Distributed Tracing

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Debugging microservices
• Analyzing request flows
• Implementing observability for distributed systems

Example prompts

• “/distributed-tracing”

Requirements

• Python 3

Workflow steps

10 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

1. 1Sample appropriately (1-10% in production)
2. 2Add meaningful tags (user_id, request_id)
3. 3Propagate context across all service boundaries
4. 4Log exceptions in spans
5. 5Use consistent naming for operations
6. 6Monitor tracing overhead (<1% CPU impact)
7. 7Set up alerts for trace errors
8. 8Implement distributed context (baggage)
9. 9Use span events for important milestones
10. 10Document instrumentation standards

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 46891e7. 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

  No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are python).

  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

Distributed Tracing loads about 527 tokens when it runs, and up to ~2.5k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 66 tokens; SKILL.md has 174 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~66

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~527

With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them

~2.5k

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

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); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from wshobson/agents at commit 46891e7, republished under its MIT licence (© wshobson). 174 words, ~527 tokens.

name

distributed-tracing

description

Implement distributed tracing with Jaeger and Tempo to track requests across microservices and identify performance bottlenecks. Use when debugging microservices, analyzing request flows, or implementing observability for distributed systems.

import logging
from opentelemetry import trace

logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

def process_request():
    span = trace.get_current_span()
    trace_id = span.get_span_context().trace_id

    logger.info(
        "Processing request",
        extra={"trace_id": format(trace_id, '032x')}
    )

© wshobson, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file (references) in plugins/observability-monitoring/skills/distributed-tracing of wshobson/agents.

• SKILL.md
• references/details.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 46891e7

Used in 12 other repositories

We found 34 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 12 other GitHub owners. This page covers the copy in wshobson/agents, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

• HermeticOrmus/LibreUIUX-Claude-Codeplugins/observability-monitoring/skills/distributed-tracing
• Microck/ordinary-claude-skillsskills_all/distributed-tracingskills_categorized/cicd/distributed-tracing+5 more
• aiskillstore/marketplaceskills/sickn33/distributed-tracingskills/wshobson/distributed-tracing
• aAAaqwq/AGI-Super-Teamskills/distributed-tracing
• sickn33/agentic-awesome-skillsskills/distributed-tracingplugins/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/distributed-tracing+3 more
• rmyndharis/antigravity-skillsskills/distributed-tracing
• Dokhacgiakhoa/Agent-Skills-4-Vibe-Coding-CLI.agent/skills/distributed-tracing
• agent-skills-hub/agent-skills-hubskills/distributed-tracing
• lingxling/awesome-skills-cnantigravity-awesome-skills/skills/distributed-tracingantigravity-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/distributed-tracing+3 more
• benjaminasterA/antigravity-awesome-skillsskills/distributed-tracing
• henryalouf/ruflow.agents/skills/distributed-tracing.agents/skills/antigravity-awesome-skills/skills/distributed-tracing+6 more
• infometa/workbuddyskillsplugins/codebuddy-plugins-official/external_plugins/observability-monitoring/skills/distributed-tracing