Enable Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry for .NET, Node.js, Python, and Java applications

Article
03/11/2025

This article describes how to enable and configure OpenTelemetry-based data collection within Azure Monitor Application Insights. The Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Distro:

Provides an OpenTelemetry distribution which includes support for features specific to Azure Monitor.
Enables automatic telemetry by including OpenTelemetry instrumentation libraries for collecting traces, metrics, logs, and exceptions.
Allows collecting custom telemetry.
Supports Live Metrics to monitor and collect more telemetry from live, in-production web applications.

For more information about the advantages of using the Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Distro, see Why should I use the Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Distro.

To learn more about collecting data using OpenTelemetry, check out Data Collection Basics or the OpenTelemetry FAQ.

OpenTelemetry release status

OpenTelemetry offerings are available for .NET, Node.js, Python, and Java applications. For a feature-by-feature release status, see the FAQ.

Enable OpenTelemetry with Application Insights

Follow the steps in this section to instrument your application with OpenTelemetry. Select a tab for langauge-specific instructions.

Note

.NET covers multiple scenarios, including classic ASP.NET, console apps, Windows Forms (WinForms), and more.

Prerequisites

Azure subscription: Create an Azure subscription for trial
Application Insights resource: Create an Application Insights resource

Python Application using Python 3.8+

Tip

If you're migrating from OpenCensus, see our migration documentation.

Install the client library

Install the latest Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.AspNetCore NuGet package:

dotnet add package Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.AspNetCore

Install the latest Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.Exporter NuGet package:

dotnet add package Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.Exporter

Install the latest @azure/monitor-opentelemetry package:

npm install @azure/monitor-opentelemetry

The following packages are also used for some specific scenarios described later in this article:

npm install @opentelemetry/api
npm install @opentelemetry/sdk-metrics
npm install @opentelemetry/resources
npm install @opentelemetry/semantic-conventions
npm install @opentelemetry/sdk-trace-base

Install the latest azure-monitor-opentelemetry PyPI package:

pip install azure-monitor-opentelemetry

Modify your application

Import the Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.AspNetCore namespace, add OpenTelemetry, and configure it to use Azure Monitor in your program.cs class:

// Import the Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.AspNetCore namespace.
using Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.AspNetCore;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Add OpenTelemetry and configure it to use Azure Monitor.
builder.Services.AddOpenTelemetry().UseAzureMonitor();

var app = builder.Build();

app.Run();

Add the Azure Monitor Exporter to each OpenTelemetry signal in the program.cs class:

// Create a new tracer provider builder and add an Azure Monitor trace exporter to the tracer provider builder.
// It is important to keep the TracerProvider instance active throughout the process lifetime.
// See https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/tree/main/docs/trace#tracerprovider-management
var tracerProvider = Sdk.CreateTracerProviderBuilder()
    .AddAzureMonitorTraceExporter();

// Add an Azure Monitor metric exporter to the metrics provider builder.
// It is important to keep the MetricsProvider instance active throughout the process lifetime.
// See https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/tree/main/docs/metrics#meterprovider-management
var metricsProvider = Sdk.CreateMeterProviderBuilder()
    .AddAzureMonitorMetricExporter();

// Create a new logger factory.
// It is important to keep the LoggerFactory instance active throughout the process lifetime.
// See https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/tree/main/docs/logs#logger-management
var loggerFactory = LoggerFactory.Create(builder =>
{
    builder.AddOpenTelemetry(logging =>
    {
        logging.AddAzureMonitorLogExporter();
    });
});

Note

For more information, see the getting-started tutorial for OpenTelemetry .NET

Autoinstrumentation is enabled through configuration changes. No code changes are required.

Point the Java virtual machine (JVM) to the jar file by adding -javaagent:"path/to/applicationinsights-agent-3.7.1.jar" to your application's JVM args.

Note

Sampling is enabled by default at a rate of 5 requests per second, aiding in cost management. Telemetry data may be missing in scenarios exceeding this rate. For more information on modifying sampling configuration, see sampling overrides.

Tip

For scenario-specific guidance, see Get Started (Supplemental).

Tip

If you develop a Spring Boot application, you can optionally replace the JVM argument by a programmatic configuration. For more information, see Using Azure Monitor Application Insights with Spring Boot.

