# OpenTelemetry Protocol (OTLP)

This feature is currently in open beta. Please reach out to <feedback-tracing@sentry.io> if you have feedback or questions. Features in beta are still in-progress and may have bugs. We recognize the irony.

Sentry can ingest OpenTelemetry traces and logs via OTLP endpoints, either directly from an [OTel SDK](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/languages/) or through a pipeline tool like the [OpenTelemetry Collector](https://docs.sentry.io/concepts/otlp/forwarding/pipelines/collector.md). Sentry does not support OTLP metrics at this time.

## [Linking Traces with Sentry SDK](https://docs.sentry.io/concepts/otlp.md#linking-traces-with-sentry-sdk)

If you're using a Sentry SDK alongside OTel instrumentation, you can connect them to share trace context:

| Scenario                                  | Solution                                                                                                                                                                               |
| ----------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Sentry frontend + OTel backend**        | Use [propagateTraceparent](https://docs.sentry.io/concepts/otlp/sentry-with-otel.md#linking-sentry-and-otlp-traces) to connect frontend traces with OTel-instrumented backend services |
| **Sentry SDK + OTel in the same service** | Use the [OTLP Integration](https://docs.sentry.io/concepts/otlp/sentry-with-otel.md#otlp-integration) to share trace context between Sentry and OTel                                   |

## [Sending OTel Data to Sentry](https://docs.sentry.io/concepts/otlp.md#sending-otel-data-to-sentry)

If you're using OTel without a Sentry SDK, or want to ingest telemetry from infrastructure sources:

* **[Direct Export](https://docs.sentry.io/concepts/otlp/direct.md)** - Configure your OTel SDK to send traces and logs directly to Sentry's OTLP endpoints
* **[Forwarding](https://docs.sentry.io/concepts/otlp/forwarding.md)** - Use the OpenTelemetry Collector, Vector, or Fluent Bit to forward data from infrastructure sources (CloudWatch, Kafka, Nginx, syslog, etc.)
* **[Log and Trace Drains](https://docs.sentry.io/product/drains.md)** - Send telemetry from managed hosting platforms (Vercel, Cloudflare, Heroku, etc.)

## Pages in this section

- [direct](https://docs.sentry.io/concepts/otlp/direct.md)
- [forwarding](https://docs.sentry.io/concepts/otlp/forwarding.md)
- [sentry-with-otel](https://docs.sentry.io/concepts/otlp/sentry-with-otel.md)