Archestra Dev Observability
archestra-ai/archestra
A skill your agent uses when changing Archestra tracing, metrics, OpenTelemetry, Tempo, Grafana, Prometheus, LLM/MCP spans, observability labels, or local observability setup.
Investigates distributed application performance using PostHog APM (OpenTelemetry span) data via MCP.
Install Exploring Apm Traces
$ npx skills add PostHog/posthog --skill exploring-apm-traces -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install PostHog/posthog exploring-apm-traces --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/PostHog/posthog.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces .claude/skills/exploring-apm-traces && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "exploring-apm-traces" agent skill from https://github.com/PostHog/posthog/tree/master/products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces into .claude/skills/exploring-apm-traces/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "exploring-apm-traces", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/PostHog/posthog/tree/master/products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-tracesType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add PostHog/posthog --skill exploring-apm-traces -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install PostHog/posthog exploring-apm-traces --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/PostHog/posthog.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces .agents/skills/exploring-apm-traces && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "exploring-apm-traces" agent skill from https://github.com/PostHog/posthog/tree/master/products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces into .agents/skills/exploring-apm-traces/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "exploring-apm-traces", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add PostHog/posthog --skill exploring-apm-traces -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install PostHog/posthog exploring-apm-traces --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/PostHog/posthog.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces .cursor/skills/exploring-apm-traces && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "exploring-apm-traces" agent skill from https://github.com/PostHog/posthog/tree/master/products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces into .cursor/skills/exploring-apm-traces/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "exploring-apm-traces", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/PostHog/posthog.git --path products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add PostHog/posthog --skill exploring-apm-traces -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install PostHog/posthog exploring-apm-traces --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/PostHog/posthog.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces .gemini/skills/exploring-apm-traces && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "exploring-apm-traces" agent skill from https://github.com/PostHog/posthog/tree/master/products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces into .gemini/skills/exploring-apm-traces/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "exploring-apm-traces", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install PostHog/posthog exploring-apm-tracesInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add PostHog/posthog --skill exploring-apm-traces -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/PostHog/posthog.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces .github/skills/exploring-apm-traces && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "exploring-apm-traces" agent skill from https://github.com/PostHog/posthog/tree/master/products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces into .github/skills/exploring-apm-traces/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "exploring-apm-traces", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add PostHog/posthog --skill exploring-apm-traces -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install PostHog/posthog exploring-apm-traces --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/PostHog/posthog.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces .opencode/skills/exploring-apm-traces && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "exploring-apm-traces" agent skill from https://github.com/PostHog/posthog/tree/master/products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces into .opencode/skills/exploring-apm-traces/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "exploring-apm-traces", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
exploring-apm-traces- GitHub stars
- 40k
- Token cost
- ~3.5k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 1,476 words
- Files
- 8 (incl. scripts, references)
- Skills in repo
- 252
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- Custom licence
At a glance
Investigates distributed application performance using PostHog APM (OpenTelemetry span) data via MCP.
- Works in 2 steps: Fetch the trace → Parse large results with scripts
- The user asks about service traces
- SKILL.md covers Governed metric first, Available tools, Workflow: debug a trace from a… and Tree reconstruction…, plus 5 more sections
- Runs Python scripts from its folder; calls python3
What it does
Exploring Apm Traces is an agent skill from PostHog/posthog, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Investigates distributed application performance using PostHog APM (OpenTelemetry span) data via MCP. Use when the user asks about service traces, slow HTTP/database spans, error spans, error-rate trends or spikes, latency distributions, trace IDs, or span attributes — not AI observability traces or product logs. Uses posthog:query-apm-spans, posthog:apm-trace-get, posthog:apm-spans-sparkline, posthog:apm-services-list, posthog:apm-attributes-list, and posthog:apm-attribute-values-list.
Its SKILL.md is about 3.5k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 9 other files, including scripts and reference files (for example `references/spans-and-fields.md`, `scripts/_common.py` and `scripts/extract_span.py`).
It sits in DevOps & Cloud, covering Monitoring and alerting and Observability. It works with PostHog, OpenTelemetry and Model Context Protocol. The repository describes itself as: :hedgehog: PostHog is the leading platform for building self-driving products. Our developer tools – AI observability, analytics, session replay, flags, experiments, error…
When your agent uses it
- The user asks about service traces
- Slow HTTP/database spans
- Error-rate trends
- Latency distributions
Example prompts
- “Use the exploring-apm-traces skill to investigate distributed application performance using PostHog APM (OpenTelemetry span) data via MCP”
- “/exploring-apm-traces”
Requirements
- Python 3
Workflow steps
2 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.
