| 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 | 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 | 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 | Zero-code (the opentelemetry-dotnet-instrumentation CLR-profiler agent), the contrib instrumentation-package catalog, and manual instrumentation following semconv. |
references/performance.md | Tuning sampling, batch export processor, periodic metric reader, views, exporter choice, async context, graceful shutdown. |
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.
