opentelemetry-propagator-ot-trace
OT Trace Propagator for OpenTelemetry
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if your system requires OT Trace format propagation for interoperability with legacy or third-party services. The package is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries a permissive Apache-2.0 license, and supports current Python versions (3.10 through 3.14). However, if you are building new distributed systems, consider whether alternative trace context standards would be more appropriate.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python >=3.10; opentelemetry-api and opentelemetry-sdk must be installed as runtime dependencies.
- Low friction: pure Python wheel with only two runtime dependencies (opentelemetry-api and opentelemetry-sdk).
- Actively maintained as of 2026-08-14 with recent releases; repo is not archived and receives ongoing commits.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Apache-2.0 permissive license allows use in most commercial and open-source projects without significant restrictions on derivative works or redistribution.
last release 2026-07-16 (29 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 1,086 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 3,047,087 downloads/mo, #2,774 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install opentelemetry-propagator-ot-trace
from opentelemetry.propagators.ot_trace import OTTracePropagator
from opentelemetry.propagators import set_global_textmap
set_global_textmap(OTTracePropagator())- Whether the OT Trace format specification remains stable or is expected to evolve given the note that no formal specification currently exists.
- Performance characteristics when propagating baggage with many key-value pairs across high-volume trace contexts.
- Interoperability testing results with non-OpenTelemetry systems using the OT Trace format.
- How OpenTelemetry's trace IDs are truncated to 64-bit format and whether this truncation preserves trace identity.
What it is and what it does
This package implements a trace context propagator for OpenTelemetry that follows the OT Trace format, a lightweight header-based protocol for passing distributed trace information across service boundaries. It handles serialization of trace IDs, span IDs, sampling decisions, and baggage key-value pairs into HTTP headers, and deserializes them on the receiving end to reconstruct trace context.
The propagator integrates with OpenTelemetry's instrumentation ecosystem and is designed for systems that need to interoperate with services using the OT Trace format. Trace IDs are truncated to 64-bits before sending on the wire, retaining the least significant bits to preserve trace identity across format boundaries.
Use it for
- Propagate trace context in microservices that use the OT Trace format instead of other trace context standards.
- Enable distributed tracing in legacy systems or third-party services that expect ot-tracer-traceid and ot-tracer-spanid headers.
- Pass baggage metadata (ot-baggage-* headers) alongside trace context for correlation and context propagation.
- Integrate OpenTelemetry instrumentation with existing systems compatible with the OT Trace format.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if your system requires OT Trace format propagation for interoperability with legacy or third-party services.
The package is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries a permissive Apache-2.0 license, and supports current Python versions (3.10 through 3.14). However, if you are building new distributed systems, consider whether alternative trace context standards would be more appropriate.
Install
opentelemetry-propagator-ot-trace on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure Python wheel with only two runtime dependencies (opentelemetry-api and opentelemetry-sdk). Actively maintained as of 2026-08-14 with recent releases; repo is not archived and receives ongoing commits.
Requires Python >=3.10; opentelemetry-api and opentelemetry-sdk must be installed as runtime dependencies.
License in practice
Apache-2.0 permissive license allows use in most commercial and open-source projects without significant restrictions on derivative works or redistribution.
Quickstart
pip install opentelemetry-propagator-ot-trace
from opentelemetry.propagators.ot_trace import OTTracePropagator
from opentelemetry.propagators import set_global_textmap
set_global_textmap(OTTracePropagator())Verify before relying
- Whether the OT Trace format specification remains stable or is expected to evolve given the note that no formal specification currently exists.
- Performance characteristics when propagating baggage with many key-value pairs across high-volume trace contexts.
- Interoperability testing results with non-OpenTelemetry systems using the OT Trace format.
- How OpenTelemetry's trace IDs are truncated to 64-bit format and whether this truncation preserves trace identity.
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 2 packagesopentelemetry-apiopentelemetry-sdk |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 29 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 3,047,087 / month, #2,774 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software 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: opentelemetry_propagator_ot_trace-0.65b0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also opentelemetry-processor-baggage · opentelemetry-propagator-b3 · opentelemetry-propagator-jaeger · opentelemetry-propagator-aws-xray · opentelemetry-propagator-gcp · opentelemetry-instrumentation-django · opentracing · opentelemetry-instrumentation-boto · opentelemetry-exporter-zipkin-proto-http · opentelemetry-instrumentation-threading