ddtrace
Datadog APM client library
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you use Datadog APM. ddtrace is actively maintained (release 1 day old), has no known vulnerabilities, supports current Python versions (3.9–3.14), and is permissively licensed. Medium install friction is typical for instrumentation libraries with compiled extensions. Install it when you want to send traces, profiles, and error data to Datadog; it is not useful without a Datadog account or agent.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.9–3.14; compiled wheels are provided but installation may require a C compiler on unsupported platforms.
- Medium install friction due to compiled wheels for multiple Python versions and platforms (3.9–3.14, CPython, macOS/Linux/Windows).
- Active maintenance with a release 1 day old and last commit 2026-08-14 suggests rapid iteration.
License · maintenance · safety
LICENSE.BSD3 (permissive) — Licensed under BSD-3-Clause (permissive), allowing use in commercial and proprietary projects with minimal restrictions beyond attribution and liability disclaimers.
last release 2026-08-13 (1 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 648 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 47,249,864 downloads/mo, #601 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install ddtrace
import ddtrace
from ddtrace import tracer
@tracer.wrap()
def my_function():
pass
my_function()- Whether the library requires a running Datadog agent or API key to function, or if it can operate in a no-op mode without Datadog connectivity.
- Performance overhead of instrumentation at runtime and whether it can be selectively disabled per module or function.
- Compatibility with async/await frameworks and whether all common web frameworks (Flask, Django, FastAPI) are auto-instrumented.
What it is and what it does
ddtrace is Datadog's Python APM client library that instruments applications to capture distributed traces, continuous profiling data, error information, and deployment events. It works by wrapping function calls and library integrations to emit telemetry to Datadog's backend, enabling visibility into application performance, latency, errors, and resource usage across microservices.
The library supports Python 3.9–3.14 on CPython and provides pre-built wheels for macOS (Intel and ARM), Linux (glibc and musl), and Windows. It depends on bytecode, envier, opentelemetry-api, and wrapt to handle bytecode inspection, environment configuration, OpenTelemetry standards compliance, and function wrapping. Installation is straightforward but involves compiled extensions, so it requires a compatible Python version and platform.
Use it for
- Instrument a web service to trace requests across multiple backend services and databases, identifying bottlenecks and latency sources.
- Capture continuous profiling data to find CPU and memory hotspots in production without stopping the application.
- Track errors and exceptions automatically, correlating them with traces to understand failure context and impact.
- Monitor deployment events and correlate them with performance changes to detect regressions after releases.
- Enable dynamic instrumentation to add logging or metrics to running code without redeployment for debugging production issues.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you use Datadog APM.
ddtrace is actively maintained (release 1 day old), has no known vulnerabilities, supports current Python versions (3.9–3.14), and is permissively licensed. Medium install friction is typical for instrumentation libraries with compiled extensions. Install it when you want to send traces, profiles, and error data to Datadog; it is not useful without a Datadog account or agent.
Install
ddtrace on PyPI
Before you install
Medium install friction due to compiled wheels for multiple Python versions and platforms (3.9–3.14, CPython, macOS/Linux/Windows). Active maintenance with a release 1 day old and last commit 2026-08-14 suggests rapid iteration. 4 runtime dependencies (bytecode, envier, opentelemetry-api, wrapt) are lightweight.
Requires Python 3.9–3.14; compiled wheels are provided but installation may require a C compiler on unsupported platforms.
License in practice
Licensed under BSD-3-Clause (permissive), allowing use in commercial and proprietary projects with minimal restrictions beyond attribution and liability disclaimers.
Quickstart
pip install ddtrace
import ddtrace
from ddtrace import tracer
@tracer.wrap()
def my_function():
pass
my_function()Verify before relying
- Whether the library requires a running Datadog agent or API key to function, or if it can operate in a no-op mode without Datadog connectivity.
- Performance overhead of instrumentation at runtime and whether it can be selectively disabled per module or function.
- Compatibility with async/await frameworks and whether all common web frameworks (Flask, Django, FastAPI) are auto-instrumented.
Package facts
| License | LICENSE.BSD3 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release <3.15,>=3.9 |
| Install friction | Medium. Platform-specific wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 4 packagesbytecodeenvieropentelemetry-apiwrapt |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 1 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 47,249,864 / month, #601 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/StableProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPython |
Evidence: ddtrace-4.13.1-cp310-cp310-macosx_14_0_arm64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp310-cp310-macosx_14_0_x86_64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp310-cp310-manylinux2014_aarch64.manylinux_2_17_aarch64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp310-cp310-manylinux2014_x86_64.manylinux_2_17_x86_64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp310-cp310-win32.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp310-cp310-win_amd64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp311-cp311-macosx_14_0_arm64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp311-cp311-macosx_14_0_x86_64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp311-cp311-manylinux2014_aarch64.manylinux_2_17_aarch64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp311-cp311-manylinux2014_x86_64.manylinux_2_17_x86_64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp311-cp311-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp311-cp311-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp311-cp311-win32.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp311-cp311-win_amd64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp311-cp311-win_arm64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp312-cp312-macosx_14_0_arm64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp312-cp312-macosx_14_0_x86_64.whl; ddtrace-4.13.1-cp312-cp312-manylinux2014_aarch64.manylinux_2_17_aarch64.whl
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See also datadog · ddapm-test-agent · django-datadog-logger · scout-apm · datadog-api-client · newrelic · dda · jaeger-client · datadog-cdk-constructs-v2 · autodynatrace