dotnet-otel-instrumentation

name	dotnet-otel-instrumentation
description	Pattern for adding OpenTelemetry tracing to .NET projects with clean library/host separation
domain	observability
confidence	low
source	earned

Context

When instrumenting .NET applications with OpenTelemetry, the standard pattern separates instrumentation (library code) from collection/export (host code). This keeps libraries lightweight and lets the host decide where telemetry goes.

Patterns

Library Projects — System.Diagnostics Only

Library projects use System.Diagnostics.ActivitySource and Activity for instrumentation. No OpenTelemetry NuGet packages in libraries. ActivitySource is declared as internal static readonly on the class that owns the operations:

public class MyService
{
    internal static readonly ActivitySource ActivitySource = new("MyApp.MySubsystem");

    public void DoWork()
    {
        using var activity = ActivitySource.StartActivity("mysubsystem.do_work");
        activity?.SetTag("work.param", value);
        // actual work
    }
}

Host Project — OpenTelemetry SDK

Only the composition root (CLI, web host, AppHost) references OpenTelemetry packages and registers sources by name:

var tracerProvider = Sdk.CreateTracerProviderBuilder()
    .SetResourceBuilder(ResourceBuilder.CreateDefault().AddService("MyApp"))
    .AddSource("MyApp.MySubsystem")
    .AddOtlpExporter()
    .Build();

Tag Naming

Use {subsystem}.{attribute} naming for span tags: midi.channel, note.name, sequence.title.

Null-Safe Pattern

ActivitySource.StartActivity() returns null when no listener is registered. Always use activity?.SetTag() — never assume the activity exists.

Disposal

Dispose TracerProvider before exit to flush pending spans. In CLI apps, do this explicitly. In hosted apps, use OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting.

Anti-Patterns

• OTel SDK in libraries — Libraries should never reference OpenTelemetry.* packages. Use System.Diagnostics only.
• Static ActivitySource name mismatch — The source name string in the library must exactly match what's registered in AddSource() in the host.
• Forgetting disposal — If TracerProvider isn't disposed, the last batch of spans may be lost.
• Non-null activity assumptions — Never call .SetTag() without null-conditional. Activity is null when no collector is listening.