How do I install the Otel Ruby skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add ollygarden/otel-ruby in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Otel Ruby safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: makes network calls. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Otel Ruby?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Otel Ruby free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Otel Ruby?

ollygarden (@ollygarden) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Otel Ruby by ollygarden — Agent Skill

Name: Otel Ruby
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
Author: ollygarden

Otel Ruby

OpenTelemetry in Ruby — SDK setup, manual tracing, experimental metrics and logs, Bundler integration, contrib instrumentation for Rails/Rack/Sinatra/Sidekiq and other gems, propagation, performance, and upgrades. Use when adding, reviewing, configuring, or troubleshooting OpenTelemetry in a Ruby or Rails service. Triggers on "setup otel in ruby", "ruby telemetry", "Rails OpenTelemetry", "OpenTelemetry::SDK.configure", "opentelemetry-instrumentation-all", "Ruby tracing", "Rack otel", "Sidekiq otel", or any Ruby-related OTel question.

ollygarden 3c8f09c 6 files · 23.1 KB Updated Sep 9, 2026

File contents

OpenTelemetry in Ruby

Entry point for OpenTelemetry mechanics in Ruby applications. Load only the reference that matches the task; each reference is self-contained.

References

File	Use when
`references/setup.md`	Installing gems, configuring `OpenTelemetry::SDK.configure`, selecting OTLP exporters, setting resources and environment variables, and handling process shutdown.
`references/api.md`	Writing manual traces, metrics, or logs; managing context and propagation; testing emitted telemetry.
`references/instrumentation-libraries.md`	Selecting and configuring contrib instrumentation for Rails, Rack, Sinatra, HTTP clients, databases, jobs, messaging, and other gems.
`references/performance.md`	Tuning sampling, batching, cardinality, forked-process behavior, exporters, and lifecycle handling.
`references/breaking-changes.md`	Reviewing Ruby/runtime compatibility, independently versioned gems, experimental signal changes, and core/contrib upgrades.

Signal stability matters

Tracing uses the stable opentelemetry-api and opentelemetry-sdk gems. Ruby metrics and logs are separate 0.x API, SDK, and exporter gems and remain experimental. Do not assume a tracing gem's version exists for metrics, logs, semantic conventions, exporters, or contrib instrumentation. Resolve each gem independently with Bundler, inspect its changelog, and keep the resulting Gemfile.lock change under review.

Released snapshot verified 2026-09-03: tracing API 1.11.0, tracing SDK 1.13.0, trace OTLP exporter 0.35.1; metrics API 0.7.0, SDK 0.17.0, OTLP exporter 0.11.0; logs API 0.4.1, SDK 0.6.1, OTLP exporter 0.5.1. Treat this as an audit anchor, not a version-alignment rule; use the lookups below for newer releases.

Sources of truth

Fact	Fetch
Latest core releases and per-gem tags	`gh api repos/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-ruby/releases --paginate`
Latest contrib instrumentation releases	`gh api repos/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-ruby-contrib/releases --paginate`
Released and locked gem dependencies	`gem specification <gem> dependencies --remote --yaml`; inspect `Gemfile.lock` for the locked dependency set
Core implementation and changelogs	open-telemetry/opentelemetry-ruby
Contrib catalog, compatibility, and per-gem options	open-telemetry/opentelemetry-ruby-contrib
Ruby language docs	OpenTelemetry Ruby documentation

Cross-references

SDK version selection across languages: otel-sdk-versions skill.
Semantic convention names and stability: otel-semantic-conventions skill.
OTLP receiver/export validation: otel-collector and otel-telemetrygen skills.

---name: otel-rubydescription: OpenTelemetry in Ruby — SDK setup, manual tracing, experimental metrics and logs, Bundler integration, contrib instrumentation for Rails/Rack/Sinatra/Sidekiq and other gems, propagation, performance, and upgrades. Use when adding, reviewing, configuring, or troubleshooting OpenTelemetry in a Ruby or Rails service. Triggers on "setup otel in ruby", "ruby telemetry", "Rails OpenTelemetry", "OpenTelemetry::SDK.configure", "opentelemetry-instrumentation-all", "Ruby tracing", "Rack otel", "Sidekiq otel", or any Ruby-related OTel question.--- # OpenTelemetry in Ruby Entry point for OpenTelemetry mechanics in Ruby applications. Load only the reference that matches the task; each reference is self-contained. ## References | File | Use when | |---|---| | [`references/setup.md`](references/setup.md) | Installing gems, configuring `OpenTelemetry::SDK.configure`, selecting OTLP exporters, setting resources and environment variables, and handling process shutdown. | | [`references/api.md`](references/api.md) | Writing manual traces, metrics, or logs; managing context and propagation; testing emitted telemetry. | | [`references/instrumentation-libraries.md`](references/instrumentation-libraries.md) | Selecting and configuring contrib instrumentation for Rails, Rack, Sinatra, HTTP clients, databases, jobs, messaging, and other gems. | | [`references/performance.md`](references/performance.md) | Tuning sampling, batching, cardinality, forked-process behavior, exporters, and lifecycle handling. | | [`references/breaking-changes.md`](references/breaking-changes.md) | Reviewing Ruby/runtime compatibility, independently versioned gems, experimental signal changes, and core/contrib upgrades. | ## Signal stability matters Tracing uses the stable `opentelemetry-api` and `opentelemetry-sdk` gems. Ruby metrics and logs are separate `0.x` API, SDK, and exporter gems and remain experimental. Do not assume a tracing gem's version exists for metrics, logs, semantic conventions, exporters, or contrib instrumentation. Resolve each gem independently with Bundler, inspect its changelog, and keep the resulting `Gemfile.lock` change under review. Released snapshot verified 2026-09-03: tracing API `1.11.0`, tracing SDK `1.13.0`, trace OTLP exporter `0.35.1`; metrics API `0.7.0`, SDK `0.17.0`, OTLP exporter `0.11.0`; logs API `0.4.1`, SDK `0.6.1`, OTLP exporter `0.5.1`. Treat this as an audit anchor, not a version-alignment rule; use the lookups below for newer releases. ## Sources of truth | Fact | Fetch | |---|---| | Latest core releases and per-gem tags | `gh api repos/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-ruby/releases --paginate` | | Latest contrib instrumentation releases | `gh api repos/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-ruby-contrib/releases --paginate` | | Released and locked gem dependencies | `gem specification <gem> dependencies --remote --yaml`; inspect `Gemfile.lock` for the locked dependency set | | Core implementation and changelogs | [open-telemetry/opentelemetry-ruby](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-ruby) | | Contrib catalog, compatibility, and per-gem options | [open-telemetry/opentelemetry-ruby-contrib](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-ruby-contrib) | | Ruby language docs | [OpenTelemetry Ruby documentation](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/languages/ruby/) | ## Cross-references - SDK version selection across languages: `otel-sdk-versions` skill. - Semantic convention names and stability: `otel-semantic-conventions` skill. - OTLP receiver/export validation: `otel-collector` and `otel-telemetrygen` skills.

Frequently asked questions