Claude Code Monitoring & Observability with OpenTelemetry

Overview

Claude Code monitoring with OpenTelemetry gives you full visibility into how Claude is used across your engineering team. This guide walks you through exporting Claude Code logs and metrics to SigNoz, so you can track the signals that matter most:

• Token usage & costs — break down spend by user, model, or subagent
• Session & request activity — track adoption, active time, and request volumes
• Performance — monitor API latency, cache hit rates, and tool execution times
• Quota & limits — stay ahead of rate limits before they impact developers
• Tool decisions — see accept/reject rates across Edit, Write, and other tools
• Errors & retries — detect API failures and retry exhaustion before they snowball

Once set up, all of this flows into SigNoz dashboards where you can correlate logs and metrics, set alerts, and analyze trends over time.

Prerequisites

• SigNoz setup (choose one):
  • SigNoz Cloud account with an active ingestion key
  • Self-hosted SigNoz instance
• Internet access to send telemetry data to SigNoz Cloud
• Claude Code installed and running on your system

Monitoring Claude Code

Check out detailed instructions on how to set up OpenTelemetry instrumentation for your Claude Code usage in the Claude Code monitoring docs. Every variable used below is listed in the Environment Variable Reference.

Option 1 (VSCode)

Step 1: Launch VSCode with telemetry enabled

CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1 \
OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp \
OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp \
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=grpc \
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT="https://ingest.<region>.signoz.cloud:443" \
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="signoz-ingestion-key=<your-ingestion-key>" \
OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVAL=10000 \
OTEL_LOGS_EXPORT_INTERVAL=5000 \
code .

• <region>: Your SigNoz Cloud region
• <your-ingestion-key>: Your SigNoz ingestion key

This will open VSCode with the required environment variables already configured. From here, any Claude Code activity will automatically generate telemetry and export logs to your SigNoz Cloud instance.

For convenience, you can also clone our bash script, update it with your SigNoz endpoint and ingestion key, and run it directly.

Option 2 (Terminal)

Step 1: Launch Claude Code with telemetry enabled

CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1 \
OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp \
OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp \
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=grpc \
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT="https://ingest.<region>.signoz.cloud:443" \
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="signoz-ingestion-key=<your-ingestion-key>" \
OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVAL=10000 \
OTEL_LOGS_EXPORT_INTERVAL=5000 \
claude

• Set the <region> to match your SigNoz Cloud region
• Replace <your-ingestion-key> with your SigNoz ingestion key

This will launch Claude Code with telemetry enabled. Any Claude Code activity in the terminal session will automatically generate and export logs and metrics to your SigNoz Cloud instance.

For convenience, you can also clone our bash script, update it with your SigNoz endpoint and ingestion key, and run it directly.

Administrator Configuration

Administrators can configure OpenTelemetry settings for all users through the managed settings file. This allows for centralized control of telemetry settings across an organization. See the settings precedence for more information about how settings are applied.

The managed settings file is located at:

• macOS: /Library/Application Support/ClaudeCode/managed-settings.json
• Linux and WSL: /etc/claude-code/managed-settings.json
• Windows: C:\ProgramData\ClaudeCode\managed-settings.json

Example managed settings configuration:

{
  "env": {
    "CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY": "1",
    "OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER": "otlp",
    "OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER": "otlp",
    "OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL": "grpc",
    "OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT": "http://collector.company.com:4317",
    "OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS": "Authorization=Bearer company-token"
  }
}

Managed settings can be distributed via MDM (Mobile Device Management) or other device management solutions. Environment variables defined in the managed settings file have high precedence and cannot be overridden by users.

Example Configurations

# Console debugging (1-second intervals)
export CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1
export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=console
export OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVAL=1000
 
# OTLP/gRPC
export CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1
export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=grpc
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4317
 
# Prometheus
export CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1
export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=prometheus
 
# Multiple exporters
export CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1
export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=console,otlp
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=http/json
 
# Different endpoints/backends for metrics and logs
export CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1
export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_ENDPOINT=http://metrics.company.com:4318
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_PROTOCOL=grpc
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_ENDPOINT=http://logs.company.com:4317
 
# Metrics only (no events/logs)
export CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1
export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=grpc
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4317
 
# Events/logs only (no metrics)
export CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1
export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=grpc
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4317

Your Claude Code activity should now automatically emit logs and metrics.

Finally, you should be able to view logs in Signoz Cloud under the logs tab:

When you click on any of these logs in SigNoz, you'll see a detailed view of the log, including attributes:

You should be able to see Claude Code related metrics in Signoz Cloud under the metrics tab:

When you click on any of these metrics in SigNoz, you'll see a detailed view of the metric, including attributes:

Dashboard

You can also check out our custom Claude Code dashboard here which provides specialized visualizations for monitoring your Claude Code usage. The dashboard includes pre-built charts specifically tailored for LLM usage, along with import instructions to get started quickly.

Environment Variable Reference

Every setting below is an environment variable. Set them before launching claude or code ., or deploy them centrally through managed settings. Values verified against the Claude Code monitoring docs.

Required

Telemetry is opt-in. If this is unset, every other variable on this page is ignored.

Exporters

At least one exporter must be set, and metrics and events are configured separately. Setting only one means the other signal never appears in SigNoz.

Endpoint and protocol

For SigNoz Cloud, set the protocol to grpc, the endpoint to https://ingest.<region>.signoz.cloud:443 for your region, and the headers to signoz-ingestion-key=<your-ingestion-key>.

Each signal can override the shared values with OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_*, OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_* and OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_* variants of ENDPOINT, PROTOCOL and HEADERS, which is how you send metrics and events to different backends.

Export intervals

The 60-second metric default is the most common reason data appears to be missing during setup. Lower it to 10000 while you verify the pipeline.

Content and privacy

Prompt and response content is redacted by default. Each variable below opts a specific category back in, so review them against your data policy before enabling any.

Metric attributes and cardinality

These control which attributes ride along on every metric datapoint. Turning session.id off is the usual fix if metric cardinality becomes a problem.

Tracing (beta)

Spans are separate from the metrics and events covered above and are off by default.

TLS

Not needed for SigNoz Cloud, which terminates TLS with a public certificate.

Telemetry Data

Claude Code emits the following metrics and events via OpenTelemetry. For the full upstream specification, see the Claude Code monitoring docs.

Standard Attributes

Every metric and event includes these attributes:

Metrics

Events

Claude Code emits these events via the OpenTelemetry logs/events protocol (when OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER is configured):

Troubleshooting

If you don't see your telemetry data in SigNoz:

1. Check CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY - This must be set to 1. Telemetry is opt-in and nothing is exported without it
2. Verify your region and ingestion key - An incorrect <region> or <your-ingestion-key> will silently drop all data. Double-check against your SigNoz Cloud settings
3. Check both exporters are set - OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER controls metrics and OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER controls events. If only one is set, the other signal will not appear
4. Try a console exporter - Set OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=console and OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=console to confirm Claude Code is generating telemetry locally before sending to SigNoz
5. Wait for the export interval - The default metrics export interval is 60 seconds. During setup, set OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVAL=10000 to flush every 10 seconds instead
6. Confirm env vars are set before launch - Environment variables must be set before launching claude or code .. Variables exported after launch have no effect

Every variable named above, along with its accepted values and default, is listed in the Environment Variable Reference.

FAQs

Does Claude Code have built-in monitoring?

A. Yes. Claude Code has native OpenTelemetry support that you opt into by setting CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1. Once enabled, it emits metrics (token usage, costs, session counts, lines of code, commits) and structured log events (API requests, tool executions, permission decisions) via the standard OTLP protocol to any compatible backend including SigNoz.

What should OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT be for Claude Code?

A. For SigNoz Cloud, set it to https://ingest.<region>.signoz.cloud:443, where <region> matches your SigNoz Cloud region. Pair it with OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=grpc and OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="signoz-ingestion-key=<your-ingestion-key>". For a self-hosted collector it is usually http://localhost:4317 for gRPC or http://localhost:4318 for HTTP. The variable applies to every signal at once; use OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_ENDPOINT and OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_ENDPOINT to split them. See the Environment Variable Reference.

How do I track Claude Code token usage?

A. Claude Code emits a claude_code.token.usage metric after every API request, broken down by type (input, output, cacheRead, cacheCreation), model, and query_source. In SigNoz, filter this metric by user or model to see exactly where tokens are going. See the Telemetry Data section for the full attribute list.

Can I monitor Claude Code costs with OpenTelemetry?

A. Yes. The claude_code.cost.usage metric tracks estimated USD cost per API request and includes attributes for model, agent.name, skill.name, and query_source, so you can break down spend by team, model, or workflow. Note that these are approximations — for billing data, refer to your Anthropic Console or cloud provider.

How do I monitor Claude Code across an entire team?

A. Use the Administrator Configuration section to deploy a managed settings file (managed-settings.json) via MDM or your device management solution. This sets CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1 and the SigNoz endpoint centrally for all users, without requiring each developer to configure env vars individually.

What is the difference between Claude Code metrics and events?

A. Metrics (like claude_code.token.usage and claude_code.cost.usage) are numeric time-series data, ideal for dashboards, aggregations, and alerts. Events (like claude_code.api_request and claude_code.tool_result) are structured log records emitted per action, ideal for audit trails, debugging, and tracing individual sessions. Both are exported via OpenTelemetry but require separate exporter configuration (OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER vs OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER).

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