---
id: opentelemetry-container-distro
version: "0.2.0"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# opentelemetry-container-distro — An OpenTelemetry distro which automatically discovers container attributes

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 1.3M/mo

## What it is and what it does

opentelemetry-container-distro is a preconfigured OpenTelemetry distribution designed to simplify telemetry setup in containerized environments. It extends the standard opentelemetry-distro by bundling three resource detectors—for Docker, Kubernetes, and process-level attributes—so they are automatically discovered and attached to telemetry data without manual configuration. This saves boilerplate when deploying observability to containers.

The package depends on seven OpenTelemetry components: opentelemetry-api, opentelemetry-sdk, opentelemetry-instrumentation, opentelemetry-exporter-otlp, opentelemetry-resourcedetector-docker, opentelemetry-resourcedetector-kubernetes, and opentelemetry-resourcedetector-process. It targets Python 3.8 and later. However, the package has not been updated since 2022-09-18 and is marked abandoned, meaning its dependencies may have drifted from the current OpenTelemetry ecosystem.

Use it for:

- Automatically inject Docker container metadata into traces and metrics without manual resource configuration.
- Detect and attach Kubernetes pod and cluster attributes to observability signals in containerized deployments.
- Simplify OpenTelemetry setup in container-native applications by bundling common resource detectors in one distro.
- Establish baseline process-level telemetry alongside container context in multi-container systems.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Provides an OpenTelemetry distribution that automatically detects and configures container environment attributes for Docker and Kubernetes deployments.

No. The package is abandoned (last commit 2022-09-18, no updates for over three years) and its dependencies have likely evolved significantly. For new projects, use the current opentelemetry-distro and add resource detectors explicitly. For existing deployments already running this version, evaluate whether upstream OpenTelemetry updates have introduced breaking changes before upgrading other components.

## Install

pip install opentelemetry-container-distro
uv add opentelemetry-container-distro
poetry add opentelemetry-container-distro

## Installing opentelemetry-container-distro

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel, but the package is abandoned—last updated 2022-09-18 with no commits since then. Relies on seven runtime dependencies that may have evolved independently.

License in practice: MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, making it safe to adopt from a licensing perspective.

Quickstart:

pip install opentelemetry-container-distro

from opentelemetry.sdk.resources import get_aggregated_resource_from_envvar
from opentelemetry.sdk.trace import TracerProvider

resource = get_aggregated_resource_from_envvar()
tracer_provider = TracerProvider(resource=resource)

Requires Python 3.8 or later; depends on opentelemetry-api, opentelemetry-sdk, opentelemetry-exporter-otlp, opentelemetry-instrumentation, and the three resource detectors (docker, kubernetes, process).

Verify before relying:

- Whether the bundled resource detectors remain compatible with current OpenTelemetry SDK versions.
- Whether the package's configuration behavior fully matches the current opentelemetry-distro standard.
- Active maintenance status of the upstream OpenTelemetry dependencies this package relies on.

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 1.3M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

opentelemetry container setup, automatic docker kubernetes telemetry, container resource detection, opentelemetry distro docker, kubernetes telemetry instrumentation, container environment attributes, observability, container-native, abandoned

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/opentelemetry-container-distro) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/opentelemetry-container-distro/)