Azure Monitor Opentelemetry Exporter Java

MicrosoftOfficialCreated by Microsoft

Skill
Tool integration
Software development
MIT
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From the author

Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Exporter for Java. Export OpenTelemetry traces, metrics, and logs to Azure Monitor/Application Insights. Triggers: "AzureMonitorExporter java", "opentelemetry azure java", "application insights java otel", "azure monitor tracing java". Note: This package is DEPRECATED. Migrate to azure-monitor-opentelemetry-autoconfigure.

— the description by Microsoft

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill provides guidance on using the Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Exporter for Java. It covers the integration of OpenTelemetry SDK with Azure Monitor, including setting up tracers, creating spans, recording exceptions, and defining metrics. Note that this specific package is deprecated; users are strongly advised to migrate to the azure-monitor-opentelemetry-autoconfigure package for automatic instrumentation and simplified configuration.

What it does

Exports OpenTelemetry telemetry data to Azure Monitor and Application Insights.
Demonstrates how to create and manage spans for distributed tracing.
Shows how to record exceptions and add attributes to spans for better observability.
Provides examples for implementing custom span processors.
Illustrates how to define and record metrics using OpenTelemetry APIs.
Provides migration instructions to the recommended autoconfigure package.

When to use it

When you need to send Java application telemetry to Azure Monitor.
When you are currently using the deprecated exporter and need to plan a migration.
When you want to implement distributed tracing in a Java environment.
When you need to collect custom metrics from your Java application.

Advantages

Provides a clear path for migrating to the modern autoconfigure approach.
Offers comprehensive examples for standard OpenTelemetry patterns.
Includes guidance on best practices for span and metric management.

Usage examples

“How do I configure the Azure Monitor exporter in my Java application?”: The agent provides the setup code using AutoConfiguredOpenTelemetrySdk and explains how to use the APPLICATIONINSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING environment variable.
“How can I add custom attributes to my spans for better debugging?”: The agent shows how to use the setAttribute method on a span object to include contextual data like order IDs or customer tiers.
“What is the recommended way to migrate from the deprecated exporter?”: The agent provides the steps to remove the old dependency and replace it with azure-monitor-opentelemetry-autoconfigure, including links to the official migration guide.
“How do I record an exception in a span?”: The agent demonstrates a try-catch block pattern where span.recordException(e) and span.setStatus are used to capture and report errors.

Install

Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/microsoft/azure-monitor-opentelemetry-exporter-java/download

Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip azure-monitor-opentelemetry-exporter-java.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Microsoft

Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Exporter for Java

⚠️ DEPRECATION NOTICE: This package is deprecated. Migrate to azure-monitor-opentelemetry-autoconfigure.
See Migration Guide for detailed instructions.

Export OpenTelemetry telemetry data to Azure Monitor / Application Insights.

Installation (Deprecated)

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.azure</groupId>
    <artifactId>azure-monitor-opentelemetry-exporter</artifactId>
    <version>1.0.0-beta.x</version>
</dependency>

Recommended: Use Autoconfigure Instead

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.azure</groupId>
    <artifactId>azure-monitor-opentelemetry-autoconfigure</artifactId>
    <version>LATEST</version>
</dependency>

Environment Variables

APPLICATIONINSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING=InstrumentationKey=xxx;IngestionEndpoint=https://xxx.in.applicationinsights.azure.com/

Basic Setup with Autoconfigure (Recommended)

Using Environment Variable

import io.opentelemetry.sdk.autoconfigure.AutoConfiguredOpenTelemetrySdk;
import io.opentelemetry.sdk.autoconfigure.AutoConfiguredOpenTelemetrySdkBuilder;
import io.opentelemetry.api.OpenTelemetry;
import com.azure.monitor.opentelemetry.exporter.AzureMonitorExporter;

// Connection string from APPLICATIONINSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING env var
AutoConfiguredOpenTelemetrySdkBuilder sdkBuilder = AutoConfiguredOpenTelemetrySdk.builder();
AzureMonitorExporter.customize(sdkBuilder);
OpenTelemetry openTelemetry = sdkBuilder.build().getOpenTelemetrySdk();

With Explicit Connection String

AutoConfiguredOpenTelemetrySdkBuilder sdkBuilder = AutoConfiguredOpenTelemetrySdk.builder();
AzureMonitorExporter.customize(sdkBuilder, "{connection-string}");
OpenTelemetry openTelemetry = sdkBuilder.build().getOpenTelemetrySdk();

Creating Spans

import io.opentelemetry.api.trace.Tracer;
import io.opentelemetry.api.trace.Span;
import io.opentelemetry.context.Scope;

// Get tracer
Tracer tracer = openTelemetry.getTracer("com.example.myapp");

// Create span
Span span = tracer.spanBuilder("myOperation").startSpan();

try (Scope scope = span.makeCurrent()) {
    // Your application logic
    doWork();
} catch (Throwable t) {
    span.recordException(t);
    throw t;
} finally {
    span.end();
}

Adding Span Attributes

import io.opentelemetry.api.common.AttributeKey;
import io.opentelemetry.api.common.Attributes;

