---
package: "@opentelemetry/api"
version: "^1.9.0"
tier: core
decision: approved
date: 2026-05-14
deciders: [Danijel Martinek]
adr: adr-017
filter-results:
  license: Apache-2.0
  types: native
  maintenance: active
  boundary-fit: pass
  shadow-check: pass
  eu-residency: n/a
  cve-scan: clean
  named-consumer: pass
verification-commands:
  - npm view @opentelemetry/api license
  - npm view @opentelemetry/api version
  - pnpm audit --audit-level=moderate
accepted-cves: []
---

## Filter: license

<!-- Result: Apache-2.0 -->

`npm view @opentelemetry/api license` returns `Apache-2.0`. Apache-2.0 is on the allowlist.

## Filter: types

<!-- Result: native -->

`@opentelemetry/api` is authored in TypeScript and ships its own `.d.ts` declaration files. No separate `@types/` package is needed.

## Filter: maintenance

<!-- Result: active -->

Actively maintained by the OpenTelemetry community under the CNCF. The 1.x stable API line receives regular releases; the project is a CNCF incubating project with broad industry backing.

## Filter: boundary-fit

<!-- Result: pass -->

ADR-017 §8 explicitly permits `@opentelemetry/api` for use within `core-shared/instrumentation/` without restriction. Feature packages use it via the `ITracer`/`ILogger` interfaces only; they do not import this package directly (ESLint boundary rules, ADR-010).

## Filter: shadow-check

<!-- Result: pass -->

`@opentelemetry/api` is the CNCF-standard instrumentation API. No competing tracing API is present in the workspace. The API package is the stable, zero-dependency interface layer intentionally kept separate from SDK implementations.

## Filter: eu-residency

<!-- Result: n/a -->

`@opentelemetry/api` is a pure instrumentation API with no network communication, telemetry transmission, or data storage. EU residency does not apply.

## Filter: cve-scan

<!-- Result: clean -->

`pnpm audit --audit-level=moderate` reports no advisories against `@opentelemetry/api` at the time of this trace.

## Filter: named-consumer

<!-- Result: pass -->

`packages/core-shared/src/instrumentation/` consumes `@opentelemetry/api` to implement `OtelTracer` and `OtelLogger` (ADR-017). `packages/core-audit` also depends on it for span context propagation in audit records.

## Prompt: replaces

Prior to ADR-017, `core-shared` used Sentry SDK methods directly in `SentryTracer` and `SentryLogger`. `@opentelemetry/api` replaces direct Sentry SDK calls as the instrumentation substrate, allowing vendor swaps via exporter configuration rather than code rewrites.

## Prompt: migration-cost-out

Hard. `@opentelemetry/api` is the instrumentation interface called throughout `core-shared/instrumentation/`. Migrating away means replacing all span creation, context propagation, and log emission with a different API. The interfaces (`ITracer`, `ILogger`, `IMetrics`) in ADR-014 isolate feature packages, but the core instrumentation layer itself is deeply coupled to the OTel API shape.

## Prompt: alternatives-considered

1. **Sentry SDK directly** — Rejected in ADR-017: couples the impl to Sentry forever; vendor swap requires rewriting every `*Tracer`/`*Logger` pair.
2. **OpenCensus** — CNCF predecessor to OpenTelemetry; reached end-of-life and merged into OpenTelemetry. Not viable.

See ADR-017 for the full decision rationale.
