload files, expanding what automated workflows can do.
Chore
Release 4.3.4
A new stable version was cut including the Kubernetes attach features and recent fixes.
Chore
Release 4.3.3
An intermediate version was released earlier in the week containing the MCP upload_file addition.
Docs
Documented Kubernetes cross-container usage
New documentation explains how to attach Arthas across containers in a Kubernetes cluster.
2026-07-20A quiet maintenance week with a single fix to keep Docker builds working on multiple platforms.1 change
Fix
Fixed Docker multi-platform base image
Corrected the base image used for Docker builds so releases can be built consistently for multiple hardware platforms.
Dependencies and code review
Dependency advisories
Security Watch
No known advisories across 0 scanned dependencies.
No known advisories in the scanned dependencies.
Code review
No concrete code-level issues confirmed.
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