Messaging

General Messaging Attributes

Attributes describing telemetry around messaging systems and messaging activities.

AttributeTypeDescriptionExamplesStability
messaging.batch.message_countintThe number of messages sent, received, or processed in the scope of the batching operation. [1]0; 1; 2Experimental
messaging.client.idstringA unique identifier for the client that consumes or produces a message.client-5; myhost@8742@s8083jmExperimental
messaging.consumer.group.namestringThe name of the consumer group with which a consumer is associated. [2]my-group; indexerExperimental
messaging.destination.anonymousbooleanA boolean that is true if the message destination is anonymous (could be unnamed or have auto-generated name).Experimental
messaging.destination.namestringThe message destination name [3]MyQueue; MyTopicExperimental
messaging.destination.partition.idstringThe identifier of the partition messages are sent to or received from, unique within the messaging.destination.name.1Experimental
messaging.destination.subscription.namestringThe name of the destination subscription from which a message is consumed. [4]subscription-aExperimental
messaging.destination.templatestringLow cardinality representation of the messaging destination name [5]/customers/{customerId}Experimental
messaging.destination.temporarybooleanA boolean that is true if the message destination is temporary and might not exist anymore after messages are processed.Experimental
messaging.message.body.sizeintThe size of the message body in bytes. [6]1439Experimental
messaging.message.conversation_idstringThe conversation ID identifying the conversation to which the message belongs, represented as a string. Sometimes called “Correlation ID”.MyConversationIdExperimental
messaging.message.envelope.sizeintThe size of the message body and metadata in bytes. [7]2738Experimental
messaging.message.idstringA value used by the messaging system as an identifier for the message, represented as a string.452a7c7c7c7048c2f887f61572b18fc2Experimental
messaging.operation.namestringThe system-specific name of the messaging operation.ack; nack; sendExperimental
messaging.operation.typestringA string identifying the type of the messaging operation. [8]create; send; receiveExperimental
messaging.systemstringThe messaging system as identified by the client instrumentation. [9]activemq; aws_sqs; eventgridExperimental

[1] messaging.batch.message_count: Instrumentations SHOULD NOT set messaging.batch.message_count on spans that operate with a single message. When a messaging client library supports both batch and single-message API for the same operation, instrumentations SHOULD use messaging.batch.message_count for batching APIs and SHOULD NOT use it for single-message APIs.

[2] messaging.consumer.group.name: Semantic conventions for individual messaging systems SHOULD document whether messaging.consumer.group.name is applicable and what it means in the context of that system.

[3] messaging.destination.name: Destination name SHOULD uniquely identify a specific queue, topic or other entity within the broker. If the broker doesn’t have such notion, the destination name SHOULD uniquely identify the broker.

[4] messaging.destination.subscription.name: Semantic conventions for individual messaging systems SHOULD document whether messaging.destination.subscription.name is applicable and what it means in the context of that system.

[5] messaging.destination.template: Destination names could be constructed from templates. An example would be a destination name involving a user name or product id. Although the destination name in this case is of high cardinality, the underlying template is of low cardinality and can be effectively used for grouping and aggregation.

[6] messaging.message.body.size: This can refer to both the compressed or uncompressed body size. If both sizes are known, the uncompressed body size should be used.

[7] messaging.message.envelope.size: This can refer to both the compressed or uncompressed size. If both sizes are known, the uncompressed size should be used.

[8] messaging.operation.type: If a custom value is used, it MUST be of low cardinality.

[9] messaging.system: The actual messaging system may differ from the one known by the client. For example, when using Kafka client libraries to communicate with Azure Event Hubs, the messaging.system is set to kafka based on the instrumentation’s best knowledge.


messaging.operation.type has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used; otherwise, a custom value MAY be used.

ValueDescriptionStability
createA message is created. “Create” spans always refer to a single message and are used to provide a unique creation context for messages in batch sending scenarios.Experimental
deliverDeprecated. Use process instead.Deprecated
Replaced by process.
processOne or more messages are processed by a consumer.Experimental
publishDeprecated. Use send instead.Deprecated
Replaced by send.
receiveOne or more messages are requested by a consumer. This operation refers to pull-based scenarios, where consumers explicitly call methods of messaging SDKs to receive messages.Experimental
sendOne or more messages are provided for sending to an intermediary. If a single message is sent, the context of the “Send” span can be used as the creation context and no “Create” span needs to be created.Experimental
settleOne or more messages are settled.Experimental

messaging.system has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used; otherwise, a custom value MAY be used.

ValueDescriptionStability
activemqApache ActiveMQExperimental
aws_sqsAmazon Simple Queue Service (SQS)Experimental
eventgridAzure Event GridExperimental
eventhubsAzure Event HubsExperimental
gcp_pubsubGoogle Cloud Pub/SubExperimental
jmsJava Message ServiceExperimental
kafkaApache KafkaExperimental
pulsarApache PulsarExperimental
rabbitmqRabbitMQExperimental
rocketmqApache RocketMQExperimental
servicebusAzure Service BusExperimental

Azure Event Hubs Attributes

This group describes attributes specific to Azure Event Hubs.

AttributeTypeDescriptionExamplesStability
messaging.eventhubs.message.enqueued_timeintThe UTC epoch seconds at which the message has been accepted and stored in the entity.1701393730Experimental

GCP Pub/Sub Attributes

This group describes attributes specific to GCP Pub/Sub.

