Opentelemetry Net Instrumentation
Provides guidance for implementing OpenTelemetry instrumentation in .NET codebases...
Install
npx skills add Aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills --skill opentelemetry-net-instrumentation -g -a claude-code -y- Repository
- Aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills1.2k
- Category
- Design
- Updated
- 7d ago
- License
- MIT
- Context cost
- Mediumabout 3,000 tokens
- Runs scripts
- No, instructions only
What it does
Provides guidance for implementing OpenTelemetry instrumentation in .NET codebases, covering tracing (Activities/Spans), metrics, logs, naming conventions, error handling, performance, SDK setup, resources, context propagation, and API design best practices.
OpenTelemetry .NET Instrumentation Skill
When to Use
- Adding OpenTelemetry instrumentation to .NET code (traces, metrics, logs)
- Creating or modifying ActivitySources, Meters, or ILogger usage
- Setting up the OpenTelemetry SDK, resources, exporters, or sampling
- Reviewing telemetry implementations for spec compliance
- Optimizing instrumentation performance
- Designing telemetry APIs that become part of the public surface
- Implementing context propagation across service boundaries
Architecture: .NET Is Different
CRITICAL: The .NET OpenTelemetry implementation is fundamentally different from other platforms. .NET provides tracing, metrics, and logging APIs in the framework itself. That means OTel does not provide a separate instrumentation API, it uses the built-in .NET APIs and acts as the collection/export layer.
The Three Built-in .NET APIs (Primary, Zero Dependencies)
| Signal | .NET Framework API | Namespace |
|---|---|---|
| Tracing | ActivitySource / Activity | System.Diagnostics |
| Metrics | Meter / Counter<T> / Histogram<T> / etc. | System.Diagnostics.Metrics |
| Logging | ILogger<T> | Microsoft.Extensions.Logging |
These are the primary and only APIs library authors should use for instrumentation. They ship with the .NET runtime, no NuGet packages required.
The OTel Collection/Export Layer (Secondary, Application Root Only)
OTel NuGet packages are the collection and export layer, added only at the application composition root (not in libraries):
