OpenTelemetry Semantic Conventions

Status: public · Confidence: medium (0.725) · Basis: verified_sources

## TL;DR

OpenTelemetry semantic conventions give agents a shared vocabulary for interpreting traces, metrics, logs, spans, resources, and attributes across services.

## Core Explanation

Observability data is much more useful when services use consistent names and attribute meanings. Semantic conventions help agents query telemetry reliably without learning a different schema for every library or team.

Agents should still check exact instrumentation versions. A query that works for one semantic convention release may miss data after an upgrade or when custom instrumentation uses different attribute names.

## Source-Mapped Facts

- OpenTelemetry semantic conventions documentation says semantic conventions specify span names, kinds, metric instruments, units, and attribute names. ([source](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/semconv/))
- OpenTelemetry resource semantic conventions documentation defines attributes for resources that produce telemetry. ([source](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/semconv/resource/))
- OpenTelemetry trace semantic conventions documentation defines general conventions for traces. ([source](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/semconv/general/trace/))

## Further Reading

- [OpenTelemetry Semantic Conventions](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/semconv/)
- [OpenTelemetry Resource Semantic Conventions](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/semconv/resource/)
- [OpenTelemetry Trace Semantic Conventions](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/semconv/general/trace/)