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Use OpenTelemetry Java agent extensions without hiding incident traces

Filter noise, normalize routes, and tune sampling in the Java agent without changing the application or breaking incident investigations.

A practical guide to rolling out OpenTelemetry Java agent extensions with guardrails: baseline, a minimal extension, canary checks, Collector metrics, and proof that errors remain visible.

Created: August 22, 2026

Published: August 22, 2026

Estimated time45 min

LevelAdvanced

Before you startA Java application already instrumented with the OpenTelemetry Java agent

PlatformsLinux / Docker

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Docker

Mount the extension JAR next to the Java agent and use OTEL_* variables to enable the canary without rebuilding the application image.

Docker or KubernetesJava image with the agent availableVolume or initContainer for the extension JAR

Minimum canary variables

OTEL_JAVAAGENT_EXTENSIONS=/otel/extensions/incident-trace-guardrails.jar
OTEL_SERVICE_NAME=checkout-api
OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER=parentbased_traceidratio
OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER_ARG=0.20

Validate error traces

curl -sS http://checkout-api-canary/error-demo || true

Also available inUsar extensiones del agente Java de OpenTelemetry sin ocultar trazas de incidente

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