| # Gemini CLI Observability Guide | |
| Telemetry provides data about Gemini CLI's performance, health, and usage. By enabling it, you can monitor operations, debug issues, and optimize tool usage through traces, metrics, and structured logs. | |
| Gemini CLI's telemetry system is built on the **[OpenTelemetry] (OTEL)** standard, allowing you to send data to any compatible backend. | |
| [OpenTelemetry]: https://opentelemetry.io/ | |
| ## Enabling telemetry | |
| You can enable telemetry in multiple ways. Configuration is primarily managed via the [`.gemini/settings.json` file](./cli/configuration.md) and environment variables, but CLI flags can override these settings for a specific session. | |
| ### Order of precedence | |
| The following lists the precedence for applying telemetry settings, with items listed higher having greater precedence: | |
| 1. **CLI flags (for `gemini` command):** | |
| - `--telemetry` / `--no-telemetry`: Overrides `telemetry.enabled`. | |
| - `--telemetry-target <local|gcp>`: Overrides `telemetry.target`. | |
| - `--telemetry-otlp-endpoint <URL>`: Overrides `telemetry.otlpEndpoint`. | |
| - `--telemetry-log-prompts` / `--no-telemetry-log-prompts`: Overrides `telemetry.logPrompts`. | |
| - `--telemetry-outfile <path>`: Redirects telemetry output to a file. See [Exporting to a file](#exporting-to-a-file). | |
| 1. **Environment variables:** | |
| - `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT`: Overrides `telemetry.otlpEndpoint`. | |
| 1. **Workspace settings file (`.gemini/settings.json`):** Values from the `telemetry` object in this project-specific file. | |
| 1. **User settings file (`~/.gemini/settings.json`):** Values from the `telemetry` object in this global user file. | |
| 1. **Defaults:** applied if not set by any of the above. | |
| - `telemetry.enabled`: `false` | |
| - `telemetry.target`: `local` | |
| - `telemetry.otlpEndpoint`: `http://localhost:4317` | |
| - `telemetry.logPrompts`: `true` | |
| **For the `npm run telemetry -- --target=<gcp|local>` script:** | |
| The `--target` argument to this script _only_ overrides the `telemetry.target` for the duration and purpose of that script (i.e., choosing which collector to start). It does not permanently change your `settings.json`. The script will first look at `settings.json` for a `telemetry.target` to use as its default. | |
| ### Example settings | |
| The following code can be added to your workspace (`.gemini/settings.json`) or user (`~/.gemini/settings.json`) settings to enable telemetry and send the output to Google Cloud: | |
| ```json | |
| { | |
| "telemetry": { | |
| "enabled": true, | |
| "target": "gcp" | |
| }, | |
| "tools": { | |
| "sandbox": false | |
| } | |
| } | |
| ``` | |
| ### Exporting to a file | |
| You can export all telemetry data to a file for local inspection. | |
| To enable file export, use the `--telemetry-outfile` flag with a path to your desired output file. This must be run using `--telemetry-target=local`. | |
| ```bash | |
| # Set your desired output file path | |
| TELEMETRY_FILE=".gemini/telemetry.log" | |
| # Run Gemini CLI with local telemetry | |
| # NOTE: --telemetry-otlp-endpoint="" is required to override the default | |
| # OTLP exporter and ensure telemetry is written to the local file. | |
| gemini --telemetry \ | |
| --telemetry-target=local \ | |
| --telemetry-otlp-endpoint="" \ | |
| --telemetry-outfile="$TELEMETRY_FILE" \ | |
| --prompt "What is OpenTelemetry?" | |
| ``` | |
| ## Running an OTEL Collector | |
| An OTEL Collector is a service that receives, processes, and exports telemetry data. | |
| The CLI can send data using either the OTLP/gRPC or OTLP/HTTP protocol. | |
| You can specify which protocol to use via the `--telemetry-otlp-protocol` flag | |
| or the `telemetry.otlpProtocol` setting in your `settings.json` file. See the | |
| [configuration docs](./cli/configuration.md#--telemetry-otlp-protocol) for more | |
| details. | |
| Learn more about OTEL exporter standard configuration in [documentation][otel-config-docs]. | |
| [otel-config-docs]: https://opentelemetry.io/docs/languages/sdk-configuration/otlp-exporter/ | |
| ### Local | |
| Use the `npm run telemetry -- --target=local` command to automate the process of setting up a local telemetry pipeline, including configuring the necessary settings in your `.gemini/settings.json` file. The underlying script installs `otelcol-contrib` (the OpenTelemetry Collector) and `jaeger` (The Jaeger UI for viewing traces). To use it: | |
