Enhance README consistency across OpenTelemetry components

opentelemetry-appender-log/README.md

@@ -27,6 +27,28 @@ can easily instrument your applications or systems, no matter their language,
 infrastructure, or runtime environment. Crucially, the storage and visualization
 of telemetry is intentionally left to other tools.
 
+*[Supported Rust Versions](#supported-rust-versions)*
+
+[Prometheus]: https://prometheus.io
+[Jaeger]: https://www.jaegertracing.io
+
+## Getting started
+
+See [docs](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-appender-log).
+
 ## Release Notes
 
 You can find the release notes (changelog) [here](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/blob/main/opentelemetry-appender-log/CHANGELOG.md).
+
+## Supported Rust Versions
+
+OpenTelemetry is built against the latest stable release. The minimum supported
+version is 1.75.0. The current OpenTelemetry version is not guaranteed to build
+on Rust versions earlier than the minimum supported version.
+
+The current stable Rust compiler and the three most recent minor versions
+before it will always be supported. For example, if the current stable compiler
+version is 1.49, the minimum supported version will not be increased past 1.46,
+three minor versions prior. Increasing the minimum supported compiler version
+is not considered a semver breaking change as long as doing so complies with
+this policy.

opentelemetry-appender-tracing/README.md

@@ -35,6 +35,20 @@ of telemetry is intentionally left to other tools.
 
 *[Supported Rust Versions](#supported-rust-versions)*
 
+### What does this crate contain?
+
+This crate provides a bridge for integrating the [tracing crate](https://tracing.rs/) with OpenTelemetry's logging pipeline. It includes:
+
+- **Log Appender**: A component that captures log events from tracing and forwards them to OpenTelemetry's logging system
+- **Event Bridge**: Converts tracing events into OpenTelemetry log records while preserving metadata and context
+- **Integration Support**: Seamless integration with existing tracing-based applications to enable OpenTelemetry log collection
+
+This appender is specifically designed for scenarios where you want to collect logs through OpenTelemetry while using the tracing crate for instrumentation.
+
+## Getting started
+
+See the [docs](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-appender-tracing) for detailed examples and API reference.
+
 ## Release Notes
 
 You can find the release notes (changelog) [here](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/blob/main/opentelemetry-appender-tracing/CHANGELOG.md).

opentelemetry-http/README.md

@@ -4,17 +4,18 @@
 
 [splash]: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/main/assets/logo-text.png
 
-This crate contains helper implementations for sending HTTP requests. Uses
-include propagating and extracting context over http, exporting telemetry,
-requesting sampling strategies.
+This crate contains helper implementations for sending HTTP requests with
+[OpenTelemetry](https://opentelemetry.io/) integration. Uses include propagating
+and extracting context over HTTP, exporting telemetry data, and requesting
+sampling strategies.
 
 [![Crates.io: opentelemetry-http](https://img.shields.io/crates/v/opentelemetry-http.svg)](https://crates.io/crates/opentelemetry-http)
 [![Documentation](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-http/badge.svg)](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-http)
 [![LICENSE](https://img.shields.io/crates/l/opentelemetry-http)](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/blob/main/opentelemetry-http/LICENSE)
 [![GitHub Actions CI](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/workflows/CI/badge.svg)](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/actions?query=workflow%3ACI+branch%3Amain)
 [![Slack](https://img.shields.io/badge/slack-@cncf/otel/rust-brightgreen.svg?logo=slack)](https://cloud-native.slack.com/archives/C03GDP0H023)
 
-## OpenTelemetry Overview
+## Overview
 
 OpenTelemetry is an Observability framework and toolkit designed to create and
 manage telemetry data such as traces, metrics, and logs. OpenTelemetry is
@@ -31,6 +32,40 @@ of telemetry is intentionally left to other tools.
 
 *[Supported Rust Versions](#supported-rust-versions)*
 
+[Prometheus]: https://prometheus.io
+[Jaeger]: https://www.jaegertracing.io
+
+### What does this crate contain?
+
+This crate provides HTTP utilities and integrations for OpenTelemetry,
+including:
+
+- **Context Propagation**: Helper implementations for propagating and extracting
+  OpenTelemetry context over HTTP headers, enabling distributed tracing across
+  service boundaries.
+- **HTTP Client Support**: Integration with popular HTTP clients like `reqwest`
+  and `hyper` for automatic instrumentation and context propagation.
+- **Exporter Utilities**: Common HTTP functionality used by exporters to send
+  telemetry data to collection endpoints.
+- **Sampling Strategy Support**: Helper functions for requesting sampling
+  strategies from remote endpoints.
+
+This crate is typically used as a dependency by other OpenTelemetry components
+rather than directly by end users, though it can be useful for custom
+instrumentation scenarios.
+
+### Related crates
+
+This crate is commonly used alongside:
+
+- **[opentelemetry](https://crates.io/crates/opentelemetry):** The core OpenTelemetry API.
+- **[opentelemetry-sdk](https://crates.io/crates/opentelemetry-sdk):** The OpenTelemetry SDK implementation.
+- **[opentelemetry-otlp](https://crates.io/crates/opentelemetry-otlp):** OTLP exporter that uses this crate for HTTP transport.
+
+## Getting started
+
+See [docs](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-http).
+
 ## Release Notes
 
