Claude Platform adds OpenTelemetry tracing in public beta

What happened

Anthropic announced OpenTelemetry tracing on October 14, 2026, covering Managed Agents, Messages API requests and Claude SDKs. The public beta sends traces to OTLP-compatible observability platforms.

Setup and coverage

API tracing needs an administrator to configure a Console destination. Its endpoint must accept OTLP/HTTP protobuf over HTTPS on port 443. SDK tracing requires a current SDK, a registered tracer provider and an exporter; existing model calls can then emit spans without being rewritten.

API spans cover server-side work; SDK spans can cover client tools. Current documentation lists API tracing for Claude Platform and Claude Platform on AWS, while SDK tracing supports additional cloud platforms. Check the documentation for the surface you use.

Protect trace data

Metadata-only is the default. Full-content mode includes prompts and responses, which the receiving provider stores under its own access and retention rules. Metadata can still contain user-chosen names and descriptions.

Editorial suggestion: Start with a non-sensitive test workspace and metadata-only tracing. Check what actually arrives, restrict access, and agree retention before exporting real conversations. Traces help investigate behavior; they do not prove an agent is reliable.