The Custom provider allows you to bring your own instrumentation image, enabling complete control over observability implementation for specialized requirements, legacy integrations, or proprietary solutions.

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Configuration

apiVersion: openlit.io/v1alpha1
kind: AutoInstrumentation
metadata:
  name: custom-instrumentation
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      custom.instrument: "true"
  python:
    instrumentation:
      provider: "custom"
      customInitImage: "my-registry.com/custom-instrumentation:v1.0.0"
  otlp:
    endpoint: "http://openlit:4318"

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Provider Specific Features

The Custom provider offers maximum flexibility for specialized observability needs:

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Custom Image Requirements

Your custom instrumentation image must include: 
# Example custom instrumentation Dockerfile
FROM python:3.11-slim

# Install your custom instrumentation packages
COPY requirements.txt /tmp/
RUN pip install -r /tmp/requirements.txt

# Copy your custom instrumentation logic
COPY sitecustomize.py /usr/local/lib/python3.11/site-packages/
COPY setup-instrumentation.py /

# Set up the instrumentation entry point
ENTRYPOINT ["python", "/setup-instrumentation.py"]

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When to Use Custom Provider

Use Cases:
  • Legacy System Integration: Integrate with existing proprietary observability tools
  • Custom Business Metrics: Collect domain-specific metrics not covered by standard providers
  • Compliance Requirements: Meet specific regulatory or security requirements
  • Research & Development: Implement experimental observability features
  • Multi-vendor Strategy: Combine multiple observability solutions

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Base OpenTelemetry Support

The custom provider includes basic OpenTelemetry setup: Features:
  • Standard OTLP exporter configuration
  • Support for both HTTP and gRPC endpoints
  • Environment variable-based configuration
  • Fallback OpenTelemetry setup if custom logic fails

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Environment Variables

VariableDescriptionDefault
OTEL_SERVICE_NAMEService name for tracing"custom-app"
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINTOTLP endpoint (standard)Required
CUSTOM_PACKAGESCustom packages installed by setup scriptFrom customPackages