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Documentation Index

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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.

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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.

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Environment Variables

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Core Configuration

VariableDescriptionValues
CLINE_OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLEDEnable OpenTelemetry export"true" or "false"
CLINE_OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTERMetrics exporters (comma-separated)"console", "otlp"
CLINE_OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTERLogs exporters (comma-separated)"console", "otlp"

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OTLP Configuration

VariableDescriptionValues
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOLOTLP protocol"grpc", "http/json", or "http/protobuf"
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINTOTLP collector endpoint (applies to both metrics and logs)URL with optional port
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERSAuthentication headers (comma-separated key=value pairs)"key=value,key2=value2"
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_INSECUREDisable TLS for gRPC (local development only)"true"

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Advanced OTLP Configuration

For separate metrics and logs endpoints:
VariableDescription
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_PROTOCOLMetrics-specific protocol override
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_ENDPOINTMetrics-specific endpoint
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_PROTOCOLLogs-specific protocol override
CLINE_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_ENDPOINTLogs-specific endpoint

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Export Tuning

VariableDescriptionDefault
CLINE_OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVALMilliseconds between metric exports60000
CLINE_OTEL_LOG_BATCH_SIZEMaximum batch size for log records512
CLINE_OTEL_LOG_BATCH_TIMEOUTMaximum time before exporting logs (ms)5000
CLINE_OTEL_LOG_MAX_QUEUE_SIZEMaximum queue size for log records2048

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Quick Start Examples

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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.

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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 .

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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 .

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Console Output (Testing)

export CLINE_OTEL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=true
export CLINE_OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=console
export CLINE_OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=console

code .

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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.

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Configuration Priority

When multiple configuration methods are present, Cline uses this priority order:
  1. Environment variables (highest priority) - This method
  2. Remote Configuration - Dashboard settings
  3. Default settings - Built-in defaults
Environment variable configuration will override dashboard settings.

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See Also

Dashboard Configuration

Configure OpenTelemetry via the web dashboard

Remote Configuration

Learn about Remote Configuration system