 You can find the release notes (changelog) [here](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/blob/main/opentelemetry-http/CHANGELOG.md).

opentelemetry-jaeger-propagator/README.md

@@ -31,6 +31,21 @@ of telemetry is intentionally left to other tools.
 
 *[Supported Rust Versions](#supported-rust-versions)*
 
+### What does this crate contain?
+
+This crate provides Jaeger-specific context propagation for OpenTelemetry applications. It includes:
+
+- **Jaeger Propagator**: Implementation of Jaeger's text map propagation format for distributed tracing
+- **Context Extraction**: Ability to extract Jaeger trace context from HTTP headers and other carriers
+- **Context Injection**: Functionality to inject OpenTelemetry trace context into Jaeger format for downstream services
+- **Legacy Compatibility**: Support for applications that need to interoperate with existing Jaeger-instrumented services
+
+Note: This crate is specifically for context propagation. To export telemetry data to Jaeger, use the `opentelemetry-otlp` crate.
+
+## Getting started
+
+See the [docs](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-jaeger-propagator) for detailed examples and API reference.
+
 ## Release Notes
 
 You can find the release notes (changelog) [here](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/blob/main/opentelemetry-jaeger-propagator/CHANGELOG.md).

opentelemetry-otlp/README.md

@@ -35,6 +35,20 @@ of telemetry is intentionally left to other tools.
 [Prometheus]: https://prometheus.io
 [Jaeger]: https://www.jaegertracing.io
 
+### What does this crate contain?
+
+This crate provides OTLP (OpenTelemetry Protocol) exporter implementations for sending telemetry data to OTLP-compatible backends. It includes:
+
+- **Trace Exporter**: Export distributed tracing data in OTLP format
+- **Metrics Exporter**: Export metrics data to OTLP endpoints  
+- **Logs Exporter**: Export log data using the OTLP protocol
+- **HTTP Transport**: Send telemetry over HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2 with configurable compression
+- **gRPC Transport**: Send telemetry using gRPC protocol for high-performance scenarios
+- **Authentication Support**: Built-in support for various authentication mechanisms (headers, mTLS, etc.)
+- **Batch Processing**: Efficient batching and retry mechanisms for reliable telemetry delivery
+
+The OTLP format is the recommended way to export telemetry as it's vendor-neutral and supported by many observability backends including Jaeger, Prometheus, and commercial vendors.
+
 ## Getting started
 
 See [docs](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-otlp).

opentelemetry-prometheus/README.md

@@ -44,6 +44,36 @@ of telemetry is intentionally left to other tools.
 [`Prometheus`]: https://prometheus.io
 [`OpenTelemetry`]: https://crates.io/crates/opentelemetry
 
+### What does this crate contain?
+
+**⚠️ This crate is deprecated and no longer recommended for use.**
+
+This crate previously provided direct Prometheus metrics export functionality, but has been discontinued due to:
+- Dependency on unmaintained `protobuf` crate
+- Unresolved security vulnerabilities
+- Limited maintenance resources
+
+For new projects, use the [OTLP exporter](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-otlp/) instead, as Prometheus now natively supports OTLP.
+
+## Getting started
+
+**For new projects:** Use the [opentelemetry-otlp](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-otlp/) crate instead. See the [Prometheus OTLP documentation](https://prometheus.io/docs/guides/opentelemetry/#enable-the-otlp-receiver) for integration details.
+
+**For existing projects:** See the [docs](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-prometheus) for legacy API reference, but plan migration to OTLP.
+
 ## Release Notes
 
 You can find the release notes (changelog) [here](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/blob/main/opentelemetry-prometheus/CHANGELOG.md).
+
+## Supported Rust Versions
+
+OpenTelemetry is built against the latest stable release. The minimum supported
+version is 1.75.0. The current OpenTelemetry version is not guaranteed to build
+on Rust versions earlier than the minimum supported version.
+
+The current stable Rust compiler and the three most recent minor versions
+before it will always be supported. For example, if the current stable compiler
+version is 1.49, the minimum supported version will not be increased past 1.46,
+three minor versions prior. Increasing the minimum supported compiler version
+is not considered a semver breaking change as long as doing so complies with
+this policy.

opentelemetry-proto/README.md

@@ -1,13 +1,28 @@
+# OpenTelemetry Proto
+
 ![OpenTelemetry — An observability framework for cloud-native software.][splash]
 
