JS/Node.js SDK Setup Conventions

Status decision: declarative vs programmatic

The @opentelemetry/configuration package is experimental. Default to declarative config for new projects. Use the programmatic NodeSDK fallback below if stability is critical or the project needs runtime configuration that YAML cannot express.

Setup Checklist — verify every item before you finish

Setup is not done when the SDK boots. Each unchecked item below produces a specific telemetry-quality finding in production; work through all of them.