Span span = tracer.spanBuilder("processOrder")
    .setAttribute("order.id", "12345")
    .setAttribute("customer.tier", "premium")
    .startSpan();

try (Scope scope = span.makeCurrent()) {
    // Add attributes during execution
    span.setAttribute("items.count", 3);
    span.setAttribute("total.amount", 99.99);
    
    processOrder();
} finally {
    span.end();
}

Custom Span Processor

import io.opentelemetry.sdk.trace.SpanProcessor;
import io.opentelemetry.sdk.trace.ReadWriteSpan;
import io.opentelemetry.sdk.trace.ReadableSpan;
import io.opentelemetry.context.Context;

private static final AttributeKey<String> CUSTOM_ATTR = AttributeKey.stringKey("custom.attribute");

SpanProcessor customProcessor = new SpanProcessor() {
    @Override
    public void onStart(Context context, ReadWriteSpan span) {
        // Add custom attribute to every span
        span.setAttribute(CUSTOM_ATTR, "customValue");
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isStartRequired() {
        return true;
    }

    @Override
    public void onEnd(ReadableSpan span) {
        // Post-processing if needed
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isEndRequired() {
        return false;
    }
};

// Register processor
AutoConfiguredOpenTelemetrySdkBuilder sdkBuilder = AutoConfiguredOpenTelemetrySdk.builder();
AzureMonitorExporter.customize(sdkBuilder);

sdkBuilder.addTracerProviderCustomizer(
    (sdkTracerProviderBuilder, configProperties) -> 
        sdkTracerProviderBuilder.addSpanProcessor(customProcessor)
);

OpenTelemetry openTelemetry = sdkBuilder.build().getOpenTelemetrySdk();

Nested Spans

public void parentOperation() {
    Span parentSpan = tracer.spanBuilder("parentOperation").startSpan();
    try (Scope scope = parentSpan.makeCurrent()) {
        childOperation();
    } finally {
        parentSpan.end();
    }
}

public void childOperation() {
    // Automatically links to parent via Context
    Span childSpan = tracer.spanBuilder("childOperation").startSpan();
    try (Scope scope = childSpan.makeCurrent()) {
        // Child work
    } finally {
        childSpan.end();
    }
}

Recording Exceptions

Span span = tracer.spanBuilder("riskyOperation").startSpan();
try (Scope scope = span.makeCurrent()) {
    performRiskyWork();
} catch (Exception e) {
    span.recordException(e);
    span.setStatus(StatusCode.ERROR, e.getMessage());
    throw e;
} finally {
    span.end();
}

Metrics (via OpenTelemetry)

import io.opentelemetry.api.metrics.Meter;
import io.opentelemetry.api.metrics.LongCounter;
import io.opentelemetry.api.metrics.LongHistogram;

Meter meter = openTelemetry.getMeter("com.example.myapp");

// Counter
LongCounter requestCounter = meter.counterBuilder("http.requests")
    .setDescription("Total HTTP requests")
    .setUnit("requests")
    .build();

requestCounter.add(1, Attributes.of(
    AttributeKey.stringKey("http.method"), "GET",
    AttributeKey.longKey("http.status_code"), 200L
));

// Histogram
LongHistogram latencyHistogram = meter.histogramBuilder("http.latency")
    .setDescription("Request latency")
    .setUnit("ms")
    .ofLongs()
    .build();

latencyHistogram.record(150, Attributes.of(
    AttributeKey.stringKey("http.route"), "/api/users"
));

Key Concepts

Concept	Description
Connection String	Application Insights connection string with instrumentation key
Tracer	Creates spans for distributed tracing
Span	Represents a unit of work with timing and attributes
SpanProcessor	Intercepts span lifecycle for customization
Exporter	Sends telemetry to Azure Monitor

Migration to Autoconfigure

The azure-monitor-opentelemetry-autoconfigure package provides:

Automatic instrumentation of common libraries
Simplified configuration
Better integration with OpenTelemetry SDK

Migration Steps

Replace dependency:

<!-- Remove -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.azure</groupId>
    <artifactId>azure-monitor-opentelemetry-exporter</artifactId>
</dependency>

<!-- Add -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.azure</groupId>
    <artifactId>azure-monitor-opentelemetry-autoconfigure</artifactId>
</dependency>

Update initialization code per Migration Guide

Best Practices

Use autoconfigure — Migrate to azure-monitor-opentelemetry-autoconfigure
Set meaningful span names — Use descriptive operation names
Add relevant attributes — Include contextual data for debugging
Handle exceptions — Always record exceptions on spans
Use semantic conventions — Follow OpenTelemetry semantic conventions
End spans in finally — Ensure spans are always ended
Use try-with-resources — Scope management with try-with-resources pattern

Reference Links

Resource	URL
Maven Package	https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/com.azure/azure-monitor-opentelemetry-exporter
GitHub	https://github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-java/tree/main/sdk/monitor/azure-monitor-opentelemetry-exporter
Migration Guide	https://github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-java/blob/main/sdk/monitor/azure-monitor-opentelemetry-exporter/MIGRATION.md
Autoconfigure Package	https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/com.azure/azure-monitor-opentelemetry-autoconfigure
OpenTelemetry Java	https://opentelemetry.io/docs/languages/java/
Application Insights	https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-monitor/app/app-insights-overview

Files

ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer1.0 KiB
LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer1.1 KiB
SKILL.md8.6 KiB
references/examples.md5.4 KiB

references/examples.md