fix: use more intuitive envvars to manage OTLP and PostHog telemetry settings

docs/telemetry.mdx

@@ -36,15 +36,15 @@ Alternatively in VS Code, you can disable telemetry through your VS Code setting
 
 ### CLI
 
-For `cn`, the Continue CLI, set the environment variable `CONTINUE_ALLOW_ANONYMOUS_TELEMETRY=0` before running commands:
+For `cn`, the Continue CLI, set the environment variable `CONTINUE_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=0` before running commands:
 
 ```bash
-export CONTINUE_ALLOW_ANONYMOUS_TELEMETRY=0
+export CONTINUE_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=0
 cn <your prompt>
 ```
 
 Or run it inline:
 
 ```bash
-CONTINUE_ALLOW_ANONYMOUS_TELEMETRY=0 cn <your prompt>
-```
+CONTINUE_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=0 cn <your prompt>
+```

extensions/cli/spec/otlp-metrics.md

@@ -17,17 +17,18 @@ The Continue CLI should emit metrics that provide insights into:
 
 ### Environment Variables
 
-| Environment Variable            | Description                                               | Example Values                       |
-| ------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
-| `CONTINUE_CLI_ENABLE_TELEMETRY` | Enables OTEL telemetry collection (required)              | `1`                                  |
-| `OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER`         | Metrics exporter type(s) (comma-separated)                | `console`, `otlp`, `prometheus`      |
-| `OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER`            | Logs/events exporter type(s) (comma-separated)            | `console`, `otlp`                    |
-| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL`   | Protocol for OTLP exporter (all signals)                  | `grpc`, `http/json`, `http/protobuf` |
-| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT`   | OTLP collector endpoint (all signals)                     | `http://localhost:4317`              |
-| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS`    | Authentication headers for OTLP                           | `Authorization=Bearer token`         |
-| `OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVAL`   | Export interval in milliseconds (default: 60000)          | `5000`, `60000`                      |
-| `OTEL_LOGS_EXPORT_INTERVAL`     | Logs export interval in milliseconds (default: 5000)      | `1000`, `10000`                      |
-| `OTEL_LOG_USER_PROMPTS`         | Enable logging of user prompt content (default: disabled) | `1` to enable                        |
+| Environment Variable            | Description                                                     | Example Values                       |
+| ------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
+| `CONTINUE_METRICS_ENABLED`      | Enables OTEL telemetry collection (preferred, takes precedence) | `0` to disable, `1` to enable        |
+| `CONTINUE_CLI_ENABLE_TELEMETRY` | Enables OTEL telemetry collection (legacy, lower precedence)    | `0` to disable, `1` to enable        |
+| `OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER`         | Metrics exporter type(s) (comma-separated)                      | `console`, `otlp`, `prometheus`      |
+| `OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER`            | Logs/events exporter type(s) (comma-separated)                  | `console`, `otlp`                    |
+| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL`   | Protocol for OTLP exporter (all signals)                        | `grpc`, `http/json`, `http/protobuf` |
+| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT`   | OTLP collector endpoint (all signals)                           | `http://localhost:4317`              |
+| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS`    | Authentication headers for OTLP                                 | `Authorization=Bearer token`         |
+| `OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVAL`   | Export interval in milliseconds (default: 60000)                | `5000`, `60000`                      |
+| `OTEL_LOGS_EXPORT_INTERVAL`     | Logs export interval in milliseconds (default: 5000)            | `1000`, `10000`                      |
+| `OTEL_LOG_USER_PROMPTS`         | Enable logging of user prompt content (default: disabled)       | `1` to enable                        |
 
 ### Metrics Cardinality Control
 

extensions/cli/spec/telemtry.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 - Used by Continue for product metrics (not used by customers)
 - uses public posthog key in repo
-- CONTINUE_ALLOW_ANONYMOUS_TELEMETRY can be set to 0 to disable
+- `CONTINUE_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=0` disables telemetry
 - non-anonymous and private data like code is never sent to posthog
 - Event user ids are the Continue user id is signed in, or a unique machine id if not
 - Current events are slash command usage and chat calls

extensions/cli/src/telemetry/posthogService.test.ts

