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Claude Code has built-in OpenTelemetry support that exports metrics and logs. Axiom natively ingests OTLP data, making the two a natural fit. This guide covers the Axiom-specific configuration to connect Claude Code telemetry to Axiom.

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Prerequisites

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How Axiom routes OpenTelemetry data

Axiom routes data to datasets via headers, and the header differs by signal type:
  • Logs use x-axiom-dataset
  • Metrics use x-axiom-metrics-dataset
This means signal-specific header configuration is required rather than a single shared OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS value. The /v1/metrics endpoint only supports the application/x-protobuf content type.

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Configure environment variables

Create a file named setup-otel.sh with the following content:
Don’t execute the script directly. Source the script instead. The exported variables must exist in the current shell where Claude inherits them.
setup-otel.sh
#!/bin/bash

# Claude Code OpenTelemetry configuration for Axiom
# Usage: source ./setup-otel.sh && claude

# Replace these with your own values
AXIOM_API_TOKEN="API_TOKEN"
AXIOM_HOST="AXIOM_DOMAIN"
AXIOM_METRICS_DATASET="METRICS_DATASET_NAME"
AXIOM_LOGS_DATASET="LOGS_DATASET_NAME"

# Enable telemetry and configure both exporters
export CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1
export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp

# Axiom's metrics endpoint requires protobuf (no JSON support)
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf

# Separate endpoints per signal type
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_ENDPOINT=https://${AXIOM_HOST}/v1/metrics
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_ENDPOINT=https://${AXIOM_HOST}/v1/logs

# Separate headers per signal type (Axiom routes to datasets via different headers)
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_HEADERS="Authorization=Bearer ${AXIOM_API_TOKEN},x-axiom-metrics-dataset=${AXIOM_METRICS_DATASET}"
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_HEADERS="Authorization=Bearer ${AXIOM_API_TOKEN},x-axiom-dataset=${AXIOM_LOGS_DATASET}"

# Shorter intervals for testing (default: 60s metrics, 5s logs)
export OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVAL=10000
export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORT_INTERVAL=5000

# Optional: log full prompt content and tool/MCP details
export OTEL_LOG_USER_PROMPTS=1
export OTEL_LOG_TOOL_DETAILS=1

echo "Axiom OTel configured: metrics -> ${AXIOM_METRICS_DATASET}, logs -> ${AXIOM_LOGS_DATASET}"
Replace API_TOKEN with the Axiom API token you have generated. For added security, store the API token in an environment variable.Replace AXIOM_DOMAIN with the base domain of your edge deployment. For more information, see Edge deployments.Replace METRICS_DATASET_NAME with the name of the Axiom dataset for metrics.Replace LOGS_DATASET_NAME with the name of the Axiom dataset for logs.

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Verify the integration

1

Source the script and start Claude Code

Run the following command in your terminal:
source ./setup-otel.sh && claude
2

Interact with Claude Code

Use Claude Code for 15 to 20 seconds to generate telemetry data. Ask questions, run commands, or perform any typical tasks.
3

Observe telemetry in Axiom

In Axiom, go to your datasets and observe the telemetry data:
  • The logs dataset shows events like claude_code.user_prompt, claude_code.tool_result, and claude_code.api_request.
  • The metrics dataset shows counters like claude_code.session.count and claude_code.token.usage, updating on the 10-second interval configured above.
If one signal arrives but the other doesn’t, double-check the headers. The most common mistake is using x-axiom-dataset for metrics instead of x-axiom-metrics-dataset.

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Production considerations

When moving from testing to production, consider these adjustments:
  • Disable prompt logging: Remove OTEL_LOG_USER_PROMPTS=1 unless prompt content is needed in your observability backend. This reduces the volume of sensitive data stored.
  • Use managed settings for teams: For team deployments, administrators can set these variables in Claude Code’s managed settings file instead of relying on each developer to source a script.
  • Add resource attributes: Use OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES to tag all telemetry with department, team, or cost center identifiers for filtering and alerting in Axiom. 
    export OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES="team=platform,cost_center=engineering,environment=production"
  • Adjust export intervals: For production, consider using longer intervals to reduce overhead: 
    export OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVAL=60000  # 60 seconds
export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORT_INTERVAL=30000    # 30 seconds

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Reference

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Environment variables

VariableDescription
CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRYSet to 1 to enable OpenTelemetry export.
OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTERSet to otlp to enable OTLP metrics export.
OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTERSet to otlp to enable OTLP logs export.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_PROTOCOLProtocol for metrics. Use http/protobuf for Axiom.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_PROTOCOLProtocol for logs. Use http/protobuf for Axiom.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_ENDPOINTAxiom metrics endpoint URL.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_ENDPOINTAxiom logs endpoint URL.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_HEADERSHeaders for metrics including authorization and dataset.
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_HEADERSHeaders for logs including authorization and dataset.
OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVALMetrics export interval in milliseconds. Default: 60000.
OTEL_LOGS_EXPORT_INTERVALLogs export interval in milliseconds. Default: 5000.
OTEL_LOG_USER_PROMPTSSet to 1 to log full prompt content.
OTEL_LOG_TOOL_DETAILSSet to 1 to log tool and MCP details.
OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTESComma-separated key=value pairs for resource attributes.

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Expected telemetry data

Claude Code exports the following telemetry: Logs:
  • claude_code.user_prompt: User prompts sent to Claude Code.
  • claude_code.tool_result: Results from tool executions.
  • claude_code.api_request: API requests made by Claude Code.
Metrics:
  • claude_code.session.count: Number of Claude Code sessions.
  • claude_code.token.usage: Token usage counters.