google-cloud-trace
Google Cloud Trace API client library
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you are running applications on Google Cloud and need direct access to the Trace API or are building custom tracing workflows. The library is production-stable, actively maintained, and has no known vulnerabilities. Install friction is low. If your primary goal is application instrumentation, the documentation recommends OpenTelemetry instead. Permissive Apache-2.0 license poses no restrictions for most use cases.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python >= 3.10.
- Requires Google Cloud authentication (service account key or Application Default Credentials) and an active Google Cloud project with Cloud Trace enabled.
- Low friction install with a pure-Python wheel.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Apache-2.0 permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; you must include a copy of the license and state significant changes.
last release 2026-06-22 (53 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 5,373 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 12,269,201 downloads/mo, #1,328 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install google-cloud-trace
from google.cloud import trace_v2
client = trace_v2.TraceServiceClient()
# Use client to send spans to Cloud Trace- Whether OpenTelemetry integration is recommended over direct API use for most applications.
- Performance overhead of trace collection and transmission in high-throughput scenarios.
- Compatibility with non-Google Cloud observability backends or hybrid tracing setups.
What it is and what it does
google-cloud-trace is the official Python client library for Google Cloud Trace, a distributed tracing service that collects and visualizes latency data across your application. It lets you send trace spans directly to Cloud Trace for applications running outside App Engine, complementing the automatic tracing available for App Engine deployments. The library wraps the Trace API and handles authentication, serialization, and transport via gRPC.
The package is built on standard Google Cloud client infrastructure (google-api-core, google-auth, grpcio, proto-plus, protobuf) and supports Python 3.10 and later. It is actively maintained and widely used (top 5000 on PyPI). The documentation recommends OpenTelemetry for application instrumentation rather than direct API calls, so this library is typically used either for custom tracing workflows or as a backend for OpenTelemetry exporters.
Use it for
- Send custom trace spans from microservices running on Compute Engine or GKE to visualize request flow and latency.
- Instrument batch jobs or background workers to track execution time and dependencies across distributed tasks.
- Export traces from on-premises or multi-cloud applications to a centralized Google Cloud Trace dashboard.
- Integrate with OpenTelemetry collectors to export trace data to Cloud Trace from any instrumented application.
- Debug performance bottlenecks by correlating trace spans with Cloud Logging and Cloud Monitoring data.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you are running applications on Google Cloud and need direct access to the Trace API or are building custom tracing workflows.
The library is production-stable, actively maintained, and has no known vulnerabilities. Install friction is low. If your primary goal is application instrumentation, the documentation recommends OpenTelemetry instead. Permissive Apache-2.0 license poses no restrictions for most use cases.
Install
google-cloud-trace on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction install with a pure-Python wheel. Actively maintained as of 2026-08-14 with recent releases. Depends on standard Google Cloud libraries (google-api-core, google-auth, grpcio, proto-plus, protobuf), all widely used and stable.
Requires Python >= 3.10. Requires Google Cloud authentication (service account key or Application Default Credentials) and an active Google Cloud project with Cloud Trace enabled.
License in practice
Apache-2.0 permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; you must include a copy of the license and state significant changes.
Quickstart
pip install google-cloud-trace
from google.cloud import trace_v2
client = trace_v2.TraceServiceClient()
# Use client to send spans to Cloud TraceVerify before relying
- Whether OpenTelemetry integration is recommended over direct API use for most applications.
- Performance overhead of trace collection and transmission in high-throughput scenarios.
- Compatibility with non-Google Cloud observability backends or hybrid tracing setups.
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 5 packagesgoogle-api-coregoogle-authgrpcioproto-plusprotobuf |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 53 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 12,269,201 / month, #1,328 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 :: Apache Software LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Topic :: Internet |
Evidence: google_cloud_trace-1.20.0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also google-cloud-monitoring · google-cloud-appengine-logging · google-cloud-monitoring-dashboards · google-cloud-logging · google-cloud-tasks · google-cloud-bigquery-logging · google-cloud-billing · google-cloud-error-reporting · google-cloud-service-usage · google-cloud-service-control