NodeJS Express: An OpenTelemetry deep dive

Hello, folks! This week we’re looking at Javascript and Express. Node is a popular JavaScript runtime for back-end services and Express is easily the most well-known web framework for Node. Express is elegant enough that this walkthrough makes a great archetypal example of OpenTelemetry. The patterns explained here apply to web frameworks in general. TL;DR Create a free account. Install OpenTelemetry with the Lightstep Launcher. Monitor routes to identify errors and latency. Pinpoint issues using data from middleware, templating, and database instrumentation.