dotnet-observability
dotnet-observability
Modern observability for .NET applications using OpenTelemetry, structured logging, health checks, and custom metrics. Covers the three pillars of observability (traces, metrics, logs), integration with Microsoft.Extensions.Diagnostics and System.Diagnostics, and production-ready health check patterns.
Out of scope: DI container mechanics and service lifetimes -- see [skill:dotnet-csharp-dependency-injection]. Async/await patterns -- see [skill:dotnet-csharp-async-patterns]. Testing observability output -- see [skill:dotnet-integration-testing] for verifying telemetry in integration tests. CI/CD pipeline integration for telemetry collection -- see [skill:dotnet-gha-patterns] and [skill:dotnet-ado-patterns]. Middleware pipeline patterns (request logging middleware, exception handling middleware) -- see [skill:dotnet-middleware-patterns].
Cross-references: [skill:dotnet-csharp-dependency-injection] for service registration, [skill:dotnet-csharp-async-patterns] for async patterns in background exporters, [skill:dotnet-resilience] for Polly telemetry integration, [skill:dotnet-middleware-patterns] for request/exception logging middleware.
OpenTelemetry Setup
OpenTelemetry is the standard observability framework in .NET. The .NET SDK includes native support for System.Diagnostics.Activity (traces) and System.Diagnostics.Metrics (metrics), which OpenTelemetry collects and exports.
Package Landscape
| Package | Purpose |
|---|---|
OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting |
Host integration, lifecycle management |
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