AttributeTypeDescriptionExamplesStability
messaging.gcp_pubsub.message.ack_deadlineintThe ack deadline in seconds set for the modify ack deadline request.10Experimental
messaging.gcp_pubsub.message.ack_idstringThe ack id for a given message.ack_idExperimental
messaging.gcp_pubsub.message.delivery_attemptintThe delivery attempt for a given message.2Experimental
messaging.gcp_pubsub.message.ordering_keystringThe ordering key for a given message. If the attribute is not present, the message does not have an ordering key.ordering_keyExperimental

Kafka Attributes

This group describes attributes specific to Apache Kafka.

AttributeTypeDescriptionExamplesStability
messaging.kafka.message.keystringMessage keys in Kafka are used for grouping alike messages to ensure they’re processed on the same partition. They differ from messaging.message.id in that they’re not unique. If the key is null, the attribute MUST NOT be set. [10]myKeyExperimental
messaging.kafka.message.tombstonebooleanA boolean that is true if the message is a tombstone.Experimental
messaging.kafka.offsetintThe offset of a record in the corresponding Kafka partition.42Experimental

[10] messaging.kafka.message.key: If the key type is not string, it’s string representation has to be supplied for the attribute. If the key has no unambiguous, canonical string form, don’t include its value.

RabbitMQ Attributes

This group describes attributes specific to RabbitMQ.

AttributeTypeDescriptionExamplesStability
messaging.rabbitmq.destination.routing_keystringRabbitMQ message routing key.myKeyExperimental
messaging.rabbitmq.message.delivery_tagintRabbitMQ message delivery tag123Experimental

RocketMQ Attributes

This group describes attributes specific to RocketMQ.

AttributeTypeDescriptionExamplesStability
messaging.rocketmq.consumption_modelstringModel of message consumption. This only applies to consumer spans.clustering; broadcastingExperimental
messaging.rocketmq.message.delay_time_levelintThe delay time level for delay message, which determines the message delay time.3Experimental
messaging.rocketmq.message.delivery_timestampintThe timestamp in milliseconds that the delay message is expected to be delivered to consumer.1665987217045Experimental
messaging.rocketmq.message.groupstringIt is essential for FIFO message. Messages that belong to the same message group are always processed one by one within the same consumer group.myMessageGroupExperimental
messaging.rocketmq.message.keysstring[]Key(s) of message, another way to mark message besides message id.["keyA", "keyB"]Experimental
messaging.rocketmq.message.tagstringThe secondary classifier of message besides topic.tagAExperimental
messaging.rocketmq.message.typestringType of message.normal; fifo; delayExperimental
messaging.rocketmq.namespacestringNamespace of RocketMQ resources, resources in different namespaces are individual.myNamespaceExperimental

messaging.rocketmq.consumption_model has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used; otherwise, a custom value MAY be used.

ValueDescriptionStability
broadcastingBroadcasting consumption modelExperimental
clusteringClustering consumption modelExperimental

messaging.rocketmq.message.type has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used; otherwise, a custom value MAY be used.

ValueDescriptionStability
delayDelay messageExperimental
fifoFIFO messageExperimental
normalNormal messageExperimental
transactionTransaction messageExperimental

Azure Service Bus Attributes

This group describes attributes specific to Azure Service Bus.

AttributeTypeDescriptionExamplesStability
messaging.servicebus.disposition_statusstringDescribes the settlement type.complete; abandon; dead_letterExperimental
messaging.servicebus.message.delivery_countintNumber of deliveries that have been attempted for this message.2Experimental
messaging.servicebus.message.enqueued_timeintThe UTC epoch seconds at which the message has been accepted and stored in the entity.1701393730Experimental

messaging.servicebus.disposition_status has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used; otherwise, a custom value MAY be used.

ValueDescriptionStability
abandonMessage is abandonedExperimental
completeMessage is completedExperimental
dead_letterMessage is sent to dead letter queueExperimental
deferMessage is deferredExperimental

Deprecated Messaging Attributes

Describes deprecated messaging attributes.

AttributeTypeDescriptionExamplesStability
messaging.client_idstringDeprecated, use messaging.client.id instead.client-5; myhost@8742@s8083jmDeprecated
Replaced by messaging.client.id.
messaging.destination_publish.anonymousbooleanDeprecated, no replacement at this time.Deprecated
No replacement at this time.
messaging.destination_publish.namestringDeprecated, no replacement at this time.MyQueue; MyTopicDeprecated
No replacement at this time.
messaging.eventhubs.consumer.groupstringDeprecated, use messaging.consumer.group.name instead.$DefaultDeprecated
Replaced by messaging.consumer.group.name.
messaging.kafka.consumer.groupstringDeprecated, use messaging.consumer.group.name instead.my-groupDeprecated
Replaced by messaging.consumer.group.name.
messaging.kafka.destination.partitionintDeprecated, use messaging.destination.partition.id instead.2Deprecated
Replaced by messaging.destination.partition.id.
messaging.kafka.message.offsetintDeprecated, use messaging.kafka.offset instead.42Deprecated
Replaced by messaging.kafka.offset.
messaging.operationstringDeprecated, use messaging.operation.type instead.publish; create; processDeprecated
Replaced by messaging.operation.type.
messaging.rocketmq.client_groupstringDeprecated, use messaging.consumer.group.name instead.myConsumerGroupDeprecated
Replaced by messaging.consumer.group.name on the consumer spans. No replacement for producer spans.
messaging.servicebus.destination.subscription_namestringDeprecated, use messaging.destination.subscription.name instead.subscription-aDeprecated
Replaced by messaging.destination.subscription.name.