OTEP: Extending attributes to support complex values#4485
Merged
lmolkova merged 63 commits intoopen-telemetry:mainfrom Jul 15, 2025
Merged
OTEP: Extending attributes to support complex values#4485lmolkova merged 63 commits intoopen-telemetry:mainfrom
lmolkova merged 63 commits intoopen-telemetry:mainfrom
Conversation
Complex attributes: first round of feedback and clean up
pellared
reviewed
Apr 22, 2025
pellared
reviewed
Apr 22, 2025
trask
reviewed
Apr 22, 2025
Clarify metrics and cleanup
jack-berg
reviewed
Apr 22, 2025
pellared
reviewed
Apr 23, 2025
pellared
reviewed
Apr 23, 2025
trask
reviewed
Apr 23, 2025
Co-authored-by: Trask Stalnaker <[email protected]>
added 2 commits
April 23, 2025 17:09
added 2 commits
July 8, 2025 12:39
…ents to implementations that allow using complex attrs on metrics, resources, entities, instr scope
jsuereth
approved these changes
Jul 14, 2025
austinlparker
approved these changes
Jul 14, 2025
reyang
approved these changes
Jul 15, 2025
MrAlias
approved these changes
Jul 15, 2025
This was referenced Jul 16, 2025
Merged
github-merge-queue Bot
pushed a commit
that referenced
this pull request
Aug 19, 2025
…hange (#4614) Towards #4602 Per OTEP: https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/blob/main/oteps/4485-extending-attributes-to-support-complex-values.md#why-doesnt-this-require-a-major-version-bump This basically reverts: - #3858 Before we did not have a consensus to extend the attribute value types. However, this has changed with: - #4485 Related proto PR: - open-telemetry/opentelemetry-proto#683 **As a follow-up I plan to create issues in all language repositories so that they can prepare their APIs and SDKs to extend the attribute value types.** --------- Co-authored-by: Trask Stalnaker <[email protected]>
github-merge-queue Bot
pushed a commit
that referenced
this pull request
Jan 7, 2026
Fixes #4710 OTEP #4485 (Extending attributes to support complex values) ## What Stabilize the complex `AnyValue` attribute value types and the corresponding attribute limits. Simplifiy the Logs Data Model to rely on `AnyValue` and Attribute Collections instead of custom `any` / `map<string, any>` types. ## Why Per the OTEP-implementing PR [#4485](#4485) tht was merged on **2025‑07‑15**, so the 6‑month window ends around **2026‑01‑15**. This PR is intended to be merged around **2026‑01‑15**, in line with that requirement. > Stable exporters will be prohibited from emitting complex attributes by default on signals other than Logs until at least 6 months after this OTEP is merged. OpenTelemetry **Go** and **Java** treat the common package as a **stable cross‑cutting surface**. They need these `AnyValue` types and limits to be Stable in the spec before they can add corresponding features to their APIs, SDKs, and exporters. ## Prototypes We have **three independent prototypes** that exercised the complex `AnyValue` attribute types and limits: - Java: open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java#7814 ( - Python: open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python#4587 - Go: open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go#6809 In summary, they: 1. Validated that complex attributes can be represented and processed end‑to‑end using `AnyValue`. 2. Confirmed that the specified attribute limits (length and count) are acceptable. 3. Demonstrated that existing implementations can adopt complex attributes without breaking current stable behavior. ## Other I was thinking about adding something to `spec-compliance-matrix.md`, but I do not see any obvious place where it could be located. I think we can tackle it in a separate PR if there would be a demand for it. EDIT: Tracked under #4808
This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
Sign up for free
to join this conversation on GitHub.
Already have an account?
Sign in to comment
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.This suggestion is invalid because no changes were made to the code.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is closed.Suggestions cannot be applied while viewing a subset of changes.Only one suggestion per line can be applied in a batch.Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.Applying suggestions on deleted lines is not supported.You must change the existing code in this line in order to create a valid suggestion.Outdated suggestions cannot be applied.This suggestion has been applied or marked resolved.Suggestions cannot be applied from pending reviews.Suggestions cannot be applied on multi-line comments.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is queued to merge.Suggestion cannot be applied right now. Please check back later.
Related to #4468, #4414
This OTEP suggests a path forward on how to support complex attributes. It proposes to:
Having experimental phase for complex attributes limits the impact of this change and gives backends a graceful period to update.