# open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python

OpenTelemetry Python API and SDK

Repository: https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/opentelemetry-python
Homepage: https://opentelemetry.io
Language: Python
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: python, opentelemetry, tracecontext, correlationcontext, distributed-tracing, logging, metrics, sdk
Last push: 2026-08-26T15:55:24+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 97/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 93, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2675, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 48, "gap_med": 22, "n_releases_24m": 26}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2603, forks 981 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:03.481303+00:00)

## What it is
The official OpenTelemetry API and SDK for Python, providing vendor-neutral instrumentation for distributed traces, metrics, and logs. It lets developers instrument Python applications once and export telemetry to any observability backend such as Jaeger, Prometheus, or commercial vendors.

## Use cases
- add distributed tracing to a python microservices app
- instrument python code to export metrics to prometheus
- correlate logs and traces across services in python
- send opentelemetry traces from a flask or django app to jaeger
- avoid vendor lock-in when collecting application telemetry
- set up observability for a python application without changing backends

## When to choose
- you need vendor-neutral traces, metrics, or logs in a Python application
- you want to switch observability backends without rewriting instrumentation
- you are building microservices and need cross-service context propagation
- you want the industry-standard OTel API with stable trace and metric support

## When to avoid
- you need a full observability backend with storage and visualization - OpenTelemetry only generates and exports data
- you rely heavily on the logs signal, which is still in development with possible breaking changes
- you need a zero-dependency, batteries-included APM solution rather than an instrumentation SDK

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: tracing, monitoring, logging, sdk
- domain: monitoring, microservices, developer-tools
- platform: python, cross-platform
- tags: opentelemetry, observability, distributed-tracing, metrics, telemetry, vendor-neutral, apm, devops

## Member repositories
- open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python (main) score 97

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:03.481303+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:21:08.165374+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:03.481303+00:00, sha 41b3acf214ee)
  - homepage: https://opentelemetry.io (fetched 2026-08-29T10:04:11.036638+00:00, sha 51756d27c4f1)
  - site_page: https://opentelemetry.io/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T10:04:11.045932+00:00, sha 06566227bba9)
  - site_page: https://opentelemetry.io/docs/what-is-opentelemetry (fetched 2026-08-29T10:04:11.047796+00:00, sha dd58475f7d30)
  - site_page: https://opentelemetry.io/docs/demo (fetched 2026-08-29T10:04:11.049781+00:00, sha 03a34a004b8f)
  - site_page: https://opentelemetry.io/docs/concepts/signals/traces (fetched 2026-08-29T10:04:11.051690+00:00, sha 123b7f8bc630)
  - site_page: https://opentelemetry.io/docs/concepts/signals/metrics (fetched 2026-08-29T10:04:11.053981+00:00, sha 5fe9fc342c92)
  - site_page: https://opentelemetry.io/docs/concepts/signals/logs (fetched 2026-08-29T10:04:11.076484+00:00, sha 126e1fa6c0a2)
  - site_page: https://opentelemetry.io/docs/concepts/signals/baggage (fetched 2026-08-29T10:04:11.078718+00:00, sha fc18d0d07d4b)
  - site_page: https://opentelemetry.io/docs/concepts/instrumentation/zero-code (fetched 2026-08-29T10:04:11.080481+00:00, sha c811260b8c51)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.