- Fetch the trace
- Parse large results with scripts
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 10f9ad7. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Ships 6 files in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
python3
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Exploring Apm Traces loads about 3.5k tokens when it runs, and up to ~5.3k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 128 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,476 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.
SKILL.md
Its licence (Custom licence) doesn't allow us to republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 1,476 words (~3,543 tokens).
“PostHog captures distributed traces from OpenTelemetry. Each trace is a tree of spans representing a request's path through services.”
- name
- exploring-apm-traces
Files
SKILL.md and 7 other files (scripts, references) in products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces of PostHog/posthog.
- SKILL.md
- references/spans-and-fields.md
- scripts/_common.py
- scripts/extract_span.py
- scripts/print_summary.py
- scripts/print_timeline.py
- scripts/search_spans.py
- scripts/show_structure.py
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 10f9ad7
Used in 1 other repository
We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders. This page covers the copy in PostHog/posthog, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.
Compare with similar skills
Exploring Apm Traces next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exploring Apm Traces this skillPostHog/posthog | 40k | — | ~3.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Archestra Dev Observabilityarchestra-ai/archestra | 4.4k | — | ~1.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Frontmcp Observabilityagentfront/frontmcp | 146 | — | ~4.6k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| UModel Root Cause Analysisalibaba/UnifiedModel | 412 | — | ~1.9k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Agentmeasureroy-tong/AgentMeasure | 218 | — | ~753 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| AWS Cost Operationszxkane/aws-skills | 367 | 1 repos | ~2.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
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UModel Root Cause Analysis
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Investigates a service incident to its root cause by querying a UModel object graph alongside metrics, logs, topology and recent deployments.
Agentmeasure
roy-tong/AgentMeasure
Check whether agent telemetry preserves measurement semantics.
AWS Cost Operations
zxkane/aws-skills
AWS cost optimization, monitoring, and operational excellence expert.
OpenTelemetry Pipeline Metrics Spec
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Related
Categories
Questions about Exploring Apm Traces
What does Exploring Apm Traces do?
Investigates distributed application performance using PostHog APM (OpenTelemetry span) data via MCP. Exploring Apm Traces is an agent skill from PostHog/posthog, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Investigates distributed application performance using PostHog APM (OpenTelemetry span) data via MCP.
When should I use Exploring Apm Traces?
Exploring Apm Traces fits situations like: the user asks about service traces; slow HTTP/database spans; error-rate trends; latency distributions.
How do I install Exploring Apm Traces in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add PostHog/posthog --skill exploring-apm-traces -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces in PostHog/posthog) into .claude/skills/exploring-apm-traces in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Exploring Apm Traces in Codex?
Run `npx skills add PostHog/posthog --skill exploring-apm-traces -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (products/tracing/skills/exploring-apm-traces in PostHog/posthog) into .agents/skills/exploring-apm-traces in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Exploring Apm Traces in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add PostHog/posthog --skill exploring-apm-traces -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/exploring-apm-traces, .gemini/skills/exploring-apm-traces, .github/skills/exploring-apm-traces and .opencode/skills/exploring-apm-traces in your project.
What does Exploring Apm Traces need to run?
Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Exploring Apm Traces needs Python for the scripts in its folder and the command-line tools its instructions call (python3). Our summary lists: Python 3.
Does Exploring Apm Traces access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Exploring Apm Traces safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.
What licence does Exploring Apm Traces use?
Exploring Apm Traces has a licence file (the repository's licence) that doesn't match a standard licence. Read it on GitHub before reusing the skill.
How many tokens does Exploring Apm Traces use?
About 3.5k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 14k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 1.8k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.
What are the alternatives to Exploring Apm Traces?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Exploring Apm Traces: Archestra Dev Observability (archestra-ai/archestra, 4.4k stars), Frontmcp Observability (agentfront/frontmcp, 146 stars), UModel Root Cause Analysis (alibaba/UnifiedModel, 412 stars) and Agentmeasure (roy-tong/AgentMeasure, 218 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Exploring Apm Traces?
PostHog (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in PostHog/posthog, which has 40,182 GitHub stars. The repository holds 252 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 8, 2026.
Source: PostHog/posthog on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.