Directional compatibility evidence
OpenTelemetry GenAI development snapshot → OTLP 1.11
Representative GenAI agent, model, and tool attributes survive local HTTP/protobuf serialization, while principal, approval, destination state, and complete-capture claims remain outside the representation.
- Source transport
- OpenTelemetry spans over OTLP
- Destination transport
- HTTP with binary Protocol Buffers
- Source maturity
- Development; no dedicated repository release or valid published schema URL observed
- Evaluation protocol
- tracevity-compatibility-v0.2
Documentation describes intended semantics. Tracevity interpretation binds those meanings directionally. Tracevity-tested evidence reports only what the named local, synthetic fixture protocol produced. None of those layers proves resulting external state.
Four answers
What this mapping preserves—and what it cannot carry alone
What survives?
- Model identifier
- Tool call ID
- Parent/subagent relationship
What is degraded or lost?
- Initiating principal
- Tool data retention
What still requires external evidence?
- Human approval
- External effect state
How do we know?
5 bounded primary-source records, 6 synthetic fixtures, and 1 linked reproducible evaluation run support the separate evidence layers below.
Semantic bindings
Every result stays attached to a location and evidence layer.
“External evidence required” means trace-format preservation cannot establish the fact. Destination state, identity, authorization, or another independently controlled source remains necessary.
| Capability | Concrete location | Result | Tracevity interpretation | Evidence layers | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model identifierModels | span.attributes['gen_ai.request.model'] | Preserved | The pinned model identifier survives local OTLP serialization. |
| A model name is not a provider-side immutable model build identifier. Binding conditions and proof ceiling
|
| Tool call IDTools | span.attributes['gen_ai.tool.call.id'] | Preserved | Matching call identifiers correlate the exercised model and tool spans. |
| Correlation depends on emitters populating consistent identifiers. Binding conditions and proof ceiling
|
| Parent/subagent relationshipIdentity | trace_id + parent_span_id | Preserved | OTLP parent linkage preserves the exercised parent/subagent structure. |
| OTLP parentage does not by itself prove authority delegation. Binding conditions and proof ceiling
|
| Initiating principalPrincipal | No authenticated-principal field in the exercised snapshot | Ambiguous | Agent identity cannot substitute for the initiating human or service principal. |
| Principal evidence must be joined from authenticated application or identity records. Binding conditions and proof ceiling
|
| Human approvalHuman control | No accepted approval artifact in the exercised GenAI snapshot | External evidence required | Subsequent execution does not establish human approval. |
| Approval needs an explicit control-plane or authorization record. Binding conditions and proof ceiling
|
| External effect stateEffects | No destination-state record | External evidence required | A successful tool result does not establish external settlement. |
| Destination logs or externally observed state remain required. Binding conditions and proof ceiling
|
| Tool data retentionPrivacy | Optional gen_ai.tool.call.arguments/result attributes | Partial | Payload fields can be omitted while structural telemetry remains. |
| The semantic convention does not set a backend retention policy. Binding conditions and proof ceiling
|
Requirement results
Good enough remains a use-case question.
Each result is scoped to one assertion, one named reconstruction use case, and this exact directional mapping. It is not an aggregate verdict about either system.
- Established
Basic debugging
Evidence item: Model identifier · Requirements v0.2
The pinned model identifier survives local OTLP serialization.
- Established
Tool-action attribution
Evidence item: Tool call ID · Requirements v0.2
Matching call identifiers correlate the exercised model and tool spans.
- Established
Multi-agent reconstruction
Evidence item: Parent/subagent relationship · Requirements v0.2
OTLP parent linkage preserves the exercised parent/subagent structure.
- Not established
Human-delegation reconstruction
Evidence item: Initiating principal · Requirements v0.2
Agent identity cannot substitute for the initiating human or service principal.
- Not established
Audit support
Evidence item: Human approval · Requirements v0.2
Subsequent execution does not establish human approval.
- External evidence required
External-effect verification
Evidence item: External effect state · Requirements v0.2
A successful tool result does not establish external settlement.
- Partial
Privacy-controlled archival
Evidence item: Tool data retention · Requirements v0.2
Payload fields can be omitted while structural telemetry remains.
Fixture artifacts
Synthetic inputs and normalized outputs with stable digests
These public artifacts contain bounded synthetic data generated through a provider-free local protocol. They are supplied for reproducibility and do not accept customer traces.
otel-genai-67dff024
A model span and tool span share a trace and an explicit tool-call identifier.
basic_correlated_model_tool
Raw SHA-256: d74143d728a9944915222069b5244f56c835f1e90fd3884dce502414fc220f91Normalized SHA-256: e2716408be37f378a0ba90f2b59efcbc57fbbd21f825f71e87aa41068d4cf1d1Result SHA-256: 668b54d2ec7afd436dd9292a97781636cb12e1bd35e306d5ac2a734c1fcdf526Generated August 29, 2026 · synthetic public fixture
otel-genai-67dff024
A tool reports success without destination-system or external-state evidence.
tool_success_without_settlement
Raw SHA-256: 59c17046db90665250b74c66e6cdbc70c1d85e531a771d18f6d38a5a6bedf1bcNormalized SHA-256: 1f212e23c91744e9423a42dae0dc4ee59557f4dec33c0f4521afc8fdff2e26beResult SHA-256: c9afbccb64245bef5ee62d56cf160d2c34c209b377c7442225bbe8035c743fc2Generated August 29, 2026 · synthetic public fixture
otel-genai-67dff024
Agent identity is present while initiating principal evidence is absent.
