See also the Environment Variables in the otel package, which is charge of selecting the exporters to use.
The OpenTelemetry Specification
Most of these environment variables are based on the OpenTelemetry Specification, version 1.47.0.
The environment variables with an 'OTEL_R_' prefix are not (yet) in the
standard, and are specific for the otel and otelsdk R packages.
General SDK Configuration
OTEL_SDK_DISABLEDSet to a 'true' value to disable the SDK for all signals.
OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTESKey-value pairs to be used as resource attributes. See the Resource SDK for more details.
OTEL_SERVICE_NAMESets the value of the
service.nameresource attribute.OTEL_LOG_LEVELLog level used by the SDK internal logger. In R it is also used for the default log level of the OpenTelemetry loggers.
Selecting Exporters
otel is responsible for selecting the providers to use for traces, logs and metrics. You can use the environment variables below to point the otel functions to the desired providers.
If none of these environment variables are set, then otel will not emit any telemetry data.
OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTERThe name of the selected tracer provider. See
otel::get_default_tracer_provider()for the possible values.OTEL_R_TRACES_EXPORTERR specific version of
OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTER.OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTERThe name of the selected logger provider. See
otel::get_default_logger_provider()for the possible values.OTEL_R_LOGS_EXPORTERR specific version of
OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER.OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTERThe name of the selected meter provider. See
otel::get_default_meter_provider()for the possible values.OTEL_R_METRICS_EXPORTERR specific version of
OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER.
Suppressing Instrumentation Scopes (R Packages)
otel has two environment variables to fine tune which instrumentation scopes (i.e. R packages, typically) emit telemetry data. By default, i.e. if neither of these are set, all packages emit telemetry data.
OTEL_R_EMIT_SCOPESSet this environment variable to a comma separated string of instrumentation scope names or R package names to restrict telemetry to these packages only. The name of the instrumentation scope is the same as the name of the tracer, logger or meter, see
otel::default_tracer_name().You can mix package names and instrumentation scope names and you can also use wildcards (globbing). For example the value
OTEL_R_EMIT_SCOPES="org.r-lib.*,dplyr"
selects all packages with an instrumentation scope that starts with
org.r-lib.and also dplyr.OTEL_R_SUPPRESS_SCOPESSet this environment variable to a comma separated string of instrumentation scope names or R package names to suppress telemetry data from these packages. The name of the instrumentation scope is the same as the name of the tracer, logger or meter, see
otel::default_tracer_name().You can mix package names and instrumentation scope names and you can also use wildcards (globbing). For example the value
OTEL_R_SUPPRESS_SCOPES="org.r-lib.*,dplyr"
excludes packages with an instrumentation scope that starts with
org.r-lib.and also dplyr.
Zero Code Instrumentation
otel can instrument R packages for OpenTelemetry data collection
without changing their source code. This relies on changing the code
of the R functions manually using base::trace() and can be configured
using environment variables.
OTEL_R_INSTRUMENT_PKGSSet
OTEL_R_INSTRUMENT_PKGSto a comma separated list of packages to instrument. The automatic instrumentation happens when the otel package is loaded, so in general it is best to set this environment variable before loading R.OTEL_R_INSTRUMENT_PKGS_<pkg>_INCLUDEFor an automatically instrumented package, set this environment variable to only instrument a subset of its functions. It is parsed as a comma separated string of function names, which may also include
?and*wildcards (globbing).OTEL_R_INSTRUMENT_PKGS_<pkg>_EXCLUDEFor an automatically instrumented package, set this environment variable to exclude some functions from instrumentation. It has the same syntax as its
*_INCLUDEpair. If both are set, then inclusion is applied and the exclusion.
Attribute Limits
OTEL_ATTRIBUTE_COUNT_LIMITSet this environment variable to limit the number of attributes for a single span, log record, metric measurement, etc. If unset, the default limit is 128 attributes. Note that only attributes specified with
otel::as_attributes()are subject to this environment variable.OTEL_ATTRIBUTE_VALUE_LENGTH_LIMITSet this environment variable to limit the length of vectors in attributes for a single span, log record, metric measurement, etc. If unset, there is no limit on the lengths of vectors in attributes. Note that only attributes specified with
otel::as_attributes()are subject to this environment variable.
OTLP/HTTP Exporters
These environment variables are used by tracer_provider_http, meter_provider_http and logger_provider_http.
For every set of environment variables, the signal specific ones have priority over the generic one.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_ENDPOINT|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_ENDPOINT|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_ENDPOINTOTLP URL to send telemetry data to. When the generic environment variable is used, the exporter appends the signal specific endpoint to it. The signal specific environment variables are used as is. More in the OpenTelemetry specification.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_PROTOCOL|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_PROTOCOL|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_PROTOCOLThe transport protocol. Possible values:
http/json,http/protobuf.OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_JSON_BYTES_MAPPING|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_JSON_BYTES_MAPPING|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_JSON_BYTES_MAPPING|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_JSON_BYTES_MAPPINGEncoding used for trace ids and spans id. Possible values:
hexid,base64,hex.OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_USE_JSON_NAME|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_USE_JSON_NAME|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_USE_JSON_NAME|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_USE_JSON_NAMEWhether to use json name of protobuf field to set the key of json. A boolean value (flag,
trueorfalse).OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_CONSOLE_DEBUG|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_CONSOLE_DEBUG|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_CONSOLE_DEBUG|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_CONSOLE_DEBUGWhether to print debug messages to the console. A boolean value (flag,
trueorfalse).OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TIMEOUT|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_TIMEOUT|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_TIMEOUT|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_TIMEOUTHTTP timeout in milliseconds.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_HEADERS|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_HEADERS|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_HEADERSAdditional HTTP headers to send. E.g.
