---
package: "@opentelemetry/sdk-metrics"
version: "^1.27.0"
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
  socketRisk: clean
verification-commands:
  - npm view @opentelemetry/sdk-metrics license
  - npm view @opentelemetry/sdk-metrics version
  - pnpm audit --audit-level=moderate
accepted-cves: []
---

## Filter: license

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

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

## Filter: types

<!-- Result: native -->

`@opentelemetry/sdk-metrics` 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. The 1.27.x line is on the stable 1.x track; the metrics specification is stable within CNCF.

## Filter: boundary-fit

<!-- Result: pass -->

ADR-017 §8 restricts `@opentelemetry/sdk-metrics` to `**/instrumentation/otel/**` and app init paths. `MeterProvider` is configured in `core-shared/instrumentation/otel/init-otel-server-node.ts`. Feature packages use only `@opentelemetry/api`'s `metrics` API (indirectly via `IMetrics`), never the SDK directly.

## Filter: shadow-check

<!-- Result: pass -->

`@opentelemetry/sdk-metrics` is the OTel metrics SDK implementation. No competing metrics SDK is present in the workspace. The `IMetrics` interface (ADR-017 §10) is backed exclusively by this package.

## Filter: eu-residency

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

`@opentelemetry/sdk-metrics` is the metrics pipeline infrastructure with no independent data transmission. All metrics are forwarded through the configured exporter. EU residency is governed by the exporter's DSN configuration.

## Filter: cve-scan

<!-- Result: clean -->

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

## Filter: named-consumer

<!-- Result: pass -->

`packages/core-shared/src/instrumentation/otel/init-otel-server-node.ts` instantiates `MeterProvider` and backs the `OtelMetrics` implementation of `IMetrics` (ADR-017 §10). The three `IMetrics` methods (`counter`, `histogram`, `gauge`) map to OTel counter, histogram, and UpDownCounter instruments.

## Prompt: replaces

ADR-014 had no `IMetrics` signal. `@opentelemetry/sdk-metrics` introduces the metrics signal as the SDK backing for the new `IMetrics` interface (ADR-017 §10). It supersedes any ad-hoc counter increment patterns that would otherwise have been added without a unified metrics pipeline.

## Prompt: migration-cost-out

Hard. `@opentelemetry/sdk-metrics` backs the `OtelMetrics` implementation used throughout `core-shared`. Replacing it requires implementing the three `IMetrics` instruments with a different metrics SDK and re-registering with the OTel SDK. The `IMetrics` interface (ADR-017 §10) isolates feature packages from the SDK details.

## Prompt: alternatives-considered

1. **Prometheus client (`prom-client`)** — Popular Node.js metrics library. Rejected in ADR-017: separate pipeline from traces/logs; no automatic span context on metrics; would require a second init path alongside OTel.
2. **Statsd / DogStatsD** — Rejected: requires a separate collector sidecar; UDP-based with no context propagation; vendor-coupling concern for DogStatsD.

See ADR-017 for the full decision rationale.
