# open_telemetry_collector

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [connect-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect-full.txt)

---
title: open_telemetry_collector
latest-connect-version: 4.93.0
latest-operator-version: v26.1.4
latest-console-tag: v3.7.3
latest-redpanda-tag: v26.1.9
docname: metrics/open_telemetry_collector
page-component-name: connect
page-version: master
page-component-version: master
page-component-title: Connect
page-relative-src-path: metrics/open_telemetry_collector.adoc
page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/rp-connect-docs/edit/main/modules/components/pages/metrics/open_telemetry_collector.adoc
description: Send metrics to an https://opentelemetry.io/docs/collector/[Open Telemetry collector^].
page-git-created-date: "2026-04-20"
page-git-modified-date: "2026-05-26"
---

<!-- Source: https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/components/metrics/open_telemetry_collector.md -->

**Type:** Metric ▼

[Metric](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/components/metrics/open_telemetry_collector/)[Tracer](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/components/tracers/open_telemetry_collector/)

**Available in:** Self-Managed

**License**: This component requires an [enterprise license](https://docs.redpanda.com/redpanda-connect/get-started/licensing/). You can either [upgrade to an Enterprise Edition license](https://www.redpanda.com/upgrade), or [generate a trial license key](http://redpanda.com/try-enterprise) that's valid for 30 days.

Send metrics to an [Open Telemetry collector](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/collector/).

Exports Redpanda Connect metrics to one or more OpenTelemetry Collector endpoints over HTTP or gRPC for aggregation and onward export.

Metrics are encoded using the OpenTelemetry Metrics protocol and can be sent to any collector endpoint that supports OTLP.

You can configure multiple collector endpoints (both HTTP and gRPC simultaneously). All configured endpoints will receive the same metrics data. This is useful for redundancy or sending metrics to multiple observability platforms.

#### Common

```yml
metrics:
  open_telemetry_collector:
    service: benthos
    http: [] # No default (required)
    grpc: [] # No default (required)
```

#### Advanced

```yml
metrics:
  open_telemetry_collector:
    service: benthos
    http: [] # No default (required)
    grpc: [] # No default (required)
    tags: {}
```

## [](#fields)Fields

### [](#grpc)`grpc[]`

A list of grpc collectors.

**Type**: `object`

### [](#grpc-address)`grpc[].address`

The endpoint of a collector to send events to.

**Type**: `string`

```yaml
# Examples:
address: localhost:4317
```

### [](#grpc-secure)`grpc[].secure`

Connect to the collector with client transport security

**Type**: `bool`

**Default**: `false`

### [](#http)`http[]`

A list of http collectors.

**Type**: `object`

### [](#http-address)`http[].address`

The endpoint of a collector to send events to.

**Type**: `string`

```yaml
# Examples:
address: localhost:4318
```

### [](#http-secure)`http[].secure`

Connect to the collector over HTTPS

**Type**: `bool`

**Default**: `false`

### [](#service)`service`

The name of the service in metrics.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `benthos`

### [](#tags)`tags`

A map of tags to add to all exported spans and metrics.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `{}`

## [](#usage)Usage

The most common setup uses a local OpenTelemetry Collector running as a sidecar or daemon, which then forwards metrics to your observability backend:

```yaml
metrics:
  open_telemetry_collector:
    service: my-service-name
    grpc:
      - address: localhost:4317
```

For production deployments with remote collectors, enable TLS:

```yaml
metrics:
  open_telemetry_collector:
    service: my-service-name
    grpc:
      - address: otel-collector.example.com:4317
        secure: true
```

Use the `tags` field to add labels to all exported metrics for filtering and grouping in your observability platform:

```yaml
metrics:
  open_telemetry_collector:
    service: my-service-name
    grpc:
      - address: localhost:4317
    tags:
      environment: production
      cluster: kafka-01
```