Authorizationis commonly used. It must be a comma separated list of headers, each in theheader=valueform.OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_SSL_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_SSL_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_SSL_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_SSL_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFYWhether to disable SSL. A boolean value (flag,
trueorfalse).OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_CERTIFICATE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_CERTIFICATE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_CERTIFICATE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_CERTIFICATECA certificate, path to a file.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_CERTIFICATE_STRING|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_CERTIFICATE_STRING|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_CERTIFICATE_STRING|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_CERTIFICATE_STRINGCA certificate, as a string.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_CLIENT_KEY|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_CLIENT_KEY|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_CLIENT_KEY|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_CLIENT_KEYSSL client key, path to a file.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_CLIENT_KEY_STRING|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_CLIENT_KEY_STRING|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_CLIENT_KEY_STRING|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_CLIENT_KEY_STRINGSSL client key as a string.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_CLIENT_CERTIFICATE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_CLIENT_CERTIFICATE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_CLIENT_CERTIFICATE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_CLIENT_CERTIFICATESSL client certificate, path to a file.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_CLIENT_CERTIFICATE_STRING|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_CLIENT_CERTIFICATE_STRING|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_CLIENT_CERTIFICATE_STRING|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_CLIENT_CERTIFICATE_STRINGSSL client certificate, as a string.
OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_SSL_MIN_TLS|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_SSL_MIN_TLS|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_SSL_MIN_TLS|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_SSL_MIN_TLSMinimum TLS version.
OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_SSL_MAX_TLS|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_SSL_MAX_TLS|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_SSL_MAX_TLS|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_SSL_MAX_TLSMaximum TLS version.
OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_SSL_CIPHER|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_SSL_CIPHER|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_SSL_CIPHER|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_SSL_CIPHERTLS cipher.
OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_SSL_CIPHER_SUITE|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_SSL_CIPHER_SUITE|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_SSL_CIPHER_SUITE|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_SSL_CIPHER_SUITETLS cipher suite.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_COMPRESSION|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_COMPRESSION|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_COMPRESSION|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_COMPRESSIONCompression to use.
none,gzip.OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_RETRY_POLICY_MAX_ATTEMPTS|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_RETRY_POLICY_MAX_ATTEMPTS|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_RETRY_POLICY_MAX_ATTEMPTS|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_RETRY_POLICY_MAX_ATTEMPTSThe maximum number of call attempts, including the original attempt.
OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_RETRY_POLICY_INITIAL_BACKOFF|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_RETRY_POLICY_INITIAL_BACKOFF|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_RETRY_POLICY_INITIAL_BACKOFF|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_RETRY_POLICY_INITIAL_BACKOFFThe maximum initial back-off delay between retry attempts. The actual backoff delay is uniform random between zero and this. It is in milliseconds.
OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_RETRY_POLICY_MAX_BACKOFF|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_RETRY_POLICY_MAX_BACKOFF|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_RETRY_POLICY_MAX_BACKOFF|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_RETRY_POLICY_MAX_BACKOFFThe maximum backoff places an upper limit on exponential backoff growth.
OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_RETRY_POLICY_BACKOFF_MULTIPLIER|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_RETRY_POLICY_BACKOFF_MULTIPLIER|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_RETRY_POLICY_BACKOFF_MULTIPLIER|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_RETRY_POLICY_BACKOFF_MULTIPLIERThe backoff will be multiplied by this value after each retry attempt.
OTLP/FILE Exporters
These environment variables are used by tracer_provider_file, meter_provider_file and logger_provider_file.
For every set of environment variables, the signal specific ones have priority over the generic one.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_FILE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_FILE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_FILE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_FILEOutput file pattern. May contain placeholders, see the manual pages of the providers, linked at the beginning of the section.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_FILE_ALIAS|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_FILE_ALIAS|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_FILE_ALIAS|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_FILE_ALIASThe file which always point to the latest file. May contain placeholders, see the manual pages of the providers, linked at the beginning of the section.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_FILE_FLUSH_INTERVAL|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_FILE_FLUSH_INTERVAL|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_FILE_FLUSH_INTERVAL|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_FILE_FLUSH_INTERVALInterval to force flush output. A time interval specification, see Time Interval Options.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_FILE_FLUSH_COUNT|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_FILE_FILE_SIZE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_FILE_FILE_SIZE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_FILE_FILE_SIZEForce flush output after every
flush_countrecords.OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_FILE_FILE_SIZE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_FILE_FILE_SIZE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_FILE_FILE_SIZE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_FILE_FILE_SIZEFile size to rotate output files. A file size specification, see File Size Options.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_FILE_ROTATE_SIZE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_FILE_ROTATE_SIZE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_FILE_ROTATE_SIZE|OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_FILE_ROTATE_SIZEHow many rotated output files to keep.
