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Cline includes opt-in OpenTelemetry support for exporting metrics and logs to your own observability infrastructure using the OpenTelemetry Protocol (OTLP).
OpenTelemetry integration is optional and intended for advanced users with existing observability infrastructure. Most users won’t need this feature.

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What is OpenTelemetry?

OpenTelemetry is an industry-standard observability framework that provides a unified way to collect and export telemetry data (metrics, logs, and traces). Cline’s OpenTelemetry support allows you to:
  • Export telemetry to your own systems
  • Integrate with observability platforms like Datadog, New Relic, Grafana Cloud, etc.
  • Maintain full control over your monitoring data
  • Use your organization’s existing monitoring infrastructure

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Supported Features

Cline supports OpenTelemetry’s OTLP (OpenTelemetry Protocol) export with:

Metrics Export

Export metrics about Cline usage, performance, and errors

Logs Export

Export structured logs for debugging and analysis

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Export Formats

Cline supports three OTLP export protocols:
  • gRPC (default, recommended)
  • HTTP/protobuf
  • HTTP/JSON

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Export Destinations

You can export to:
  • Console (for testing)
  • OTLP endpoint (your own collector or observability platform)

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Configuration

OpenTelemetry is configured using environment variables before launching Cline.

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Basic Setup

Enable OpenTelemetry and configure an OTLP endpoint: 
# Enable OpenTelemetry
export OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=1

# Configure metrics and logs export
export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp

# Set your OTLP endpoint
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://your-collector:4317

# Optional: Set protocol (default is grpc)
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=grpc

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Environment Variables

VariableDescriptionDefault
OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLEDEnable OpenTelemetry (1 or true)Disabled
OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTERMetrics exporter type (console, otlp, or both)None
OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTERLogs exporter type (console, otlp, or both)None
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINTOTLP endpoint URLNone
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOLProtocol (grpc, http/protobuf, http/json)grpc
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_INSECUREAllow insecure connectionsfalse
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERSCustom headers (comma-separated key=value pairs)None

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Advanced Configuration

Separate endpoints for metrics and logs: 
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_ENDPOINT=https://metrics-collector:4317
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_ENDPOINT=https://logs-collector:4317
Custom headers for authentication: 
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="api-key=your-key,x-custom-header=value"
Multiple exporters (console + OTLP): 
export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=console,otlp
export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=console,otlp
Export intervals: 
# Metrics export interval in milliseconds (default: 60000)
export OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVAL=30000

# Logs batch size and timeout
export OTEL_LOG_BATCH_SIZE=512
export OTEL_LOG_BATCH_TIMEOUT=5000
export OTEL_LOG_MAX_QUEUE_SIZE=2048

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Integration Examples

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Datadog

Export to Datadog using their OTLP endpoint: 
export OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=1
export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://api.datadoghq.com
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="dd-api-key=YOUR_DD_API_KEY"

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New Relic

Export to New Relic: 
export OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=1
export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://otlp.nr-data.net:4317
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="api-key=YOUR_NEW_RELIC_LICENSE_KEY"

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Grafana Cloud

Export to Grafana Cloud: 
export OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=1
export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://otlp-gateway-prod-us-central-0.grafana.net/otlp
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="Authorization=Basic YOUR_BASE64_CREDENTIALS"

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Testing Configuration

Test your configuration with console output before sending to a real endpoint: 
# Enable console output to see what data would be exported
export OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=1
export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=console
export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=console
Then launch Cline and check the console output for metrics and logs.

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Troubleshooting

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No Data Being Exported

  1. Verify OpenTelemetry is enabled: 
    echo $OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED
    Should output 1 or true
  2. Check exporters are configured: 
    echo $OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER
echo $OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER
  3. Test with console exporter first: 
    export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=console
export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=console

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Connection Errors

  1. Verify endpoint is accessible: 
    curl -v https://your-otlp-endpoint:4317
  2. Check if insecure mode is needed: 
    export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_INSECURE=true
  3. Verify authentication headers: Double-check your API keys and authentication headers are correct

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Debug Mode

Enable debug logging to see detailed OpenTelemetry information: 
export TEL_DEBUG_DIAGNOSTICS=true
This will output detailed information about:
  • Configuration being used
  • Exporters being created
  • Connection attempts
  • Export successes/failures

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What Gets Exported

When Opentelemetry is enabled, Cline exports:

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Metrics

  • Feature usage counts
  • Task execution metrics
  • Error rates and types
  • Performance measurements

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Logs

  • System events
  • Error logs with context
  • Operational information
Exported data is already anonymous and doesn’t include code content, file paths, or sensitive information. However, you’re responsible for securing the data once exported to your systems.

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Limitations

Current OpenTelemetry support in Cline:
  • ✅ OTLP metrics export (console, gRPC, HTTP)
  • ✅ OTLP logs export (console, gRPC, HTTP)
  • ✅ Basic configuration via environment variables
  • ❌ Distributed tracing (not yet implemented)
  • ❌ Custom instrumentation API (not yet exposed)
  • ❌ Sampling configuration (uses defaults)

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Best Practices

  1. Test First: Always test with console exporter before sending to production
  2. Secure Credentials: Never hardcode API keys; use secure environment variable management
  3. Monitor Costs: Be aware of data ingestion costs with your observability platform
  4. Start Simple: Begin with metrics only, add logs if needed
  5. Use Compression: OTLP supports compression; check if your endpoint requires it

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Next Steps

Cline Telemetry

Configure simple built-in telemetry

OpenTelemetry Docs

Learn more about OpenTelemetry