Remove stale copilot-otel.jsonl references from docs and specs (#53724)

Author: Copilot

.changeset/patch-remove-copilot-otel-jsonl-docs.md

@@ -36,9 +36,8 @@ Prefer sources in this order unless the user says otherwise:
 
 1. Local artifacts or mirrors already in the workspace.
 2. `/tmp/gh-aw/otel.jsonl` for gh-aw spans.
-3. `/tmp/gh-aw/copilot-otel.jsonl` for Copilot CLI spans.
-4. Live OTLP backend data through an MCP server or supported tool.
-5. Static code inspection only, when no telemetry is available.
+3. Live OTLP backend data through an MCP server or supported tool — Copilot CLI spans are exported directly to the configured OTLP backend (no local file mirror) and must be queried there, filtered by the `github.run_id` resource attribute.
+4. Static code inspection only, when no telemetry is available.
 
 Use the cheapest source that can disconfirm the current hypothesis.
 

.github/skills/otel-queries/SKILL.md

@@ -114,7 +114,6 @@ echo "OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=${OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT:+set}"
 echo "OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS=${OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS:+set}"
 echo "GH_AW_OTLP_ENDPOINTS=${GH_AW_OTLP_ENDPOINTS:+set}"
 echo "OTEL_SERVICE_NAME=${OTEL_SERVICE_NAME:-}"
-echo "COPILOT_OTEL_FILE_EXPORTER_PATH=${COPILOT_OTEL_FILE_EXPORTER_PATH:-}"
 
 echo "=== OTEL configured backend hosts ==="
 if [ -n "${GH_AW_OTLP_ENDPOINTS:-}" ]; then

.github/workflows/smoke-otel-backends.lock.yml

@@ -124,7 +124,8 @@ You usually do not need to configure or memorize these built-in attributes. They
 When observability is enabled, trace data is also mirrored to local JSONL files and uploaded in the `agent` artifact:
 
 - `otel.jsonl` for spans emitted by gh-aw JavaScript helpers
-- `copilot-otel.jsonl` for spans emitted by Copilot CLI
+
+Copilot CLI inherits the standard OpenTelemetry environment variables (`OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT`, `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS`, `OTEL_SERVICE_NAME`, `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES`) and exports its own spans directly to the configured OTLP backend. Query them there, filtered by the `github.run_id` resource attribute (see [ADR-34450](https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/main/docs/adr/34450-inject-otel-resource-attributes-for-child-otel-sdk-correlation.md)).
 
 See [Artifacts](/gh-aw/reference/artifacts/) for artifact download details.
 
@@ -228,17 +229,14 @@ await otlp.logSpan('my-scanner', {
 
 Attribute values are sanitized automatically before the payload is exported or mirrored. Matching secret-like keys are redacted, and very long string values are truncated. The same sanitization is applied to both OTLP export and the local JSONL mirror.
 
-For debugging, every span emitted by `logSpan` is appended as a sanitized JSON line to `/tmp/gh-aw/otel.jsonl`, even when `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT` is not set. When OTLP is configured, Copilot CLI spans are written to `/tmp/gh-aw/copilot-otel.jsonl` and forwarded to configured endpoints at the end of the run. Both files are included in the `agent` artifact when OTLP is enabled.
+For debugging, every span emitted by `logSpan` is appended as a sanitized JSON line to `/tmp/gh-aw/otel.jsonl`, even when `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT` is not set. This file is included in the `agent` artifact when OTLP is enabled. Copilot CLI spans are not mirrored to a local file; they are exported directly to the configured OTLP backend and should be queried there.
 
 ```bash
 # Download agent artifacts for a run
 gh aw logs <run-id> --artifacts agent
 
 # Inspect spans emitted by your tool
 cat otel.jsonl | jq 'select(.resourceSpans[].scopeSpans[].spans[].name | startswith("my-tool"))'
-
-# Inspect Copilot CLI spans
-cat copilot-otel.jsonl | jq '.resourceSpans'
 ```
 
 <details>

.github/workflows/smoke-otel-backends.md

@@ -148,7 +148,6 @@ The unified `agent` artifact contains agent job outputs:
 - GitHub API rate limit logs (`github_rate_limits.jsonl`)
 - Token usage summary (`agent_usage.json`) — aggregated totals only; per-request data is in `firewall-audit-logs`
 - `otel.jsonl` — OTLP span mirror written by gh-aw's JavaScript span exporters when `observability.otlp` is configured
-- `copilot-otel.jsonl` — OTLP spans emitted by Copilot CLI when `observability.otlp` is configured
 