| 1. **Run the command**: | |
| Execute the command from the root of the repository: | |
| ```bash | |
| npm run telemetry -- --target=local | |
| ``` | |
| The script will: | |
| - Download Jaeger and OTEL if needed. | |
| - Start a local Jaeger instance. | |
| - Start an OTEL collector configured to receive data from Gemini CLI. | |
| - Automatically enable telemetry in your workspace settings. | |
| - On exit, disable telemetry. | |
| 1. **View traces**: | |
| Open your web browser and navigate to **http://localhost:16686** to access the Jaeger UI. Here you can inspect detailed traces of Gemini CLI operations. | |
| 1. **Inspect logs and metrics**: | |
| The script redirects the OTEL collector output (which includes logs and metrics) to `~/.gemini/tmp/<projectHash>/otel/collector.log`. The script will provide links to view and a command to tail your telemetry data (traces, metrics, logs) locally. | |
| 1. **Stop the services**: | |
| Press `Ctrl+C` in the terminal where the script is running to stop the OTEL Collector and Jaeger services. | |
| ### Google Cloud | |
| Use the `npm run telemetry -- --target=gcp` command to automate setting up a local OpenTelemetry collector that forwards data to your Google Cloud project, including configuring the necessary settings in your `.gemini/settings.json` file. The underlying script installs `otelcol-contrib`. To use it: | |
| 1. **Prerequisites**: | |
| - Have a Google Cloud project ID. | |
| - Export the `GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT` environment variable to make it available to the OTEL collector. | |
| ```bash | |
| export OTLP_GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT="your-project-id" | |
| ``` | |
| - Authenticate with Google Cloud (e.g., run `gcloud auth application-default login` or ensure `GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS` is set). | |
| - Ensure your Google Cloud account/service account has the necessary IAM roles: "Cloud Trace Agent", "Monitoring Metric Writer", and "Logs Writer". | |
| 1. **Run the command**: | |
| Execute the command from the root of the repository: | |
| ```bash | |
| npm run telemetry -- --target=gcp | |
| ``` | |
| The script will: | |
| - Download the `otelcol-contrib` binary if needed. | |
| - Start an OTEL collector configured to receive data from Gemini CLI and export it to your specified Google Cloud project. | |
| - Automatically enable telemetry and disable sandbox mode in your workspace settings (`.gemini/settings.json`). | |
| - Provide direct links to view traces, metrics, and logs in your Google Cloud Console. | |
| - On exit (Ctrl+C), it will attempt to restore your original telemetry and sandbox settings. | |
| 1. **Run Gemini CLI:** | |
| In a separate terminal, run your Gemini CLI commands. This generates telemetry data that the collector captures. | |
| 1. **View telemetry in Google Cloud**: | |
| Use the links provided by the script to navigate to the Google Cloud Console and view your traces, metrics, and logs. | |
| 1. **Inspect local collector logs**: | |
| The script redirects the local OTEL collector output to `~/.gemini/tmp/<projectHash>/otel/collector-gcp.log`. The script provides links to view and command to tail your collector logs locally. | |
| 1. **Stop the service**: | |
| Press `Ctrl+C` in the terminal where the script is running to stop the OTEL Collector. | |
| ## Logs and metric reference | |
| The following section describes the structure of logs and metrics generated for Gemini CLI. | |
| - A `sessionId` is included as a common attribute on all logs and metrics. | |
| ### Logs | |
| Logs are timestamped records of specific events. The following events are logged for Gemini CLI: | |
| - `gemini_cli.config`: This event occurs once at startup with the CLI's configuration. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `model` (string) | |
| - `embedding_model` (string) | |
| - `sandbox_enabled` (boolean) | |
| - `core_tools_enabled` (string) | |
| - `approval_mode` (string) | |
| - `api_key_enabled` (boolean) | |
| - `vertex_ai_enabled` (boolean) | |
| - `code_assist_enabled` (boolean) | |
| - `log_prompts_enabled` (boolean) | |
| - `file_filtering_respect_git_ignore` (boolean) | |
| - `debug_mode` (boolean) | |
| - `mcp_servers` (string) | |
| - `gemini_cli.user_prompt`: This event occurs when a user submits a prompt. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `prompt_length` (int) | |
| - `prompt_id` (string) | |
