---
title: Node.js
metaTitle: Node.js Distributed Tracing - OpenTelemetry for Node.js APM
description: Complete Node.js distributed tracing guide using OpenTelemetry SDK for Node.js application performance monitoring and trace instrumentation.
---

# Node.js Distributed Tracing - OpenTelemetry APM

Setup distributed tracing for your Node.js application using OpenTelemetry for Node.js application performance monitoring (APM) and trace ingestion. Check sample configuration on how to setup OpenTelemetry traces for Node.js applications.

##Clone </br>
```

git clone https://github.com/openobserve/sample-tracing-nodejs-javascript

```

If you don't have node.js installed, please install it and then follow below steps.

Open `tracing.js` file from that repository. and make changes to the highlighted lines below
```javascript lineNumbers {17,19}

const opentelemetry = require("@opentelemetry/sdk-node");
const {
  getNodeAutoInstrumentations,
} = require("@opentelemetry/auto-instrumentations-node");
const { diag, DiagConsoleLogger, DiagLogLevel } = require("@opentelemetry/api");
const {
  OTLPTraceExporter,
} = require("@opentelemetry/exporter-trace-otlp-http");

// For troubleshooting, set the log level to DiagLogLevel.DEBUG
diag.setLogger(new DiagConsoleLogger(), DiagLogLevel.INFO);

const sdk = new opentelemetry.NodeSDK({
  // traceExporter: new opentelemetry.tracing.ConsoleSpanExporter(),
  traceExporter: new opentelemetry.tracing.ConsoleSpanExporter(),
  traceExporter: new OTLPTraceExporter({
    url: "https://api.openobserve.ai/api/default/v1/traces",
    headers: {
      Authorization: "Authorization",
    },
  }),
  instrumentations: [getNodeAutoInstrumentations()],
  serviceName: "nodejs-javascript-service",
});

sdk.start();
```
</br>
##Setup up credentials </br>

You will get `url` and `Authorization` key from the [OpenTelemetry ingestion settings](https://cloud.openobserve.ai/web/ingestion/custom/traces/opentelemetry).

Replace the `url` and `Authorization` key in the `tracing.js` file.

##Setup Service/Application </br>
Run commands
```

npm install

```
```

node --require './tracing.js' app.js

```

The server is now running on 8080, navigate to [http://localhost:8080](http://localhost:8080) </br>
Refresh page couple of times to get more traces exported.

![Traces Sample Configration](./images/sample_configuration.png)
</br>
</br>

Traces are captured, you can check these captured traces in the [Traces view](https://cloud.openobserve.ai/web/traces)
</br>

![Traces Page](./images/traces_js.png)
</br>
</br>

Filter traces with your service name `nodejs-javascript-service`
</br>

![Filter traces with service name](./images/filter_traces_js.png)

Click on any trace to check trace data

![Trace details](./images/trace_details_1.png)

Trace can have multiple spans, each span represents single operation or task within that trace. Click on any span to check span details.

![Trace details](./images/trace_details_2.png)