|
| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +# prettier-ignore |
| 3 | +title: Announcing the Beta Release of OpenTelemetry Go Auto-Instrumentation using eBPF |
| 4 | +linkTitle: Go Auto-Instrumentation Beta |
| 5 | +date: 2025-01-30 |
| 6 | +# prettier-ignore |
| 7 | +author: >- |
| 8 | + [Tyler Yahn](https://github.com/MrAlias) (Splunk) |
| 9 | + [Mike Dame](https://github.com/damemi) (Odigos) |
| 10 | +sig: SIG Go Auto-Instrumentation |
| 11 | +# prettier-ignore |
| 12 | +cSpell:ignore: Yahn Odigos rolldice Beyla's Beyla |
| 13 | +--- |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +The OpenTelemetry community is excited to announce the beta release of the |
| 16 | +[OpenTelemetry Go Auto-Instrumentation project](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go-instrumentation)! |
| 17 | +This milestone brings us closer to our mission of making observability simple, |
| 18 | +accessible, and effective for Go applications. |
| 19 | + |
| 20 | +## What is Go Auto-Instrumentation? |
| 21 | + |
| 22 | +OpenTelemetry Go Auto-Instrumentation allows developers to collect traces from |
| 23 | +their Go applications without requiring manual code modifications or rebuilding |
| 24 | +binaries. By dynamically instrumenting applications at runtime using |
| 25 | +[eBPF](https://ebpf.io/), this project lowers the barrier to adopting |
| 26 | +observability best practices and provides deep insights into your application's |
| 27 | +behavior. |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +## Key features of the beta release |
| 30 | + |
| 31 | +The beta release offers foundational support for automatic instrumentation with |
| 32 | +these key features: |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | +- **HTTP server instrumentation**: Automatically trace incoming and outgoing |
| 35 | + HTTP requests with trace context propagation when using the |
| 36 | + [`net/http` package](https://pkg.go.dev/net/http). |
| 37 | +- **Database instrumentation**: Instrument database queries and connections that |
| 38 | + use the [`database/sql` package](https://pkg.go.dev/database/sql). |
| 39 | +- **gRPC instrumentation**: Easily collect telemetry data from |
| 40 | + [gRPC clients and servers](https://pkg.go.dev/google.golang.org/grpc). |
| 41 | +- **Kafka-go instrumentation**: Monitor and trace Kafka messaging using the |
| 42 | + [`kafka-go` package](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/segmentio/kafka-go). |
| 43 | +- **Extensible with OpenTelemetry’s Trace API**: Seamlessly extend |
| 44 | + auto-instrumentation with custom spans using the |
| 45 | + [OpenTelemetry Go Trace API](https://pkg.go.dev/go.opentelemetry.io/otel). |
| 46 | +- **Configuration using environment variables**: Simplify configuration with |
| 47 | + environment-based settings, reducing the need for code changes. |
| 48 | +- **Semantic convention compliance**: Produced telemetry complies with the |
| 49 | + latest OpenTelemetry semantic conventions ensuring compatibility with the OTel |
| 50 | + ecosystem. |
| 51 | + |
| 52 | +## Getting started |
| 53 | + |
| 54 | +Getting started with OpenTelemetry Go Auto-Instrumentation is straightforward! |
| 55 | +For detailed instructions on installation, configuration, and running your |
| 56 | +application with auto-instrumentation, check out the |
| 57 | +[Getting Started guide](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go-instrumentation/blob/main/docs/getting-started.md). |
| 58 | + |
| 59 | +To see a complete example, check out the |
| 60 | +[`rolldice` application](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go-instrumentation/tree/0ebb7f21116bfdd8e29c315efdbf359cd74bddac/examples/rolldice). |
| 61 | + |
| 62 | +## The road to stabilization |
| 63 | + |
| 64 | +With the beta release now available, the project team is focused on preparing |
| 65 | +for a stable release. Over the coming year, we’ll concentrate on achieving the |
| 66 | +following goals: |
| 67 | + |
| 68 | +1. **Optimize runtime instrumentation with eBPF** |
| 69 | + |
| 70 | + We will continue to leverage and improve eBPF for dynamic runtime |
| 71 | + instrumentation, ensuring that Go applications have reliable, low-overhead |
| 72 | + observability. This includes staying up to date with the latest developments |
| 73 | + in both the Go and eBPF ecosystems. |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +2. **Expand ecosystem support** |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | + While the beta release supports a limited number of Go packages and only a |
| 78 | + single telemetry processing pipeline, we plan to broaden this support. We’ll |
| 79 | + introduce instrumentation for additional Go packages and allow users to |
| 80 | + create custom telemetry processing pipelines. This expansion will make it |
| 81 | + easier to integrate with popular Go packages and provide flexibility for |
| 82 | + custom instrumentation. |
| 83 | + |
| 84 | +3. **Integrate with Beyla’s donation to OpenTelemetry** |
| 85 | + |
| 86 | + The proposed |
| 87 | + [donation of Beyla to OpenTelemetry](https://github.com/open-telemetry/community/issues/2406) |
| 88 | + presents an opportunity to enhance OpenTelemetry’s eBPF-based |
| 89 | + auto-instrumentation capabilities. If accepted, this donation will help |
| 90 | + expand support for additional signals, protocols, and languages, creating a |
| 91 | + more comprehensive eBPF-based observability solution. OpenTelemetry Go |
| 92 | + Auto-Instrumentation will evolve alongside these developments, ensuring |
| 93 | + seamless collaboration while continuing to provide robust tracing for Go |
| 94 | + applications. |
| 95 | + |
| 96 | +Keep track of our progress in the |
| 97 | +[2025 Goals tracking issue](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go-instrumentation/issues/1659). |
| 98 | + |
| 99 | +## Join the journey |
| 100 | + |
| 101 | +As with all OpenTelemetry projects, the success of Go Auto-Instrumentation |
| 102 | +depends on the community. Whether you’re a developer interested in contributing, |
| 103 | +a company looking to adopt the project, or simply curious about observability, |
| 104 | +we’d love for you to join us. |
| 105 | + |
| 106 | +Here’s how you can get involved: |
| 107 | + |
| 108 | +- **Try the beta**: Integrate the project into your applications and |
| 109 | + [provide feedback](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go-instrumentation/discussions/1697). |
| 110 | +- **Contribute**: Check out |
| 111 | + [open issues](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go-instrumentation/issues) |
| 112 | + and |
| 113 | + [contribute](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go-instrumentation/blob/0ebb7f21116bfdd8e29c315efdbf359cd74bddac/CONTRIBUTING.md) |
| 114 | + to the project on |
| 115 | + [GitHub](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go-instrumentation). |
| 116 | +- **Join the discussion**: Participate in our |
| 117 | + [SIG meetings](https://groups.google.com/a/opentelemetry.io/g/calendar-go) and |
| 118 | + discussions on [Slack](https://cloud-native.slack.com/archives/C03S01YSAS0). |
| 119 | + |
| 120 | +## Acknowledgments |
| 121 | + |
| 122 | +This beta release is the result of countless hours of work by contributors from |
| 123 | +around the world. Thank you to everyone who has contributed code, documentation, |
| 124 | +feedback, and enthusiasm to make this milestone possible. |
0 commit comments