OpenTelemetry Environment Variables
Configure OpenTelemetry using environment variables for advanced scenarios
This is an advanced configuration method. Most users should use Remote Configuration via the dashboard instead.
Environment variables provide an alternative way to configure OpenTelemetry, useful for self-hosted deployments, local development, CI/CD pipelines, or when you need to override organization settings.
When to Use
- Self-hosted deployments without dashboard access
- Local development and testing with your own collectors
- CI/CD pipelines that need observability
- Override organization settings with user-specific configuration
Environment variable configuration bypasses user telemetry settings and will export data regardless of individual preferences.
Environment Variables
Core Configuration
| Variable | Description | Values |
|---|---|---|
CLINE_OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED | Enable OpenTelemetry export | "true" or "false" |
CLINE_OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER | Metrics exporters (comma-separated) | "console", "otlp" |
CLINE_OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER | Logs exporters (comma-separated) | "console", "otlp" |
OTLP Configuration
| Variable | Description | Values |
|---|---|---|
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL | OTLP protocol | "grpc", "http/json", or "http/protobuf" |
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT | OTLP collector endpoint (applies to both metrics and logs) | URL with optional port |
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS | Authentication headers (comma-separated key=value pairs) | "key=value,key2=value2" |
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_INSECURE | Disable TLS for gRPC (local development only) | "true" |
Advanced OTLP Configuration
For separate metrics and logs endpoints:
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_PROTOCOL | Metrics-specific protocol override |
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_ENDPOINT | Metrics-specific endpoint |
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_PROTOCOL | Logs-specific protocol override |
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_ENDPOINT | Logs-specific endpoint |
Export Tuning
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
CLINE_OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVAL | Milliseconds between metric exports | 60000 |
CLINE_OTEL_LOG_BATCH_SIZE | Maximum batch size for log records | 512 |
CLINE_OTEL_LOG_BATCH_TIMEOUT | Maximum time before exporting logs (ms) | 5000 |
CLINE_OTEL_LOG_MAX_QUEUE_SIZE | Maximum queue size for log records | 2048 |
Quick Start Examples
Datadog with gRPC
export CLINE_OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=true
export CLINE_OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
export CLINE_OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=grpc
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://api.datadoghq.com:4317
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="dd-api-key=YOUR_API_KEY"
code .The endpoint shown above is for Datadog's US1 region. If you're in a different region (EU, US3, US5, AP1, etc.), replace api.datadoghq.com with your region-specific hostname (e.g., api.datadoghq.eu for EU). See Datadog's OTLP documentation for your region's endpoint.
New Relic with HTTP
export CLINE_OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=true
export CLINE_OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
export CLINE_OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://otlp.nr-data.net:4318
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="api-key=YOUR_LICENSE_KEY"
code .Local Development (Insecure)
export CLINE_OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=true
export CLINE_OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
export CLINE_OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=grpc
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4317
export CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_INSECURE=true
code .Console Output (Testing)
export CLINE_OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=true
export CLINE_OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=console
export CLINE_OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=console
code .Debugging
Enable detailed OpenTelemetry diagnostic logging:
export TEL_DEBUG_DIAGNOSTICS=true
code .This outputs:
- Configuration being used
- Exporters being created
- Connection attempts
- Export successes/failures
Check the VS Code Developer Tools Console (Help > Toggle Developer Tools) for diagnostic output.
Configuration Priority
When multiple configuration methods are present, Cline uses this priority order:
- Environment variables (highest priority) - This method
- Remote Configuration - Dashboard settings
- Default settings - Built-in defaults
Environment variable configuration will override dashboard settings.
See Also
-
Dashboard Configuration:Configure OpenTelemetry via the web dashboard
-
Remote Configuration:Learn about Remote Configuration system