 For OTLP configuration, runtime environment variables, and span semantics, see the [OpenTelemetry guide](/gh-aw/guides/open-telemetry/).
 

docs/src/content/docs/guides/open-telemetry.mdx

@@ -259,7 +259,6 @@ These attributes are emitted when experiments are active for a run.
 When observability is enabled, trace data is also mirrored to local JSONL files and uploaded in the <code>agent</code> artifact:
 
 - <code>otel.jsonl</code> for spans emitted by gh-aw JavaScript helpers
-- <code>copilot-otel.jsonl</code> for spans emitted by Copilot CLI
 
 See the [OpenTelemetry guide](/gh-aw/guides/open-telemetry/) for setup and [Artifacts](/gh-aw/reference/artifacts/) for artifact download details.
 

docs/src/content/docs/reference/artifacts.md

@@ -194,7 +194,6 @@ Common file paths referenced in workflow files:
 | `/tmp/gh-aw/aw_info.json` | File | Workflow info JSON | Workflow metadata and configuration |
 | `/tmp/gh-aw/awf-config.json` | File | AWF config JSON | Agentic Workflow Firewall (AWF) configuration file |
 | `/tmp/gh-aw/base` | Directory | Base checkout | Base repository checkout for git diff operations |
-| `/tmp/gh-aw/copilot-otel.jsonl` | File | Copilot OTEL log | OpenTelemetry spans from Copilot engine requests |
 | `/tmp/gh-aw/cache-memory` | Directory | Cache memory storage | Persistent cache data across runs |
 | `/tmp/gh-aw/cache-memory-chroma` | Directory | Chroma cache storage | Chroma vector database cache |
 | `/tmp/gh-aw/cache-memory-focus-areas` | Directory | Focus areas cache | Cached focus area data |
@@ -649,7 +648,6 @@ GitHub Actions runner images used across compiled workflows:
 ├── cache-memory-repo-audits/   # Audit cache
 ├── comment-memory/             # Comment memory
 │   └── default.md
-├── copilot-otel.jsonl          # Copilot OpenTelemetry spans
 ├── experiments/                # A/B experiments
 │   ├── assignments.json
 │   └── state.json

docs/src/content/docs/reference/open-telemetry.mdx

@@ -753,7 +753,7 @@ Mirror-write failure MUST produce a structured diagnostic but SHOULD NOT fail th
 
 The mirror writer MUST create parent directories with restrictive permissions, MUST use append-safe writes, SHOULD tolerate concurrent writers, MUST NOT write exporter credentials, MUST apply the same content-capture and redaction policy as remote export, and SHOULD rotate or bound file size.
 
-When telemetry artifacts are uploaded, the artifact SHOULD contain `otel.jsonl`, runtime-specific companion files such as `copilot-otel.jsonl` when present, and no secret headers or credentials. A manifest containing schema version, signal counts, byte sizes, and redaction mode MAY be added as an optional companion file.
+When telemetry artifacts are uploaded, the artifact SHOULD contain `otel.jsonl` and no secret headers or credentials. As of the removal in PR #32280, gh-aw does not produce a runtime-specific companion mirror file for Copilot CLI spans; Copilot CLI is expected to export its spans directly to the configured OTLP backend using the injected `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT`/`OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS`/`OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES` environment variables (see ADR-34450). A manifest containing schema version, signal counts, byte sizes, and redaction mode MAY be added as an optional companion file.
 
 ---
 
@@ -953,6 +953,8 @@ context is added to outcome spans or links.
 
 ### Version 0.4.0 (Working Draft, June 18, 2026)
 
+- **Removed** (documentation correction, August 2026): References to a `copilot-otel.jsonl` local mirror/companion artifact. PR #32280 removed the file-export pipeline that produced it (`COPILOT_OTEL_FILE_EXPORTER_PATH` injection, artifact inclusion, and forwarding script); Copilot CLI spans are now expected to be exported directly to the configured OTLP backend and queried there.
+
 - **Changed**: Reframed 0.4.0 as a non-breaking compatibility revision rather than a replacement telemetry standard.
 - **Preserved**: `observability.otlp`, direct OTLP export, `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT`, `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS`, `GITHUB_AW_OTEL_TRACE_ID`, `GITHUB_AW_OTEL_PARENT_SPAN_ID`, `TRACEPARENT` compatibility, built-in setup/conclusion spans, `gen_ai.system`, `gen_ai.usage.total_tokens`, and raw OTLP JSONL mirror behavior.
 - **Clarified**: Standard OpenTelemetry attributes such as `gen_ai.provider.name` and CI/CD attributes may be emitted as additive aliases, not replacements for existing fields.