| - `prompt` (string, this attribute is excluded if `log_prompts_enabled` is configured to be `false`) | |
| - `auth_type` (string) | |
| - `gemini_cli.tool_call`: This event occurs for each function call. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `function_name` | |
| - `function_args` | |
| - `duration_ms` | |
| - `success` (boolean) | |
| - `decision` (string: "accept", "reject", "auto_accept", or "modify", if applicable) | |
| - `error` (if applicable) | |
| - `error_type` (if applicable) | |
| - `metadata` (if applicable, dictionary of string -> any) | |
| - `gemini_cli.api_request`: This event occurs when making a request to Gemini API. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `model` | |
| - `request_text` (if applicable) | |
| - `gemini_cli.api_error`: This event occurs if the API request fails. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `model` | |
| - `error` | |
| - `error_type` | |
| - `status_code` | |
| - `duration_ms` | |
| - `auth_type` | |
| - `gemini_cli.api_response`: This event occurs upon receiving a response from Gemini API. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `model` | |
| - `status_code` | |
| - `duration_ms` | |
| - `error` (optional) | |
| - `input_token_count` | |
| - `output_token_count` | |
| - `cached_content_token_count` | |
| - `thoughts_token_count` | |
| - `tool_token_count` | |
| - `response_text` (if applicable) | |
| - `auth_type` | |
| - `gemini_cli.malformed_json_response`: This event occurs when a `generateJson` response from Gemini API cannot be parsed as a json. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `model` | |
| - `gemini_cli.flash_fallback`: This event occurs when Gemini CLI switches to flash as fallback. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `auth_type` | |
| - `gemini_cli.slash_command`: This event occurs when a user executes a slash command. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `command` (string) | |
| - `subcommand` (string, if applicable) | |
| ### Metrics | |
| Metrics are numerical measurements of behavior over time. The following metrics are collected for Gemini CLI: | |
| - `gemini_cli.session.count` (Counter, Int): Incremented once per CLI startup. | |
| - `gemini_cli.tool.call.count` (Counter, Int): Counts tool calls. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `function_name` | |
| - `success` (boolean) | |
| - `decision` (string: "accept", "reject", or "modify", if applicable) | |
| - `tool_type` (string: "mcp", or "native", if applicable) | |
| - `gemini_cli.tool.call.latency` (Histogram, ms): Measures tool call latency. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `function_name` | |
| - `decision` (string: "accept", "reject", or "modify", if applicable) | |
| - `gemini_cli.api.request.count` (Counter, Int): Counts all API requests. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `model` | |
| - `status_code` | |
| - `error_type` (if applicable) | |
| - `gemini_cli.api.request.latency` (Histogram, ms): Measures API request latency. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `model` | |
| - `gemini_cli.token.usage` (Counter, Int): Counts the number of tokens used. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `model` | |
| - `type` (string: "input", "output", "thought", "cache", or "tool") | |
| - `gemini_cli.file.operation.count` (Counter, Int): Counts file operations. | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `operation` (string: "create", "read", "update"): The type of file operation. | |
| - `lines` (Int, if applicable): Number of lines in the file. | |
| - `mimetype` (string, if applicable): Mimetype of the file. | |
| - `extension` (string, if applicable): File extension of the file. | |
| - `ai_added_lines` (Int, if applicable): Number of lines added/changed by AI. | |
| - `ai_removed_lines` (Int, if applicable): Number of lines removed/changed by AI. | |
| - `user_added_lines` (Int, if applicable): Number of lines added/changed by user in AI proposed changes. | |
| - `user_removed_lines` (Int, if applicable): Number of lines removed/changed by user in AI proposed changes. | |
| - `programming_language` (string, if applicable): The programming language of the file. | |
| - `gemini_cli.chat_compression` (Counter, Int): Counts chat compression operations | |
| - **Attributes**: | |
| - `tokens_before`: (Int): Number of tokens in context prior to compression | |
| - `tokens_after`: (Int): Number of tokens in context after compression | |