@@ -152,5 +152,38 @@ describe("PosthogService", () => {
       expect(client).toBeUndefined();
       expect(dns.lookup).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
     });
+
+    it("returns false when DNS resolves to 0.0.0.0 (blocked)", async () => {
+      const dns: any = (await import("dns/promises")).default;
+      dns.lookup.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        address: "0.0.0.0",
+        family: 4,
+      } as any);
+      const result = await (service as any).hasInternetConnection();
+      expect(result).toBe(false);
+      expect(dns.lookup).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    it("returns false when DNS resolves to localhost", async () => {
+      const dns: any = (await import("dns/promises")).default;
+      dns.lookup.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        address: "127.0.0.1",
+        family: 4,
+      } as any);
+      const result = await (service as any).hasInternetConnection();
+      expect(result).toBe(false);
+      expect(dns.lookup).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    it("returns true when DNS resolves to valid address", async () => {
+      const dns: any = (await import("dns/promises")).default;
+      dns.lookup.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        address: "1.1.1.1",
+        family: 4,
+      } as any);
+      const result = await (service as any).hasInternetConnection();
+      expect(result).toBe(true);
+      expect(dns.lookup).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
   });
 });

extensions/cli/src/telemetry/posthogService.ts

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import node_machine_id from "node-machine-id";
 import type { PostHog as PostHogType } from "posthog-node";
 
 import { isAuthenticatedConfig, loadAuthConfig } from "../auth/workos.js";
+import { loggers } from "../logging.js";
 import { isHeadlessMode, isServe } from "../util/cli.js";
 import { isGitHubActions } from "../util/git.js";
 import { logger } from "../util/logger.js";
@@ -13,6 +14,7 @@ import { getVersion } from "../version.js";
 export class PosthogService {
   private _os: string | undefined;
   private _uniqueId: string | undefined;
+  private _telemetryBlocked: boolean = false;
 
   constructor() {
     // Initialization is now lazy to avoid issues with mocking in tests
@@ -36,10 +38,19 @@ export class PosthogService {
   private async hasInternetConnection() {
     const refetchConnection = async () => {
       try {
-        await dns.lookup("app.posthog.com");
-        this._hasInternetConnection = true;
+        const result = await dns.lookup("app.posthog.com");
+        const isValidAddress =
+          result.address !== "0.0.0.0" && !result.address.startsWith("127.");
+        this._hasInternetConnection = isValidAddress;
+        this._telemetryBlocked = !isValidAddress;
+        if (!isValidAddress) {
+          logger.debug(
+            "DNS lookup returned invalid address for PostHog, skipping telemetry",
+          );
+        }
       } catch {
         this._hasInternetConnection = false;
+        this._telemetryBlocked = false;
       }
     };
 
@@ -53,14 +64,26 @@ export class PosthogService {
   }
 
   get isEnabled() {
+    if (process.env.CONTINUE_TELEMETRY_ENABLED === "0") {
+      return false;
+    }
+    if (process.env.CONTINUE_TELEMETRY_ENABLED === "1") {
+      return true;
+    }
     return process.env.CONTINUE_ALLOW_ANONYMOUS_TELEMETRY !== "0";
   }
 
   private _client: PostHogType | undefined;
   private async getClient() {
     if (!(await this.hasInternetConnection())) {
       this._client = undefined;
-      logger.warn("No internet connection, skipping telemetry");
+      if (this._telemetryBlocked && this.isEnabled) {
+        loggers.warning(
+          "Telemetry appears to be blocked by your network. To disable telemetry entirely, set CONTINUE_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=0",
+        );
+      } else if (this.isEnabled) {
+        logger.warn("No internet connection, skipping telemetry");
+      }
     } else if (this.isEnabled) {
       if (!this._client) {
         const { PostHog } = await import("posthog-node");

extensions/cli/src/telemetry/telemetryService.ts

@@ -71,8 +71,17 @@ class TelemetryService {
       process.env.OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_ENDPOINT ||
       process.env.OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER
     );
-    const enabled =
-      process.env.CONTINUE_CLI_ENABLE_TELEMETRY !== "0" && hasOtelConfig;
+
+    let telemetryEnabled = true;
+    if (process.env.CONTINUE_METRICS_ENABLED === "0") {
+      telemetryEnabled = false;
+    } else if (process.env.CONTINUE_METRICS_ENABLED === "1") {
+      telemetryEnabled = true;
+    } else {
+      telemetryEnabled = process.env.CONTINUE_CLI_ENABLE_TELEMETRY !== "0";
+    }
+
+    const enabled = telemetryEnabled && hasOtelConfig;
     const sessionId = uuidv4();
 
     return {