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open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java-instrumentation

OpenTelemetry auto-instrumentation and instrumentation libraries for Java

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README.md

# OpenTelemetry Instrumentation for Java

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- [About](#about)
- [Getting Started](#getting-started)
- [Configuring the Agent](#configuring-the-agent)
- [Supported libraries, frameworks, and application servers](#supported-libraries-frameworks-and-application-servers)
- [Creating agent extensions](#creating-agent-extensions)
- [Manually instrumenting](#manually-instrumenting)
- [Logger MDC auto-instrumentation](#logger-mdc-mapped-diagnostic-context-auto-instrumentation)
- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
- [Contributing](#contributing)

## About

This project provides a Java agent JAR that can be attached to any Java 8+
application and dynamically injects bytecode to capture telemetry from a
number of popular libraries and frameworks.
You can export the telemetry data in a variety of formats.
You can also configure the agent and exporter via command line arguments
or environment variables. The net result is the ability to gather telemetry
data from a Java application without code changes.

This repository also publishes standalone instrumentation for several libraries (and growing)
that can be used if you prefer that over using the Java agent.
Please see the standalone library instrumentation column
on [Supported Libraries](docs/supported-libraries.md#libraries--frameworks).
If you are looking for documentation on using those.

## Getting Started

Download
the [latest version](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java-instrumentation/releases/latest/download/opentelemetry-javaagent.jar).

This package includes the instrumentation agent as well as
instrumentations for all supported libraries and all available data exporters.
The package provides a completely automatic, out-of-the-box experience.

Enable the instrumentation agent using the `-javaagent` flag to the JVM.

```
java -javaagent:path/to/opentelemetry-javaagent.jar \
     -jar myapp.jar
```

By default, the OpenTelemetry Java agent uses the
[OTLP exporter](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java/tree/main/exporters/otlp)
configured to send data to an
[OpenTelemetry collector](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector/blob/main/receiver/otlpreceiver/README.md)
at `http://localhost:4318`.

Configuration parameters are passed as Java system properties (`-D` flags) or
as environment variables. See [the configuration documentation][config-agent]
for the full list of configuration items. For example:

```
java -javaagent:path/to/opentelemetry-javaagent.jar \
     -Dotel.resource.attributes=service.name=your-service-name \
     -Dotel.traces.exporter=console \
     -jar myapp.jar
```

## Configuring the Agent

The agent is highly configurable! Many aspects of the agent's behavior can be
configured for your needs, such as exporter choice, exporter config (like where
data is sent), trace context propagation headers, and much more.

For a detailed list of agent configuration options, see the [agent configuration docs][config-agent].

For a detailed list of additional SDK configuration environment variables and system properties,
see the [SDK configuration docs][config-sdk].

_Note: Config parameter names are very likely to change over time, so please check
back here when trying out a new version!
Please [report any bugs](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java-instrumentation/issues)
or unexpected behavior you find._

## Supported libraries, frameworks, and application servers

We support an impressively huge number
of [libraries and frameworks](docs/supported-libraries.md#libraries--frameworks) and
a majority of the most
popular [application servers](docs/supported-libraries.md#application-servers)...right out of the
box!
[Click here to see the full list](docs/supported-libraries.md) and to learn more about
[disabled instrumentation](docs/supported-libraries.md#disabled-instrumentations)
and how to [suppress unwanted instrumentation][suppress].

## Creating agent extensions

[Extensions](examples/extension/README.md) add new features and capabilities to the agent without
having to create a separate distribution or to fork this repository. For example, you can create
custom samplers or span exporters, set new defaults, and embed it all in the agent to obtain a
single jar file.

## Creating an agent distribution

[Distribution](examples/distro/README.md) provides guidance on creating a separate distribution, serving as a collection of examples for extending the functionality of the OpenTelemetry Java instrumentation agent. It also demonstrates how to repackage the agent while incorporating custom features.
[Agent extensions](#creating-agent-extensions) are recommended instead for most users as they are simpler and do not require rebuilding with each OpenTelemetry Java agent release.

## Manually instrumenting

For most users, the out-of-the-box instrumentation is completely sufficient and nothing more has to
be done. Sometimes, however, users wish to add attributes to the otherwise automatic spans,
or they might want to manually create spans for their own custom code.

For detailed instructions, see [Manual instrumentation][manual].

## Logger MDC (Mapped Diagnostic Context) auto-instrumentation

It is possible to inject trace information like trace IDs and span IDs into your
custom application logs. For details, see [Logger MDC
auto-instrumentation](docs/logger-mdc-instrumentation.md).

## Troubleshooting

To turn on the agent's internal debug logging:

`-Dotel.javaagent.debug=true`

**Note**: These logs are extremely verbose. Enable debug logging only when needed.
Debug logging negatively impacts the performance of your application.

## Contributing

See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md).

### Maintainers

- [Lauri Tulmin](https://github.com/laurit), Splunk
- [Trask Stalnaker](https://github.com/trask), Microsoft

For more information about the maintainer role, see the [community repository](https://github.com/open-telemetry/community/blob/main/guides/contributor/membership.md#maintainer).

### Approvers

- [Gregor Zeitlinger](https://github.com/zeitlinger), Grafana Labs
- [Jack Berg](https://github.com/jack-berg), Grafana Labs
- [Jason Plumb](https://github.com/breedx-splk), Splunk
- [Jay DeLuca](https://github.com/jaydeluca), Grafana Labs
- [John Watson](https://github.com/jkwatson), Sublime Security
- [Steve Rao](https://github.com/steverao), Alibaba
- [Sylvain Juge](https://github.com/SylvainJuge), Elastic

For more information about the approver role, see the [community repository](https://github.com/open-telemetry/community/blob/main/guides/contributor/membership.md#approver).

### Emeritus

- [Jean Bisutti](https://github.com/jeanbisutti), Approver
- [Jonas Kunz](https://github.com/JonasKunz), Approver
- [Mateusz Rzeszutek](https://github.com/mateuszrzeszutek), Maintainer
- [Nikita Salnikov-Tarnovski](https://github.com/iNikem), Maintainer
- [Tyler Benson](https://github.com/tylerbenson), Maintainer

For more information about the emeritus role, see the [community repository](https://github.com/open-telemetry/community/blob/main/guides/contributor/membership.md#emeritus-maintainerapprovertriager).

### Thanks to all of our contributors!

[config-agent]: https://opentelemetry.io/docs/zero-code/java/agent/configuration/
[config-sdk]: https://opentelemetry.io/docs/languages/java/configuration/
[manual]: https://opentelemetry.io/docs/languages/java/instrumentation/#manual-instrumentation
[suppress]: https://opentelemetry.io/docs/zero-code/java/agent/disable/

Repository info

Default branch: main
Latest version: v2.32.0
Created: 2019-09-26
Last activity: 2026-10-14
License: Apache-2.0
Open issues: 288
Watchers: 54

Contributors

trask

3k contributions

laurit

1.9k contributions

renovate[bot]

1.6k contributions

tylerbenson

1.5k contributions

otelbot[bot]

1.5k contributions