otel-dotnet

Name: otel-dotnet
Author: ollygarden/opentelemetry-agent-skills

$npx mdskill add ollygarden/opentelemetry-agent-skills/otel-dotnet

Configure and instrument OpenTelemetry in .NET services.

Sets up OpenTelemetry SDK via DI/builder or manual creation.
Depends on OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting, OTLP exporter, and BCL APIs.
Triggers on keywords like AddOpenTelemetry, ActivitySource, or Meter.
Returns setup guides, API references, and performance tuning advice.

SKILL.md

.github/skills/otel-dotnetView on GitHub ↗

---
name: otel-dotnet
description: OpenTelemetry in .NET — DI/builder SDK setup (OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting, AddOpenTelemetry, UseOtlpExporter, OpenTelemetrySdk.Create), native .NET instrumentation APIs (ActivitySource, System.Diagnostics.Metrics Meter) plus logging abstractions (ILogger), zero-code CLR-profiler agent, contrib instrumentation packages, performance tuning, and breaking-change audits. Use when adding, reviewing, or configuring OpenTelemetry in a .NET or ASP.NET Core service. Triggers on "setup otel in dotnet", "dotnet telemetry", ".net tracing", "ASP.NET Core opentelemetry", "AddOpenTelemetry", "UseOtlpExporter", "OpenTelemetrySdk.Create", "ActivitySource", "System.Diagnostics.Metrics Meter", "ILogger opentelemetry", "OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting", "opentelemetry-dotnet-instrumentation", or any C# OTel question.
---

# OpenTelemetry in .NET

Entry point for OpenTelemetry mechanics in .NET services. Load a reference below based on the
task; each reference is self-contained.

## References

| File | Use when |
|---|---|
| [`references/setup.md`](references/setup.md) | Setting up the SDK via the DI/builder path (`AddOpenTelemetry().WithTracing/WithMetrics/WithLogging`, `UseOtlpExporter`, `OpenTelemetrySdk.Create`, `OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting`), exporter wiring, env-var / `IConfiguration` inputs, and why there is no declarative YAML config in .NET. |
| [`references/api.md`](references/api.md) | Instrumenting with native BCL APIs (`ActivitySource`/`Activity`, `System.Diagnostics.Metrics.Meter`, `ILogger`), how the SDK subscribes (`AddSource`/`AddMeter`), attributes, propagation, and the optional OTel API shim. |
| [`references/instrumentation-libraries.md`](references/instrumentation-libraries.md) | Zero-code (the `opentelemetry-dotnet-instrumentation` CLR-profiler agent), the contrib instrumentation-package catalog, and manual instrumentation following semconv. |
| [`references/performance.md`](references/performance.md) | Tuning sampling, batch export processor, periodic metric reader, views, exporter choice, async context, graceful shutdown. |
| [`references/breaking-changes.md`](references/breaking-changes.md) | Auditing existing code for deprecated/renamed APIs and semconv changes across recent core/contrib releases. |

## Sources of Truth

For YAML schema details (language-agnostic), see the `otel-declarative-config` skill — but note
.NET does not yet implement declarative config (see `references/setup.md`).
For .NET-specific facts:

| Fact | Fetch |
|---|---|
| Latest `OpenTelemetry` core / `core-*` tag | `gh api repos/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/releases/latest -q '.tag_name'` |
| Latest NuGet package (`OpenTelemetry`, `OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting`, exporters, `OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.<pkg>`) | `WebFetch https://www.nuget.org/packages/<PackageId>` (Version) |
| Latest auto-instrumentation agent | `gh api repos/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet-instrumentation/releases/latest -q '.tag_name'` |
| Core CHANGELOG (per package) | `WebFetch https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/main/src/<Package>/CHANGELOG.md` |
| Contrib CHANGELOG (per package) | `WebFetch https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet-contrib/main/src/<Package>/CHANGELOG.md` |
| .NET getting-started / instrumentation docs | `WebFetch https://opentelemetry.io/docs/languages/dotnet/instrumentation/` |
| Zero-code agent docs | `WebFetch https://opentelemetry.io/docs/zero-code/dotnet/` |

## Cross-References

- Schema-level facts: `otel-declarative-config` skill (language-agnostic YAML schema sources; .NET not yet implemented).
- SDK version selection across languages: `otel-sdk-versions` skill.
- Semantic conventions lookup: `otel-semantic-conventions` skill.

