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+# OpenTelemetry Rust
+OpenTelemetry Rust is a Rust implementation of the OpenTelemetry observability framework for generating, collecting, and exporting telemetry data (metrics, logs, and traces).
+
+Always reference these instructions first and fallback to search or bash commands only when you encounter unexpected information that does not match the info here.
+
+## Working Effectively
+
+### Initial Setup and Dependencies
+Install the following required dependencies before building:
+- `sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y protobuf-compiler` - Protocol Buffer compiler (required for OTLP)
+- `rustup component add rustfmt clippy` - Rust formatting and linting tools
+- `cargo install cargo-hack` - Tool for testing feature combinations (takes ~50s to install)
+- `cargo install cargo-msrv` - Tool for verifying minimum supported Rust version (takes ~5m to install)
+
+### Core Build and Test Commands
+- `cargo check --workspace` - Basic workspace check: **1m 15s. NEVER CANCEL. Set timeout to 90+ seconds.**
+- `./scripts/test.sh` - Full test suite: **4 minutes. NEVER CANCEL. Set timeout to 480+ seconds.**
+- `./scripts/lint.sh` - Complete linting with all feature combinations: **6 minutes. NEVER CANCEL. Set timeout to 480+ seconds.**
+- `./scripts/integration_tests.sh` - Integration tests: **3 minutes. NEVER CANCEL. Set timeout to 300+ seconds.**
+- `./scripts/precommit.sh` - Complete validation (update, format, lint, test): **varies based on changes. NEVER CANCEL. Set timeout to 600+ seconds.**
+- `cargo fmt --all -- --check` - Check code formatting: **<1 second**
+- `cargo doc --no-deps --all-features` - Generate documentation: **20 seconds**
+
+### Before Committing Changes
+ALWAYS run these commands before committing to ensure CI will pass:
+1. `cargo fmt --all` - Format all code
+2. `./scripts/lint.sh` - Run complete linting (6 minutes)
+3. `./scripts/test.sh` - Run all tests (4 minutes)
+
+Alternatively, run the complete validation with:
+- `./scripts/precommit.sh` - Runs cargo update, fmt, lint, and test in sequence
+
+## Project Structure
+
+### Key Crates
+The repository contains these main crates:
+- `opentelemetry/` - Core OpenTelemetry API (Context, Baggage, Propagators, Metrics, Traces, Logs APIs)
+- `opentelemetry-sdk/` - Official OpenTelemetry SDK implementation
+- `opentelemetry-otlp/` - OTLP exporter for sending telemetry via OTLP protocol
+- `opentelemetry-stdout/` - Stdout exporter for debugging and learning
+- `opentelemetry-http/` - HTTP utilities for telemetry and propagation
+- `opentelemetry-appender-log/` - Bridge for `log` crate to OpenTelemetry
+- `opentelemetry-appender-tracing/` - Bridge for `tracing` crate to OpenTelemetry
+- `opentelemetry-jaeger-propagator/` - Jaeger propagation format support
+- `opentelemetry-prometheus/` - Prometheus metrics exporter (separate workspace member)
+- `opentelemetry-semantic-conventions/` - Standard semantic conventions
+- `opentelemetry-zipkin/` - Zipkin trace exporter
+
+### Important Directories
+- `scripts/` - Build, test, and validation scripts
+- `examples/` - Working examples for logs, metrics, and tracing
+- `docs/` - Architecture Decision Records and release notes
+- `.github/workflows/` - CI/CD pipeline definitions
+
+### Examples Directory
+Test any changes by running the examples:
+- `cd examples/metrics-basic && cargo run` - Basic metrics example (6 seconds)
+- `cd examples/logs-basic && cargo run` - Basic logs example (4 seconds) 
+- `cd examples/metrics-advanced && cargo run` - Advanced metrics with views
+- `cd examples/tracing-grpc && cargo run` - gRPC tracing example
+- `cd examples/tracing-http-propagator && cargo run` - HTTP tracing example
+
+## Validation Scenarios
+
+### After Making Changes
+1. **Build Check**: Run `cargo check --workspace` to verify basic compilation
+2. **Format**: Run `cargo fmt --all` to format code
+3. **Quick Example Test**: Run one relevant example from `examples/` directory
+4. **Full Validation**: Run `./scripts/precommit.sh` for complete validation
+
+### Before Opening a PR
+1. **Complete Test Suite**: `./scripts/test.sh` (4 minutes)
+2. **Complete Linting**: `./scripts/lint.sh` (6 minutes)  
+3. **Integration Tests**: `./scripts/integration_tests.sh` (3 minutes)
+4. **Documentation**: `cargo doc --no-deps --all-features` (20 seconds)
+
+### For Feature Changes
+- Run examples that exercise your changes
+- Test with different feature combinations using cargo-hack
+- Verify MSRV compatibility with `./scripts/msrv.sh` (3 minutes)
+
+## Common Tasks
+
+### Rust Version Support
+- **Minimum Supported Rust Version (MSRV)**: 1.75.0
+- **Current stable**: Works with latest stable Rust
+- Check MSRV compliance: `./scripts/msrv.sh` (3 minutes)
+
+### Protocol Buffers
+- **protoc version required**: 3.15+ (3.21.12 verified working)
+- Required for `opentelemetry-otlp` crate compilation
+- Install with: `sudo apt-get install protobuf-compiler`
+- Some crates auto-download protoc if `PROTOC` env var not set
+
+### Feature Flags and Testing
+- Use `cargo hack --each-feature` to test all feature combinations (included in lint script)
+- Key feature flags: `trace`, `metrics`, `logs`, `grpc-tonic`, `http-proto`, `reqwest-client`
+- Test with `--all-features` for full functionality testing
+- Test with `--no-default-features` for minimal builds
+
+### Development Workflow
+1. Make code changes
+2. Run `cargo fmt --all` to format
+3. Run `cargo check --workspace` for quick validation (1m 15s)
+4. Test relevant examples to verify functionality
+5. Run `./scripts/precommit.sh` for full validation before committing
+
+### CI Pipeline Expectations
+The CI pipeline runs:
+- Tests on Ubuntu, Windows, macOS
+- Rust stable and beta versions
+- All feature combinations via cargo-hack
+- MSRV verification
+- Documentation generation
+- External types checking
+- Security audits with cargo-deny
+
+### Known Issues
+- Integration test `metrictests::counter_tokio_current` may fail intermittently (existing issue)
+- Some dependencies require newer Rust versions but are locked to MSRV-compatible versions
+- Build times can be significant due to the large number of feature combinations tested
+
+### Performance Notes
+- Initial builds are slow due to many dependencies
+- Subsequent builds are much faster due to caching
+- Lint script tests many feature combinations, hence the 6-minute duration
+- Use `cargo check` for faster iteration during development
+
+## Repository Information
+- **License**: Apache License 2.0
+- **Workspace**: Uses Cargo workspace with 13+ member crates
+- **Dependencies**: Managed at workspace level in root `Cargo.toml`
+- **Non-workspace member**: `opentelemetry-prometheus` (legacy reasons)
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