> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cline.bot/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# OpenTelemetry Environment Variables

> Configure OpenTelemetry using environment variables for advanced scenarios

<Note>
  This is an **advanced configuration method**. Most users should use [Remote Configuration](/enterprise-solutions/monitoring/opentelemetry) via the dashboard instead.
</Note>

Environment variables provide an alternative way to configure OpenTelemetry, useful for self-hosted deployments, local development, CI/CD pipelines, or when you need to override organization settings.

## When to Use

* **Self-hosted deployments** without dashboard access
* **Local development and testing** with your own collectors
* **CI/CD pipelines** that need observability
* **Override organization settings** with user-specific configuration

<Warning>
  Environment variable configuration bypasses user telemetry settings and will export data regardless of individual preferences.
</Warning>

## Environment Variables

### Core Configuration

| Variable                       | Description                         | Values                |
| ------------------------------ | ----------------------------------- | --------------------- |
| `CLINE_OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED` | Enable OpenTelemetry export         | `"true"` or `"false"` |
| `CLINE_OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER`  | Metrics exporters (comma-separated) | `"console"`, `"otlp"` |
| `CLINE_OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER`     | Logs exporters (comma-separated)    | `"console"`, `"otlp"` |

### OTLP Configuration

| Variable                            | Description                                                | Values                                        |
| ----------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| `CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL` | OTLP protocol                                              | `"grpc"`, `"http/json"`, or `"http/protobuf"` |
| `CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT` | OTLP collector endpoint (applies to both metrics and logs) | URL with optional port                        |
| `CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS`  | Authentication headers (comma-separated `key=value` pairs) | `"key=value,key2=value2"`                     |
| `CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_INSECURE` | Disable TLS for gRPC (local development only)              | `"true"`                                      |

### Advanced OTLP Configuration

For separate metrics and logs endpoints:

| Variable                                    | Description                        |
| ------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| `CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_PROTOCOL` | Metrics-specific protocol override |
| `CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_ENDPOINT` | Metrics-specific endpoint          |
| `CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_PROTOCOL`    | Logs-specific protocol override    |
| `CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_ENDPOINT`    | Logs-specific endpoint             |

### Export Tuning

| Variable                            | Description                             | Default |
| ----------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `CLINE_OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVAL` | Milliseconds between metric exports     | 60000   |
| `CLINE_OTEL_LOG_BATCH_SIZE`         | Maximum batch size for log records      | 512     |
| `CLINE_OTEL_LOG_BATCH_TIMEOUT`      | Maximum time before exporting logs (ms) | 5000    |
| `CLINE_OTEL_LOG_MAX_QUEUE_SIZE`     | Maximum queue size for log records      | 2048    |

## Quick Start Examples

### Datadog with gRPC

```bash theme={"system"}
export CLINE_OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=true
export CLINE_OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
export CLINE_OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=grpc
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://api.datadoghq.com:4317
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="dd-api-key=YOUR_API_KEY"

code .
```

<Note>
  The endpoint shown above is for Datadog's **US1 region**. If you're in a different region (EU, US3, US5, AP1, etc.), replace `api.datadoghq.com` with your region-specific hostname (e.g., `api.datadoghq.eu` for EU). See [Datadog's OTLP documentation](https://docs.datadoghq.com/opentelemetry/) for your region's endpoint.
</Note>

### New Relic with HTTP

```bash theme={"system"}
export CLINE_OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=true
export CLINE_OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
export CLINE_OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://otlp.nr-data.net:4318
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="api-key=YOUR_LICENSE_KEY"

code .
```

### Local Development (Insecure)

```bash theme={"system"}
export CLINE_OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=true
export CLINE_OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
export CLINE_OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=grpc
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4317
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_INSECURE=true

code .
```

### Console Output (Testing)

```bash theme={"system"}
export CLINE_OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=true
export CLINE_OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=console
export CLINE_OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=console

code .
```

## Debugging

Enable detailed OpenTelemetry diagnostic logging:

```bash theme={"system"}
export TEL_DEBUG_DIAGNOSTICS=true
code .
```

This outputs:

* Configuration being used
* Exporters being created
* Connection attempts
* Export successes/failures

Check the VS Code Developer Tools Console (Help > Toggle Developer Tools) for diagnostic output.

## Configuration Priority

When multiple configuration methods are present, Cline uses this priority order:

1. **Environment variables** (highest priority) - This method
2. **Remote Configuration** - Dashboard settings
3. **Default settings** - Built-in defaults

Environment variable configuration will override dashboard settings.

## See Also

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Dashboard Configuration" icon="globe" href="/enterprise-solutions/monitoring/opentelemetry">
    Configure OpenTelemetry via the web dashboard
  </Card>

  <Card title="Remote Configuration" icon="server" href="/enterprise-solutions/configuration/remote-configuration/overview">
    Learn about Remote Configuration system
  </Card>
</CardGroup>