Batch Processor
These environment variables are used by tracer_provider_http, and logger_provider_http.
OTEL_BSP_SCHEDULE_DELAYThe maximum buffer/queue size. After the size is reached, spans are dropped. Must be positive.
OTEL_BSP_MAX_QUEUE_SIZEThe maximum batch size of every export. It must be smaller or equal to max_queue_size. Must be positive.
OTEL_BSP_MAX_EXPORT_BATCH_SIZEThe time interval between two consecutive exports, in milliseconds.
Metric Reader
These environment variables are used by meter_provider_http, meter_provider_stdstream meter_provider_memory and meter_provider_file.
OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVALThe time interval between the start of two export attempts, in milliseconds.
OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_TIMEOUTMaximum allowed time to export data, in milliseconds.
Metric Exporters
These environment variables are used by meter_provider_http and meter_provider_memory.
OTEL_R_EXPORTER_OTLP_AGGREGATION_TEMPORALITYAggregation temporality. Possible values:
unspecified,delta,cumulative,lowmemory. See the OpenTelemetry data model.
Standard Stream Exporters
These environment variables are used by tracer_provider_stdstream, meter_provider_stdstream and logger_provider_stdstream.
The signal specific environment variables have priority over the generic one.
OTEL_R_EXPORTER_STDSTREAM_OUTPUT|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_STDSTREAM_TRACES_OUTPUT|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_STDSTREAM_METRICS_OUTPUT|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_STDSTREAM_LOGS_OUTPUTWhere to write the output. Can be
stdout: write output to the standard output,stderr: write output to the standard error,another string: write output to a file. (To write output to a file named
stdoutor"stderr, use a./prefix.)
In-Memory Exporters
These environment variables are used by tracer_provider_memory and meter_provider_memory.
The signal specific environment variables have priority over the generic one.
OTEL_R_EXPORTER_MEMORY_BUFFER_SIZE|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_MEMORY_TRACES_BUFFER_SIZE|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_MEMORY_METRICS_BUFFER_SIZE|OTEL_R_EXPORTER_MEMORY_BUFFER_SIZEBuffer size, this is the maximum number of spans or metrics measurements that the provider can record.
Support Matrix of all OpenTelemetry Environment Variables for R
| Name | Supported |
OTEL_SDK_DISABLED | + |
OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES | + |
OTEL_SERVICE_NAME | + |
OTEL_LOG_LEVEL | + |
OTEL_PROPAGATORS | - |
OTEL_BSP_SCHEDULE_DELAY | + |
OTEL_BSP_EXPORT_TIMEOUT | - |
OTEL_BSP_MAX_QUEUE_SIZE | + |
OTEL_BSP_MAX_EXPORT_BATCH_SIZE | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_*_ENDPOINT | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_INSECURE | - |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_*_INSECURE | - |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_CERTIFICATE | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_*_CERTIFICATE | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_CLIENT_KEY | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_*_CLIENT_KEY | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_CLIENT_CERTIFICATE | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_CLIENT_*_CERTIFICATE | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_*_HEADERS | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_COMPRESSION | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_*_COMPRESSION | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_*_PROTOCOL | + |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_SPAN_INSECURE (obsolete) | - |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRIC_INSECURE (obsolete) | - |
OTEL_EXPORTER_ZIPKIN_ENDPOINT | - |
OTEL_EXPORTER_ZIPKIN_TIMEOUT | - |
OTEL_EXPORTER_PROMETHEUS_HOST | - |
OTEL_EXPORTER_PROMETHEUS_PORT | - |
OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTER | + |
OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER | + |
OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER | + |
OTEL_SPAN_ATTRIBUTE_COUNT_LIMIT | - |
OTEL_SPAN_ATTRIBUTE_VALUE_LENGTH_LIMIT | - |
OTEL_SPAN_EVENT_COUNT_LIMIT | - |
OTEL_SPAN_LINK_COUNT_LIMIT | - |
OTEL_EVENT_ATTRIBUTE_COUNT_LIMIT | - |
OTEL_LINK_ATTRIBUTE_COUNT_LIMIT | - |
OTEL_LOGRECORD_ATTRIBUTE_COUNT_LIMIT | - |
OTEL_LOGRECORD_ATTRIBUTE_VALUE_LENGTH_LIMIT | - |
OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER | - |
OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER_ARG | - |
OTEL_ATTRIBUTE_VALUE_LENGTH_LIMIT (1) | + |
OTEL_ATTRIBUTE_COUNT_LIMIT (1) | + |
OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVAL | + |
OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_TIMEOUT | + |
OTEL_METRICS_EXEMPLAR_FILTER | - |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_TEMPORALITY_PREFERENCE | - |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_DEFAULT_HISTOGRAM_AGGREGATION | - |
OTEL_EXPERIMENTAL_CONFIG_FILE | - |
(1) In otel::as_attributes().
See also
Environment Variables in otel