Enable and configure OpenTelemetry Collector's zpages extension for live pipeline debugging and span inspection
domain: opentelemetry.io · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
Sampled — shipped under file-level sampling, not individually fact-checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Steps
Add the zpages extension to the extensions block in the Collector config and set the endpoint to a localhost address and port
Reference zpages in the service.extensions list to activate it alongside other extensions such as health_check and pprof
Navigate to /debug/tracez in the zpages HTTP interface to view sampled spans grouped by span name and error status
Use /debug/pipelinez to inspect the current pipeline topology including which receivers, processors, and exporters are wired together
Use /debug/servicez for uptime and build information and /debug/extensionz to confirm all extensions are running
Known gotchas
zpages /debug/tracez only captures spans that pass through the Collector's internal span sampling; it does not show all application spans, only a bounded sample useful for debugging pipeline connectivity
The zpages extension must be listed in service.extensions; adding it to extensions: block but not to service.extensions: means it is defined but not started
Exposing the zpages endpoint on a non-loopback address leaks internal pipeline topology and sampled span data; restrict access with network policy or a firewall rule
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