Validate Collector behavior end to end

otelcol validate proves structure, not behavior. Prove the component under test against the exact telemetry shape it will receive, then assert the transformed, dropped, or routed result.

Use upstream skills for volatile facts:

• otel-collector — component keys, signal support, stability, and connector semantics.
• otel-ottl — filter, transform, and routing expressions.
• otel-telemetrygen — current flags and supported input shapes.

Scope and invariants

This workflow tests one processor or connector. Replace production ingress and egress with OTLP-in and file-out; receiver scraping, exporter connectivity, authentication, and backpressure are other tests. Copy the production component block unchanged. Harness names, receivers, exporters, and pipeline wiring may differ, but retyping the component means testing a different config.