agent_identity_without_principal
Raw SHA-256: 1049a819e441724f01b88b6958812c166abd3b6aca2c2c012bd06ae60303c522Normalized SHA-256: e4a920b9b7acb7a10673b83bde0a730554f94db13b021d20a3263acfcd4daa4dResult SHA-256: 1e061cd4afa18d8ee72f16f5383780d11693c9f3816abb19cb757fe2cd1be6d9Generated August 29, 2026 · synthetic public fixture
otel-genai-67dff024
Parent and delegated agent spans retain an explicit parent-child relationship.
parent_subagent_structure
Raw SHA-256: e6b5ce97ef0732f54ddf6e4fa25705d1181e636c67d9a71b4df60f453de243b6Normalized SHA-256: cd115143582d01e1bb6c9a3e34fdd6a30273c01dce3a7501cbcd04d52a461b77Result SHA-256: 18b76f190b008b8680dad55ab5bb7dfabf319939702165ad04030c9a96fe07a0Generated August 29, 2026 · synthetic public fixture
otel-genai-67dff024
Execution follows a tool request, but the representation contains no approval artifact.
human_approval_control
Raw SHA-256: 3e2dc5a356fd6a30fa562c34775609f29b0a1b264535b208bd0001c17accd0f1Normalized SHA-256: ef2d5b75ce6b91f9cb548126c3dc0bc2a6221f2d89393678f56dd2d1e0f55403Result SHA-256: 73aefe5f5d98d63b9eb2be040035a6e8e8559757a4a34e95fa44d084c287cf24Generated August 29, 2026 · synthetic public fixture
otel-genai-67dff024
Structural model and tool telemetry is emitted without prompt, output, or tool payloads.
sensitive_capture_minimized
Raw SHA-256: 69ed838ed8d7f4114883d8ff7bbfd792428e67cfbbcbc9ff8ac1edb4bc411290Normalized SHA-256: c92b06fb09dfa9126a7af1fed7ef6260af9abaae7813f54cec5157cd39abfa62Result SHA-256: cab011377b59295e9d35a2dd0ff4d3de0fd393db45e75fd2cc5702d274003467Generated August 29, 2026 · synthetic public fixture
Evaluation provenance
eval-otel-genai-67dff024
Evaluator 0.2.0 · protocol tracevity-compatibility-v0.2 · August 29, 2026
Result PASSED · reproducibility REPRODUCIBLE · provider network DISABLED · source versions openTelemetrySpecification: 1.60.0; otlpSpecification: 1.11.0; coreSemanticConventions: 1.44.0; genAiSemanticConventions: commit 67dff024110be5bd9f318006e733f4078e0f4c97; openTelemetrySdk: 1.44.0
Recorded fixture digests
- Raw otel-genai-basic-correlated:
d74143d728a9944915222069b5244f56c835f1e90fd3884dce502414fc220f91 - Raw otel-genai-tool-success-no-settlement:
59c17046db90665250b74c66e6cdbc70c1d85e531a771d18f6d38a5a6bedf1bc - Raw otel-genai-agent-without-principal:
1049a819e441724f01b88b6958812c166abd3b6aca2c2c012bd06ae60303c522 - Raw otel-genai-parent-subagent:
e6b5ce97ef0732f54ddf6e4fa25705d1181e636c67d9a71b4df60f453de243b6 - Raw otel-genai-human-approval-absent:
3e2dc5a356fd6a30fa562c34775609f29b0a1b264535b208bd0001c17accd0f1 - Raw otel-genai-sensitive-minimized:
69ed838ed8d7f4114883d8ff7bbfd792428e67cfbbcbc9ff8ac1edb4bc411290 - Normalized otel-genai-basic-correlated:
e2716408be37f378a0ba90f2b59efcbc57fbbd21f825f71e87aa41068d4cf1d1 - Normalized otel-genai-tool-success-no-settlement:
1f212e23c91744e9423a42dae0dc4ee59557f4dec33c0f4521afc8fdff2e26be - Normalized otel-genai-agent-without-principal:
e4a920b9b7acb7a10673b83bde0a730554f94db13b021d20a3263acfcd4daa4d - Normalized otel-genai-parent-subagent:
cd115143582d01e1bb6c9a3e34fdd6a30273c01dce3a7501cbcd04d52a461b77 - Normalized otel-genai-human-approval-absent:
ef2d5b75ce6b91f9cb548126c3dc0bc2a6221f2d89393678f56dd2d1e0f55403 - Normalized otel-genai-sensitive-minimized:
c92b06fb09dfa9126a7af1fed7ef6260af9abaae7813f54cec5157cd39abfa62
Compatibility evidence
Bounded observations and primary sources
- OpenTelemetry specificationsOpenTelemetry · observed August 29, 2026Open source ↗
Tracevity pins transport and core convention versions separately from the unreleased dedicated GenAI snapshot. Current specification versions
- OpenTelemetry Protocol 1.11.0OpenTelemetry · observed August 29, 2026Open source ↗
Successful protobuf decoding establishes a transport representation, not semantic equivalence, completeness, or backend acceptance. Protocol details and trace service
- GenAI semantic-conventions manifest at 67dff024OpenTelemetry · observed August 29, 2026Open source ↗
The tested surface is an exact development commit snapshot, not a released GenAI schema version. Manifest maturity, dependencies, and schema URL
- GenAI spans at 67dff024OpenTelemetry · observed August 29, 2026Open source ↗
The local fixture exercises representative structural and opt-in payload attributes without claiming universal capture. Inference and tool span attributes
- GenAI agent spans at 67dff024OpenTelemetry · observed August 29, 2026Open source ↗
Agent identity remains distinct from principal identity and authority evidence. Agent spans and relationships
Continue reading
Compare the mapping result with the evidence your use case requires.
Trace Reconstruction Requirements v0.2 adds capture-completeness requirements while the unchanged v0.1 baseline remains available. Apply this binding to a supported local artifact with the Inspector Alpha.