 [splash]: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/main/assets/logo-text.png
 
-# OpenTelemetry Proto
-This crate contains generated files from [opentelemetry-proto](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-proto)
-repository and transformation between types from generated files and types defined in [opentelemetry](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/tree/main/opentelemetry).
+This crate contains generated Rust code from the
+[opentelemetry-proto](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-proto)
+repository and provides transformation functions between the generated protobuf
+types and the types defined in the
+[opentelemetry](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/tree/main/opentelemetry)
+API crate.
+
+[![Crates.io: opentelemetry-proto](https://img.shields.io/crates/v/opentelemetry-proto.svg)](https://crates.io/crates/opentelemetry-proto)
+[![Documentation](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-proto/badge.svg)](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-proto)
+[![LICENSE](https://img.shields.io/crates/l/opentelemetry-proto)](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/blob/main/opentelemetry-proto/LICENSE)
+[![GitHub Actions CI](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/workflows/CI/badge.svg)](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/actions?query=workflow%3ACI+branch%3Amain)
+[![Slack](https://img.shields.io/badge/slack-@cncf/otel/rust-brightgreen.svg?logo=slack)](https://cloud-native.slack.com/archives/C03GDP0H023)
 
 *[Supported Rust Versions](#supported-rust-versions)*
 
+## Getting started
+
+See [docs](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-proto).
+
 ## Release Notes
 
 You can find the release notes (changelog) [here](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/blob/main/opentelemetry-proto/CHANGELOG.md).

opentelemetry-semantic-conventions/README.md

@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ and visualization tools.
 
 *[Supported Rust Versions](#supported-rust-versions)*
 
+## Getting started
+
+See [docs](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-semantic-conventions).
+
 ## Release Notes
 
 You can find the release notes (changelog) [here](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/blob/main/opentelemetry-semantic-conventions/CHANGELOG.md).

opentelemetry-stdout/README.md

@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@
 [splash]: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-rust/main/assets/logo-text.png
 
 This crate contains an [OpenTelemetry](https://opentelemetry.io/) exporter that
-prints telemetry (logs, metrics and traces) to the standard output.
+outputs telemetry data (logs, metrics, and traces) to standard output in a
+human-readable format. It is designed for educational purposes, debugging, and
+development workflows where you want to quickly inspect telemetry data without
+setting up external observability infrastructure.
 
 [![Crates.io: opentelemetry-stdout](https://img.shields.io/crates/v/opentelemetry-stdout.svg)](https://crates.io/crates/opentelemetry-stdout)
 [![Documentation](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-stdout/badge.svg)](https://docs.rs/opentelemetry-stdout)
@@ -36,11 +39,20 @@ of telemetry is intentionally left to other tools.
 
 ### What does this crate contain?
 
-This crate includes exporters that support all three signals - Logs, Metrics,
-and Traces — to standard output. It is intended solely for educational and
-debugging purposes. Please note, this crate is not optimized for performance,
-and the format of the output may change, making it unsuitable for production
-environments
+This crate provides exporters that support all three OpenTelemetry signals:
+
+- **Trace Exporter**: Outputs distributed tracing data showing request flows
+  and timing information across services.
+- **Metrics Exporter**: Outputs measurement data such as counters, gauges, and
+  histograms for monitoring application performance.
+- **Logs Exporter**: Outputs structured log data with OpenTelemetry context
+  information.
+
+All exporters format the telemetry data in a human-readable way and write it to
+standard output. This crate is intended solely for educational and debugging
+purposes. Please note, this crate is not optimized for performance, and the
+format of the output may change, making it unsuitable for production
+environments.
 
 ## Getting started
 

opentelemetry-zipkin/README.md

@@ -32,7 +32,20 @@ of telemetry is intentionally left to other tools.
 
 *[Supported Rust Versions](#supported-rust-versions)*
 
-## Quickstart
+### What does this crate contain?
+
+This crate provides a Zipkin exporter for OpenTelemetry trace data. It includes:
+
+- **Zipkin Exporter**: Export OpenTelemetry traces to Zipkin-compatible backends
+- **HTTP Transport**: Send trace data via HTTP/JSON to Zipkin endpoints
+- **Span Conversion**: Convert OpenTelemetry spans to Zipkin's data model while preserving trace relationships
+- **Batch Processing**: Efficient batching of spans for optimized network usage
+- **HTTP Client Flexibility**: Support for multiple HTTP client implementations (reqwest, surf, etc.)
+- **Async Support**: Full async/await compatibility for non-blocking telemetry export
+
+Note: This exporter only supports traces. For metrics and logs, use the OTLP exporter or other appropriate exporters.
+
+## Getting started
 
 First make sure you have a running version of the zipkin process you want to
 send data to: