azure-monitor-opentelemetry
Microsoft Azure Monitor Opentelemetry Distro Client Library for Python
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you are already using Azure Monitor and need observability in a Python application. The distro eliminates boilerplate by bundling OpenTelemetry and Azure exporters, and it is actively maintained with no known vulnerabilities. The trade-off is a large dependency tree (13 runtime packages) that pulls in instrumentations you may not use; if you need only selective instrumentation or are not on Azure, consider using OpenTelemetry components directly.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.8 or later and an Azure subscription with an Application Insights resource and its connection string.
- Low friction install with a pure-Python wheel.
- Actively maintained with a recent release.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT License (permissive) — MIT License permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, making it safe to adopt in most projects.
last release 2026-07-01 (44 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 5,588 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 20,906,017 downloads/mo, #1,023 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install azure-monitor-opentelemetry
from azure.monitor.opentelemetry import configure_azure_monitor
configure_azure_monitor(connection_string="<your-connection-string>")- Whether automatic instrumentation for frameworks beyond those listed is possible without manual setup.
- Performance overhead of live metrics and performance counters when enabled by default.
- Stability guarantees for the bundled OpenTelemetry instrumentations, which the description notes are in beta.
What it is and what it does
Azure Monitor Opentelemetry Distro is a pre-configured bundle of the OpenTelemetry SDK and Azure Monitor exporters designed to simplify telemetry collection in Python applications. It automatically instruments popular web frameworks (Django, FastAPI, Flask), database drivers (psycopg2), and HTTP libraries (requests, urllib, urllib3) to capture traces, metrics, and logs without requiring manual instrumentation of each library. The distro sends all collected telemetry directly to Azure Monitor.
You configure it with a single call to `configure_azure_monitor()`, passing your Application Insights connection string and optional settings for sampling, performance counters, live metrics, and which instrumentations to enable or disable. The package handles resource detection, span processing, and metric aggregation internally, letting you focus on your application code rather than wiring up observability infrastructure.
Use it for
- Instrument a Django or FastAPI web service to automatically capture HTTP request traces and send them to Azure Monitor.
- Enable distributed tracing across microservices by configuring the distro on each service to report traces to a shared Application Insights resource.
- Collect database query spans from psycopg2 and HTTP client spans from requests to correlate slow endpoints with underlying calls.
- Set up live metrics and performance counters on a production application to monitor CPU, memory, and request rates in real time.
- Disable specific instrumentations in a multi-framework application to avoid double-instrumentation or reduce overhead.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you are already using Azure Monitor and need observability in a Python application.
The distro eliminates boilerplate by bundling OpenTelemetry and Azure exporters, and it is actively maintained with no known vulnerabilities. The trade-off is a large dependency tree (13 runtime packages) that pulls in instrumentations you may not use; if you need only selective instrumentation or are not on Azure, consider using OpenTelemetry components directly.
Install
azure-monitor-opentelemetry on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction install with a pure-Python wheel. Actively maintained with a recent release. Carries 13 runtime dependencies including the OpenTelemetry SDK and instrumentations for Django, FastAPI, Flask, psycopg2, requests, urllib, urllib3, and logging—all pulled in automatically.
Requires Python 3.8 or later and an Azure subscription with an Application Insights resource and its connection string.
License in practice
MIT License permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, making it safe to adopt in most projects.
Quickstart
pip install azure-monitor-opentelemetry
from azure.monitor.opentelemetry import configure_azure_monitor
configure_azure_monitor(connection_string="<your-connection-string>")Verify before relying
- Whether automatic instrumentation for frameworks beyond those listed is possible without manual setup.
- Performance overhead of live metrics and performance counters when enabled by default.
- Stability guarantees for the bundled OpenTelemetry instrumentations, which the description notes are in beta.
Package facts
| License | MIT License permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.8 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 13 packagesazure-coreazure-core-tracing-opentelemetryazure-monitor-opentelemetry-exporteropentelemetry-sdkopentelemetry-instrumentation-djangoopentelemetry-instrumentation-fastapiopentelemetry-instrumentation-flaskopentelemetry-instrumentation-psycopg2opentelemetry-instrumentation-requestsopentelemetry-instrumentation-urllibopentelemetry-instrumentation-urllib3opentelemetry-instrumentation-loggingopentelemetry-resource-detector-azure |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 44 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 20,906,017 / month, #1,023 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14 |
Evidence: azure_monitor_opentelemetry-1.8.9-py3-none-any.whl
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See also azure-monitor-opentelemetry-exporter · microsoft-opentelemetry · azure-monitor-events-extension · azure-core-tracing-opentelemetry · opencensus-ext-azure · applicationinsights · opentelemetry-container-distro · azure-cli-telemetry · opentelemetry-distro · azureml-telemetry