Support for new versions of OpenTelemetry semantic conventions

As of June 12th, 2025, Axiom will support OpenTelemetry (OTel) semantic conventions from version 1.21 to version 1.32. The default version will become version 1.32.

As a result, attributes in your OTel data that previously didn’t match supported conventions will be recognized and properly interpreted in Axiom.

This can change the shape of your data (where you can find different attributes in your data), but it doesn’t mean the loss of data in any way.

The changes will become effective on June 12th, 2025.

For more information, see Semantic conventions and the full list of versions of OTel semantic conventions that Axiom supports.

Support for new versions can affect the shape of your data

If you use an unsupported version that becomes supported as a result of this change, the shape of your data can change:

• Before the update, attributes that Axiom couldn’t match to the previously supported semantic conventions were nested under the attributes.custom field.
• After the update, Axiom matches these attributes to the newly supported semantic conventions. The newly recognized attributes are nested under the attributes or resource fields, similarly to all other attributes that follow semantic conventions.

Action required as a result of support for new versions

If previously unrecognized attributes become recognized in your data after this change, you need to take action on June 12th, 2025.

Update all saved queries, dashboards, or monitors that reference attributes previously stored in attributes.custom to reflect their new location under attributes or resource.

For more information on the actions you need to take, see the documentation.

Changing default version can affect the shape of your data

If you don’t specify the version of the OTel semantic conventions that your data follows when you send OTel data to Axiom, Axiom interprets the data using the default version:

• Before June 12th, 2025, the default version is version 1.25.
• After June 12th, 2025, the default version will be 1.32.

This means that the attributes that became supported or deprecated between these versions can change in Axiom:

• Attributes that became supported between versions 1.25 and 1.32 used to be nested under the attributes.custom field. After June 12th, 2025, these attributes will be nested under the attributes or resource fields.
• Attributes that became deprecated between versions 1.25 and 1.32 used to be nested under the attributes or resource fields. After June 12th, 2025, these attributes will be nested under the attributes.custom field.

Action required as a result of changing default version

If previously unrecognized attributes become recognized in your data after this change or vice versa, you need to take action on June 12th, 2025.

Include the version of the OTel semantic conventions that your data follows when you send OTel data to Axiom. This ensures that your data is properly interpreted in Axiom and it won’t be affected when Axiom changes the default version.

For more information on the actions you need to take, see the documentation.

Changes to events and links

Previously, semantic and non-semantic attributes were separated inside span events and links. This meant unnecessary additional fields in your datasets. Now semantic and non-semantic attributes aren’t separated inside span events and links.

Update plan

Axiom plans to update the supported and default versions of OTel semantic conventions regularly. To prepare for these changes:

• When you send OTel data to Axiom, include the version of the OTel semantic conventions that your data follows. This ensures that your data is properly shaped in Axiom and it won’t be affected when Axiom changes the default version.
• If you send data to Axiom using a currently unsupported version of OTel semantic conventions, be aware that the shape of your data can change when Axiom adds support for new versions.