// Import the `useAzureMonitor()` function from the `@azure/monitor-opentelemetry` package.
const { useAzureMonitor } = require("@azure/monitor-opentelemetry");

// Call the `useAzureMonitor()` function to configure OpenTelemetry to use Azure Monitor.
useAzureMonitor();

import logging
# Import the `configure_azure_monitor()` function from the
# `azure.monitor.opentelemetry` package.
from azure.monitor.opentelemetry import configure_azure_monitor

# Configure OpenTelemetry to use Azure Monitor with the 
# APPLICATIONINSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING environment variable.
configure_azure_monitor(
    logger_name="<your_logger_namespace>",  # Set the namespace for the logger in which you would like to collect telemetry for if you are collecting logging telemetry. This is imperative so you do not collect logging telemetry from the SDK itself.
)
logger = logging.getLogger("<your_logger_namespace>")  # Logging telemetry will be collected from logging calls made with this logger and all of it's children loggers.

Copy the connection string from your Application Insights resource

The connection string is unique and specifies where the Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Distro sends the telemetry it collects.

Tip

If you don't already have an Application Insights resource, create one following this guide. We recommend you create a new resource rather than using an existing one.

To copy the connection string:

Go to the Overview pane of your Application Insights resource.
Find your connection string.
Hover over the connection string and select the Copy to clipboard icon.

Paste the connection string in your environment

To paste your connection string, select from the following options:

Important

We recommend setting the connection string through code only in local development and test environments.

For production, use an environment variable or configuration file (Java only).

Set via environment variable - recommended

Replace <Your connection string> in the following command with your connection string.
```
APPLICATIONINSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING=<Your connection string>
```
Set via configuration file - Java only

Create a configuration file named applicationinsights.json, and place it in the same directory as applicationinsights-agent-3.7.1.jar with the following content:
```
{
  "connectionString": "<Your connection string>"
}
```
Replace <Your connection string> in the preceding JSON with your unique connection string.
Set via code - ASP.NET Core, Node.js, and Python only

See connection string configuration for an example of setting connection string via code.

Note

If you set the connection string in multiple places, the environment variable will be prioritized in the following order:

Code
Environment variable
Configuration file

Confirm data is flowing

Run your application, then open Application Insights in the Azure portal. It might take a few minutes for data to show up.

Screenshot of the Application Insights Overview tab with server requests and server response time highlighted.

Application Insights is now enabled for your application. The following steps are optional and allow for further customization.

Important

If you have two or more services that emit telemetry to the same Application Insights resource, you're required to set Cloud Role Names to represent them properly on the Application Map.

As part of using Application Insights instrumentation, we collect and send diagnostic data to Microsoft. This data helps us run and improve Application Insights. To learn more, see Statsbeat in Azure Application Insights.

Sample applications

Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry sample applications are available for all supported languages:

Next steps

For details on adding and modifying Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry, see Add and modify Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry.
To review the source code, see the Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry GitHub repository.
To install the npm package and check for updates, see the @azure/monitor-opentelemetry npm Package page.
To become more familiar with Azure Monitor Application Insights and OpenTelemetry, see the Azure Monitor Example Application.
To learn more about OpenTelemetry and its community, see the OpenTelemetry JavaScript GitHub repository.
To enable usage experiences, enable web or browser user monitoring.
To review frequently asked questions, troubleshooting steps, support options, or to provide OpenTelemetry feedback, see OpenTelemetry help, support, and feedback for Azure Monitor Application Insights.

See Add and modify Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry for details on adding and modifying Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry.
Review the source code and extra documentation in the Azure Monitor Distro GitHub repository.
See extra samples and use cases in Azure Monitor Distro samples.
Review the changelog on GitHub.
Install the PyPI package, check for updates, or view release notes on the Azure Monitor Distro PyPI Package page.
Become more familiar with Azure Monitor Application Insights and OpenTelemetry in the Azure Monitor Example Application.
Learn more about OpenTelemetry and its community in the OpenTelemetry Python GitHub repository.
See available OpenTelemetry instrumentations and components in the OpenTelemetry Contributor Python GitHub repository.
Enable usage experiences by enabling web or browser user monitoring.
To review frequently asked questions, troubleshooting steps, support options, or to provide OpenTelemetry feedback, see OpenTelemetry help, support, and feedback for Azure Monitor Application Insights.

Enable Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry for .NET, Node.js, Python, and Java applications

OpenTelemetry release status

Enable OpenTelemetry with Application Insights

Prerequisites

Install the client library

Modify your application

Copy the connection string from your Application Insights resource

Paste the connection string in your environment

Confirm data is flowing

Sample applications

Next steps

Additional resources