# @opentelemetry/core

> OpenTelemetry Core provides constants and utilities shared by all OpenTelemetry SDK packages.

Latest version **2.11.0** (published 2026-08-31) · Apache-2.0 license · 0 weekly downloads

## Install

```sh
npm install @opentelemetry/core
pnpm add @opentelemetry/core
yarn add @opentelemetry/core
bun add @opentelemetry/core
```

## Health

**Score 75/100 (B)** — status: active.

Positive: has types; esm support; no vulnerabilities; has provenance; recently updated; high maintenance score; high quality score.

Warnings: low downloads.

## Facts

| | |
|---|---|
| Version | 2.11.0 |
| Published | 2026-08-31 |
| First published | 2019-10-08 |
| Weekly downloads | 0 |
| License | Apache-2.0 |
| TypeScript types | bundled |
| Module format | ESM + CommonJS |
| Node | ^18.19.0 \|\| >=20.6.0 |
| Dependencies | 1 |
| Unpacked size | 570.3 KB |
| Known vulnerabilities | 0 |
| Install scripts | no |
| Provenance | attested (GitHub Actions) |
| GitHub stars | 3465 |
| Author | OpenTelemetry Authors |
| Maintainers | dyladan, pichlermarc, overbalance, npmjs-account, trentm, martinkuba |
| Keywords | opentelemetry, nodejs, browser, tracing, profiling, metrics, stats |

## Links

- npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@opentelemetry/core
- Repository: https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-js
- Homepage: https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-js/tree/main/packages/opentelemetry-core
- Issues: https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-js/issues
- npm.io page: https://npm.io/package/@opentelemetry/core

## Dependencies (1)

- [@opentelemetry/semantic-conventions](https://npm.io/package/@opentelemetry/semantic-conventions.md) ^1.29.0

## Alternatives

- [@opentelemetry/exporter-zipkin](https://npm.io/package/@opentelemetry/exporter-zipkin.md) — 14.8M weekly downloads
- [pusher-js](https://npm.io/package/pusher-js.md) — 2.0M weekly downloads
- [browserify](https://npm.io/package/browserify.md) — 1.7M weekly downloads
- [sqs-consumer](https://npm.io/package/sqs-consumer.md) — 1.7M weekly downloads
- [@sanity/eventsource](https://npm.io/package/@sanity/eventsource.md) — 930.8K weekly downloads

## Recent versions

- 2.11.0 (latest) — 2026-08-31
- 2.11.0-development.0 (canary) — 2026-08-31
- 1.8.0 (next) — 2022-11-09
- 2.10.0 — 2026-07-21
- 2.9.0 — 2026-07-02
- 2.8.0 — 2026-06-11
- 2.7.1 — 2026-04-29
- 2.7.0 — 2026-04-17
- 2.6.1 — 2026-03-25
- 2.6.0 — 2026-03-03
- 2.5.1 — 2026-02-12
- 2.5.0 — 2026-01-21
- 2.4.0 — 2026-01-14
- 2.3.0 — 2026-01-08
- 2.2.0 — 2025-10-21
- … 182 more at https://npm.io/package/@opentelemetry/core/versions

## README

# OpenTelemetry Core

[![NPM Published Version][npm-img]][npm-url]
[![Apache License][license-image]][license-image]

This package provides default implementations of the OpenTelemetry API for trace and metrics. It's intended for use both on the server and in the browser.

## Built-in Implementations

- [OpenTelemetry Core](#opentelemetry-core)
  - [Built-in Implementations](#built-in-implementations)
    - [Built-in Propagators](#built-in-propagators)
      - [W3CTraceContextPropagator Propagator](#w3ctracecontextpropagator-propagator)
      - [Composite Propagator](#composite-propagator)
      - [Baggage Propagator](#baggage-propagator)
  - [Useful links](#useful-links)
  - [License](#license)

### Built-in Propagators

#### W3CTraceContextPropagator Propagator

OpenTelemetry provides a text-based approach to propagate context to remote services using the [W3C Trace Context](https://www.w3.org/TR/trace-context/) HTTP headers.

```js
const api = require("@opentelemetry/api");
const { W3CTraceContextPropagator } = require("@opentelemetry/core");

/* Set Global Propagator */
api.propagation.setGlobalPropagator(new W3CTraceContextPropagator());
```

#### Composite Propagator

Combines multiple propagators into a single propagator.

> This is used as a default Propagator

```js
const api = require("@opentelemetry/api");
const { CompositePropagator } = require("@opentelemetry/core");

/* Set Global Propagator */
api.propagation.setGlobalPropagator(new CompositePropagator());
```

#### Baggage Propagator

Provides a text-based approach to propagate [baggage](https://w3c.github.io/baggage/) to remote services using the [OpenTelemetry Baggage Propagation](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/blob/master/specification/baggage/api.md#baggage-propagation) HTTP headers.

```js
const api = require("@opentelemetry/api");
const { W3CBaggagePropagator } = require("@opentelemetry/core");

/* Set Global Propagator */
api.propagation.setGlobalPropagator(new W3CBaggagePropagator());
```

## Useful links

- For more information on OpenTelemetry, visit: <https://opentelemetry.io/>
- For more about OpenTelemetry JavaScript: <https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-js>
- For help or feedback on this project, join us in [GitHub Discussions][discussions-url]

## License

Apache 2.0 - See [LICENSE][license-url] for more information.

[discussions-url]: https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-js/discussions
[license-url]: https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-js/blob/main/LICENSE
[license-image]: https://img.shields.io/badge/license-Apache_2.0-green.svg?style=flat
[npm-url]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@opentelemetry/core
[npm-img]: https://badge.fury.io/js/%40opentelemetry%2Fcore.svg

---
_Source: https://npm.io/package/@opentelemetry/core · Machine-readable twin of the npm.io package page. Health data is recomputed on every publish._