More from ollygarden/opentelemetry-agent-skills

Skill	Description
otel-browser	OpenTelemetry in the browser (Real User Monitoring / RUM) — capturing page loads, Core Web Vitals, route changes, clicks, console output, and JavaScript errors, and connecting frontend telemetry to backend traces. Covers the web tracing SDK (sdk-trace-web, context-zone), the experimental browser-sdk, and event- and span-based browser instrumentations. Use when adding, reviewing, or configuring OpenTelemetry in a web app (SPA/MPA). Triggers on "browser otel", "RUM", "real user monitoring", "frontend observability", "web vitals", "core web vitals", "sdk-trace-web", "WebTracerProvider", "browser-sdk", "browser-instrumentation", "instrument the frontend", "page load tracing", "session", or any browser/web OTel question.
otel-collector	OpenTelemetry Collector component configuration. Use when authoring, reviewing, or debugging Collector YAML for a specific receiver, processor, exporter, connector, or extension — config keys, defaults, validation rules, signal support, stability levels, and component-level gotchas. Triggers on Collector component questions including receivers, processors, exporters, connectors, extensions, component renames, signal support, and pipeline wiring.
otel-collector-builder	Build custom OpenTelemetry Collector distributions with OCB (OpenTelemetry Collector Builder). Use when authoring or debugging a builder manifest (builder.yaml), choosing component and provider versions, building a collector that bundles a custom or out-of-distribution component, setting up CI or Docker builds of a distribution, or troubleshooting OCB build failures. Triggers on "ocb", "collector builder", "custom collector distribution", "builder manifest", "builder-config", and version-mismatch errors from OCB builds.
otel-declarative-config	OpenTelemetry declarative YAML configuration for SDK setup. Use when configuring OpenTelemetry SDK providers (tracer, meter, logger), setting up OTLP exporters, defining sampling strategies, or writing otel config files. Triggers on "otel config", "OpenTelemetry YAML", "declarative configuration", "otelconf", "OTEL_CONFIG_FILE", "file_format", "configure tracing/metrics/logs export", or when the user is setting up telemetry pipelines via config files rather than code.
otel-go	OpenTelemetry in Go — SDK setup, API surface, breaking changes, contrib instrumentation libraries (otelhttp, otelgrpc, otelmongo), compile-time zero-code instrumentation (otelc), and performance tuning. Use when adding, reviewing, or configuring OpenTelemetry in a Go service. Triggers on "setup otel in go", "go telemetry", "go tracing", "otelconf go", "otelhttp", "otelgrpc", "TracerProvider go", "MeterProvider go", "otelc", "compile-time instrumentation go", "zero-code go instrumentation", "go build instrumentation", or any Go-related OTel question.
otel-java	OpenTelemetry in Java — Javaagent zero-code instrumentation, Spring Boot Starter, manual autoconfigure SDK, declarative YAML configuration, BOM dependency management, sensitive-data capture and redaction (url.query, headers, request parameters, SQL sanitization). Use when adding, reviewing, or configuring OpenTelemetry in a Java service. Triggers on "setup otel in java", "java telemetry", "javaagent", "Spring Boot otel", "GlobalOpenTelemetry", "AutoConfiguredOpenTelemetrySdk", "TracerProvider java", "url.query redaction", "capture request headers", or any Java-related OTel question.
otel-js	OpenTelemetry in Node.js / JavaScript / TypeScript — NodeSDK, declarative YAML configuration, auto-instrumentations, ESM vs CJS import patterns. Use when adding, reviewing, or configuring OpenTelemetry in a Node.js service. Triggers on "setup otel in node", "js telemetry", "node tracing setup", "NodeSDK", "auto instrumentation node", "TracerProvider node", or any Node.js-related OTel question.
otel-ottl	OpenTelemetry Transformation Language (OTTL) expert for writing and debugging telemetry transformations in the OpenTelemetry Collector. Use when authoring or reviewing `transform`, `filter`, `tail_sampling` processor configs or `routing` connector configs, debugging OTTL syntax or semantics, transforming traces, metrics, logs, or profiles, or converting data-processing requirements into OTTL statements.
otel-python	OpenTelemetry in Python — SDK setup, declarative config, zero-code instrumentation (opentelemetry-instrument, opentelemetry-distro), contrib auto-instrumentation, manual API, performance tuning, breaking changes. Use when configuring or troubleshooting OpenTelemetry in a Python service. Triggers on "setup otel in python", "python telemetry", "python tracing", "opentelemetry-instrument", "opentelemetry-distro", "TracerProvider python", "MeterProvider python", "FastAPI/Flask/Django otel", "python logging bridge".
otel-sdk-versions	OpenTelemetry SDK and package version lookup across languages. Use when choosing the latest compatible released OpenTelemetry SDK or package version and locating setup docs or examples.