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Require spec changes to consider declarative config schema#4916

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jack-berg merged 8 commits intoopen-telemetry:mainfrom
jack-berg:declarative-configuration-first
Apr 7, 2026
Merged

Require spec changes to consider declarative config schema#4916
jack-berg merged 8 commits intoopen-telemetry:mainfrom
jack-berg:declarative-configuration-first

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@jack-berg
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With declarative configuration stable (#4374), I propose adjusting the spec contribution process to be "declarative config first".

What this means: If a spec PR is proposing changes to an SDK component's configuration surface area, it should include a reference to an PR against opentelemetry-configuration to propose corresponding changes to the declarative config schema.

Why this is important:

  • Ensures spec PRs are evaluated holistically. The declarative config schema is on track to become a crucial cross-language user facing API for the whole project. Operators can't or don't want to modify source code to use the programmatic API, and env vars are insufficient for non-trivial setups. By doing this, we add UX evaluation criteria in addition to the existing conceptual criteria.
  • Ensures declarative config schema stays in sync with the spec.
  • Helps drive consistency across language implementations, since its much harder to misinterpret / reinterpret a feature when there's a config schema spec to adhere to.
  • Further incentivizes the remaining languages to implement declarative config, helping the project achieve its mission of telemetry concepts being universal across languages.

cc @open-telemetry/configuration-approvers

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