---
id: opentelemetry-resourcedetector-docker
version: "0.4.0"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# opentelemetry-resourcedetector-docker — An OpenTelemetry package to populates Resource attributes from Docker containers

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 1.7M/mo

## What it is and what it does

This package is a resource detector plugin for OpenTelemetry that automatically discovers and extracts Docker container metadata—such as container ID—and attaches it as Resource attributes to your telemetry data. It integrates with the OpenTelemetry SDK's resource aggregation system, allowing you to pass it alongside other detectors to build a complete resource context.

The package is designed to run inside Docker containers and populate telemetry with container-specific identifiers. It depends on opentelemetry-sdk and opentelemetry-semantic-conventions, and has low install friction. However, it has been abandoned since September 2022 with no subsequent maintenance, so it may not work with newer OpenTelemetry versions or evolving container runtime standards.

Use it for:

- Automatically tag traces and metrics with Docker container IDs in containerized applications to correlate observability data with specific containers.
- Enrich OpenTelemetry Resource attributes in Kubernetes or Docker Compose deployments without manual configuration.
- Populate container metadata in telemetry backends to enable filtering and grouping by container identity.
- Integrate Docker resource detection into a multi-detector resource aggregation pipeline for comprehensive context.

## Worth the install?

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

Extracts Docker container metadata and populates OpenTelemetry Resource attributes automatically, enabling telemetry systems to identify and tag traces and metrics with container-specific information.

Yes, if your observability stack is stable and you are running in Docker with a compatible OpenTelemetry SDK version. The low install friction and permissive license make it straightforward to adopt. No, if you require active maintenance, expect to upgrade OpenTelemetry frequently, or need support for newer container runtimes—the abandoned status and lack of updates since 2022 create risk in evolving environments.

## Install

pip install opentelemetry-resourcedetector-docker
uv add opentelemetry-resourcedetector-docker
poetry add opentelemetry-resourcedetector-docker

## Installing opentelemetry-resourcedetector-docker

Before you install: Low install friction with only two runtime dependencies. However, the package is abandoned—last release was 2022-09-18 with no commits since, and the repository shows no active maintenance. Use only if your observability stack is stable and you do not expect upstream updates.

License in practice: Licensed under MIT (permissive), so you may use, modify, and distribute it freely with minimal restrictions—suitable for commercial and private projects.

Quickstart:

pip install opentelemetry-resourcedetector-docker

from opentelemetry.sdk.resources import get_aggregated_resources
from opentelemetry_resourcedetector_docker import DockerResourceDetector

resource = get_aggregated_resources([DockerResourceDetector()])

Requires opentelemetry-sdk and opentelemetry-semantic-conventions as runtime dependencies; intended for use within a containerized environment where Docker metadata is available.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package correctly detects Docker container IDs and metadata on all container runtimes (Docker, containerd, etc.)
- Compatibility with recent OpenTelemetry SDK versions released after 2022-09-18
- Whether abandoned status affects reliability in production observability pipelines

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 1.7M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

docker container resource detection, opentelemetry docker metadata, container telemetry attributes, docker resource detector, opentelemetry container identification, docker tracing integration, container observability, observability, docker, resource-detection

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