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Laravel

Implement OpenTelemetry instrumentation for Laravel applications to collect traces using the php OpenTelemetry SDK.

Note: This guide provides a concise overview based on the official OpenTelemetry documentation. For complete information, please consult the official OpenTelemetry documentation.

overview​

This guide demostrates how to:

  • Install opentelemetry extension for php.
  • Set up OpenTelemetry instrumentation for Laravel.
  • Configure OpenTelemetry instrumentation using environment variables.
  • Export telemetry data to OpenTelemetry Collector

Prerequisites​

Before starting, ensure you have:

  • Laravel version 8.1
  • Working Laravel applciation.

Step 1: Install opentelemetry extension for php​

Setup development environment. Installing from source requires proper development environment and some dependencies:

sudo apt-get install gcc make autoconf

Build/install the extension. With your environment set up you can install the extension:

pecl install opentelemetry

Add the extension to your php.ini file:

[opentelemetry]
extension=opentelemetry.so

Verify that the extension is installed and enabled:

php -m | grep opentelemetry

Output should look similar to

opentelemetry

Good work, Now we have installed the opentelemetry extension

Step 2: Import the packages​

Navigate to the project folder and run the following to install necessary packages

composer require \
    open-telemetry/sdk \
    open-telemetry/exporter-otlp \
    open-telemetry/opentelemetry-auto-slim \
    open-telemetry/opentelemetry-auto-psr18 \
    open-telemetry/opentelemetry-auto-laravel

Note: If you are using any additional packages refer packagist and add them to the above command.

Step 3: Configuration​

Now let's setup the necessary Configuration When used in conjunction with the OpenTelemetry SDK, you can use environment variables to configure auto-instrumentation.

Environment configuration

OTEL_PHP_AUTOLOAD_ENABLED=true
OTEL_SERVICE_NAME=<larvel-application-name>
OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTER=otlp
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4318
OTEL_PROPAGATORS=baggage,tracecontext

That's it, run you application and head over to Scout dashboard to visulize the data flowing