Phoenix Tracing
OpenInference semantic conventions and instrumentation for Phoenix AI observability. Use when implementing LLM tracing, creating custom spans, or deploying to production.
MCP get_skill({ skillId: "phoenix-tracing-dd83df04" })Use this skill with your agent
Create a free account and connect via MCP
# Phoenix Tracing
Comprehensive guide for instrumenting LLM applications with OpenInference tracing in Phoenix. Contains reference files covering setup, instrumentation, span types, and production deployment.
## When to Apply
Reference these guidelines when:
- Setting up Phoenix tracing (Python or TypeScript)
- Creating custom spans for LLM operations
- Adding attributes following OpenInference conventions
- Deploying tracing to production
- Querying and analyzing trace data
## Reference Categories
| Priority | Category | Description | Prefix |
| -------- | --------------- | ------------------------------ | -------------------------- |
| 1 | Setup | Installation and configuration | `setup-*` |
| 2 | Instrumentation | Auto and manual tracing | `instrumentation-*` |
| 3 | Span Types | 9 span kinds with attributes | `span-*` |
| 4 | Organization | Projects and sessions | `projects-*`, `sessions-*` |
| 5 | Enrichment | Custom metadata | `metadata-*` |
| 6 | Production | Batch processing, masking | `production-*` |
| 7 | Feedback | Annotations and evaluation | `annotations-*` |
## Quick Reference
### 1. Setup (START HERE)
- [setup-python](references/setup-python.md) - Install arize-phoenix-otel, configure endpoint
- [setup-typescript](references/setup-typescript.md) - Install @arizeai/phoenix-otel, configure endpoint
### 2. Instrumentation
- [instrumentation-auto-python](references/instrumentation-auto-python.md) - Auto-instrument OpenAI, LangChain, etc.
- [instrumentation-auto-typescript](references/instrumentation-auto-typescript.md) - Auto-instrument supported frameworks
- [instrumentation-manual-python](references/instrumentation-manual-python.md) - Custom spans with decorators
- [instrumentation-manual-typescript](references/instrumentation-manual-typescript.md) - Custom spans with wrappers
### 3. Span Types (with full attribute schemas)
- [span-llm](references/span-llm.md) - LLM API calls (model, tokens, messages, cost)
- [span-chain](references/span-chain.md) - Multi-step workflows and pipelines
- [span-retriever](references/span-retriever.md) - Document retrieval (documents, scores)
- [span-tool](references/span-tool.md) - Function/API calls (name, parameters)
- [span-agent](references/span-agent.md) - Multi-step reasoning agents
- [span-embedding](references/span-embedding.md) - Vector generation
- [span-reranker](references/span-reranker.md) - Document re-ranking
- [span-guardrail](references/span-guardrail.md) - Safety checks
- [span-evaluator](references/span-evaluator.md) - LLM evaluation
### 4. Organization
- [projects-python](references/projects-python.md) / [projects-typescript](references/projects-typescript.md) - Group traces by application
- [sessions-python](references/sessions-python.md) / [sessions-typescript](references/sessions-typescript.md) - Track conversations
### 5. Enrichment
- [metadata-python](references/metadata-python.md) / [metadata-typescript](references/metadata-typescript.md) - Custom attributes
### 6. Production (CRITICAL)
- [production-python](references/production-python.md) / [production-typescript](references/production-typescript.md) - Batch processing, PII masking
### 7. Feedback
- [annotations-overview](references/annotations-overview.md) - Feedback concepts
- [annotations-python](references/annotations-python.md) / [annotations-typescript](references/annotations-typescript.md) - Add feedback to spans
### Reference Files
- [fundamentals-overview](references/fundamentals-overview.md) - Traces, spans, attributes basics
- [fundamentals-required-attributes](references/fundamentals-required-attributes.md) - Required fields per span type
- [fundamentals-universal-attributes](references/fundamentals-universal-attributes.md) - Common attributes (user.id, session.id)
- [fundamentals-flattening](references/fundamentals-flattening.md) - JSON flattening rules
- [attributes-messages](references/attributes-messages.md) - Chat message format
- [attributes-metadata](references/attributes-metadata.md) - Custom metadata schema
- [attributes-graph](references/attributes-graph.md) - Agent workflow attributes
- [attributes-exceptions](references/attributes-exceptions.md) - Error tracking
## Common Workflows
- **Quick Start**: setup-{lang} → instrumentation-auto-{lang} → Check Phoenix
- **Custom Spans**: setup-{lang} → instrumentation-manual-{lang} → span-{type}
- **Session Tracking**: sessions-{lang} for conversation grouping patterns
- **Production**: production-{lang} for batching, masking, and deployment
## How to Use This Skill
**Navigation Patterns:**
```bash
# By category prefix
references/setup-* # Installation and configuration
references/instrumentation-* # Auto and manual tracing
references/span-* # Span type specifications
references/sessions-* # Session tracking
references/production-* # Production deployment
references/fundamentals-* # Core concepts
references/attributes-* # Attribute specifications
# By language
references/*-python.md # Python implementations
references/*-typescript.md # TypeScript implementations
```
**Reading Order:**
1. Start with setup-{lang} for your language
2. Choose instrumentation-auto-{lang} OR instrumentation-manual-{lang}
3. Reference span-{type} files as needed for specific operations
4. See fundamentals-* files for attribute specifications
## References
**Phoenix Documentation:**
- [Phoenix Documentation](https://docs.arize.com/phoenix)
- [OpenInference Spec](https://github.com/Arize-ai/openinference/tree/main/spec)
**Python API Documentation:**
- [Python OTEL Package](https://arize-phoenix.readthedocs.io/projects/otel/en/latest/) - `arize-phoenix-otel` API reference
- [Python Client Package](https://arize-phoenix.readthedocs.io/projects/client/en/latest/) - `arize-phoenix-client` API reference
**TypeScript API Documentation:**
- [TypeScript Packages](https://arize-ai.github.io/phoenix/) - `@arizeai/phoenix-otel`, `@arizeai/phoenix-client`, and other TypeScript packagesRelated Skills
More skills in Data, AI & Research
Ablation Planner
Use when main results pass result-to-claim (`claim_supported = yes` or `partial`) and ablation studies are needed for paper submission. A secondary Codex agent designs ablations from a reviewer's perspective; the local executor reviews feasibility and implements.
Ablation Planner
Use when main results pass result-to-claim (claim_supported=yes or partial) and ablation studies are needed for paper submission.
About
Provides information about the bitwize-music plugin, its version, and its creator. Use when the user asks about the plugin, its purpose, version, or capabilities.
Ab Test Analysis
Analyze A/B test results with statistical significance, sample size validation, confidence intervals, and ship/extend/stop recommendations. Use when evaluating experiment results, checking if a test reached significance, interpreting split test data, or deciding whether to ship a variant.
Academic Search
Search and analyze academic literature. Find papers, understand research methodologies, and synthesize academic findings for research projects.
Adaptyv
How to use the Adaptyv Bio Foundry API and Python SDK for protein experiment design, submission, and results retrieval. Use this skill whenever the user mentions Adaptyv, Foundry API, protein binding assays, protein screening experiments, BLI/SPR assays, thermostability assays, or wants to submit protein sequences for experimental characterization. Also trigger when code imports `adaptyv`, `adaptyv_sdk`, or `FoundryClient`, or references `foundry-api-public.adaptyvbio.com`.
Explore Other Categories
Skills from other categories with shared topics
.NET Framework Development
Guidance for working with .NET Framework projects. Includes project structure, C# language version, NuGet management, and best practices.
.NET Framework Upgrade Specialist
Specialized agent for comprehensive .NET framework upgrades with progressive tracking and validation
.NET MAUI
.NET MAUI component and application patterns