span-events-to-logs-migration
Span Events to Logs Migration
Use this skill to migrate instrumentation from the deprecated Span Event API (AddEvent, RecordException) to the Logs API, following the OTEP 4430 deprecation plan.
Background
The OpenTelemetry project is deprecating Span.AddEvent and Span.RecordException in favor of emitting events and exceptions through the Logs API. The Span Event API is deprecated, but Span Events as a concept remain valid -- they are now emitted via logs that correlate to the active span.
See references/deprecation-plan.md for the full context.
Workflow
- Prepare before migrating.
- check the project's OpenTelemetry SDK version supports log-based events (check the
manual-instrumentationskill's version index if available) - identify whether the project has a LoggerProvider configured; if not, one must be set up
- determine if downstream consumers (backends, dashboards, alerts) depend on span events appearing in the span proto envelope
- Scan the codebase for span event usage.
- search for
AddEvent,add_event,addEvent,RecordException,record_exception,recordException, and language-specific variants
More from ollygarden/opentelemetry-agent-skills
sdk-setup
OpenTelemetry SDK initialization and configuration. Use when setting up or reviewing TracerProvider, MeterProvider, or LoggerProvider; choosing exporters, processors, or propagators; configuring OTLP transport; or extending an existing SDK setup for new signals. Use this skill whenever the task involves wiring up the OpenTelemetry SDK, even if the user only mentions "add tracing" or "set up metrics" without saying "SDK.
8telemetrygen
Construct telemetrygen commands for generating synthetic OpenTelemetry traces, metrics, and logs via OTLP. Use this skill whenever the user wants to generate test telemetry, load test a collector or backend, create synthetic OTLP data, send sample traces/metrics/logs to an endpoint, test collector pipelines or processors, validate OTTL transforms, test tail sampling, or mentions telemetrygen in any context. Also trigger when the user asks how to simulate telemetry traffic, stress test an observability stack, or produce sample data for dashboards.
8sdk-versions
OpenTelemetry SDK and package version lookup across languages. Use when choosing the latest compatible released OpenTelemetry SDK or package version and locating setup docs or examples.
8semantic-conventions
OpenTelemetry semantic convention lookup and naming guidance. Use when selecting released semantic convention groups, attributes, or span naming rules, or when checking semantic convention compliance.
8manual-instrumentation
OpenTelemetry best practices for manual instrumentation. Use when adding, changing, or reviewing OpenTelemetry instrumentation in code. Guidance to choose runtime boundaries, choose signals, apply semantic conventions, handle propagation, control cardinality, and verify the result.
8go-sdk
>
7