OTel shipping with FusionReactor

From version 2025.2.0, the FusionReactor agent includes built-in OpenTelemetry (OTel) support and ships metrics, traces, and logs directly to any OTel-compatible destination. You no longer need to run a separate OTel agent alongside FusionReactor.

Shipping modes

There are three shipping modes depending on your setup:

Mode	When it applies	Config required
Default (OpsPilot)	No existing OTel endpoint configured	None
Single endpoint	You configure one external OTel endpoint	Set otel.exporter.otlp.endpoint
Multiple destinations	You need to ship to more than one destination	Collector required

Default: shipping to OpsPilot

Without any OTel endpoint configured, the FR agent automatically ships all metrics, traces, and logs to OpsPilot. No configuration is needed.

If you upgrade from a pre-2025.2.0 agent with no existing OTel configuration, your data will appear in OpsPilot automatically.

Single endpoint shipping

To override the OpsPilot default and ship to a single external provider (Datadog, New Relic, Dash0, Grafana, etc.), configure the endpoint via system property or environment variable:

otel.exporter.otlp.endpoint=https://your-endpoint:4317

export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://your-endpoint:4317

Warning

When you configure an external endpoint, shipping to OpsPilot stops. To keep sending data to OpsPilot alongside another destination, use a collector instead.

If you had an existing OTel configuration before upgrading to 2025.2.0, the FR agent picks up your configured endpoint automatically - your data will go to that endpoint rather than OpsPilot.

Multiple destinations via a collector

To ship to more than one destination simultaneously, point the FR agent at a local collector, then configure the collector to fan out to multiple destinations.

The FR agent configuration is the same regardless of which collector you use:

otel.exporter.otlp.endpoint=http://localhost:4317

Then configure your collector:

OTel CollectorAlloy

The OpenTelemetry Collector uses YAML configuration. Create or edit your collector.yaml:

receivers:
  otlp:
    protocols:
      grpc:
        endpoint: 0.0.0.0:4317
      http:
        endpoint: 0.0.0.0:4318

processors:
  batch:
    timeout: 5s
    send_batch_size: 1000

exporters:
  otlp/grafana:
    endpoint: https://<your-stack>.grafana.net/otlp
    headers:
      authorization: "Basic <base64(instanceID:apiToken)>"

  prometheusremotewrite/opspilot:
    endpoint: https://api.fusionreactor.io/v1/metrics
    headers:
      authorization: "${env:FR_API_KEY}"

  otlphttp/opspilot:
    endpoint: https://api.fusionreactor.io
    headers:
      authorization: "${env:FR_API_KEY}"

service:
  pipelines:
    traces:
      receivers: [otlp]
      processors: [batch]
      exporters: [otlp/grafana, otlphttp/opspilot]
    metrics:
      receivers: [otlp]
      processors: [batch]
      exporters: [otlp/grafana, prometheusremotewrite/opspilot]
    logs:
      receivers: [otlp]
      processors: [batch]
      exporters: [otlp/grafana, otlphttp/opspilot]

OpsPilot metrics format

OpsPilot ingests metrics in Prometheus Remote Write format, not raw OTLP. The metrics pipeline must use the prometheusremotewrite exporter targeting https://api.fusionreactor.io/v1/metrics. Use the otel/opentelemetry-collector-contrib image - the standard otel/opentelemetry-collector image does not include this exporter.

Grafana Alloy uses HCL syntax. Create or edit your collector.alloy:

otelcol.receiver.otlp "default" {
  grpc {
    endpoint = "0.0.0.0:4317"
  }
  http {
    endpoint = "0.0.0.0:4318"
  }

  output {
    metrics = [otelcol.processor.batch.default.input]
    logs    = [otelcol.processor.batch.default.input]
    traces  = [otelcol.processor.batch.default.input]
  }
}

otelcol.processor.batch "default" {
  timeout         = "5s"
  send_batch_size = 1000

  output {
    metrics = [otelcol.exporter.otlp.grafana.input, otelcol.exporter.prometheus.opspilot.input]
    logs    = [otelcol.exporter.otlp.grafana.input, otelcol.exporter.otlphttp.opspilot.input]
    traces  = [otelcol.exporter.otlp.grafana.input, otelcol.exporter.otlphttp.opspilot.input]
  }
}

otelcol.exporter.otlp "grafana" {
  client {
    endpoint = "https://<your-stack>.grafana.net/otlp"
    auth     = otelcol.auth.basic.grafana.handler
  }
}

otelcol.auth.basic "grafana" {
  username = env("GRAFANA_INSTANCE_ID")
  password = env("GRAFANA_API_TOKEN")
}

// OpsPilot traces and logs
otelcol.exporter.otlphttp "opspilot" {
  client {
    endpoint = "https://api.fusionreactor.io"
    headers  = {
      "authorization" = env("FR_API_KEY"),
    }
  }
}

// OpsPilot metrics - convert to Prometheus Remote Write format
otelcol.exporter.prometheus "opspilot" {
  forward_to = [prometheus.remote_write.opspilot.receiver]
}

prometheus.remote_write "opspilot" {
  endpoint {
    url = "https://api.fusionreactor.io/v1/metrics"
    headers = {
      "authorization" = env("FR_API_KEY"),
    }
  }
}

Warning

OpsPilot requires the raw API key in the Authorization header without a Bearer prefix. Use a plain headers map rather than otelcol.auth.bearer, which adds the prefix automatically.

FR_API_KEY is your OpsPilot API key from Account Settings > API Keys in the OpsPilot UI. This is different from your FR licence key.

Troubleshooting

Verifying your configuration

Check the Cloud Status page in the local FusionReactor UI (localhost:8088 by default) to confirm that OTel shipping settings have been applied and shipping is active. Also review the agent startup logs for any configuration errors or warnings.

Data not appearing in OpsPilot

• Verify your endpoint URL is correct
• Check that authentication credentials are set via environment variables
• Ensure the protocol matches the endpoint (gRPC uses port 4317, HTTP uses 4318)
• Check collector logs if using a collector

Connection errors

• Verify network connectivity to the endpoint
• Check that firewall rules allow outbound connections on the required ports
• Ensure the endpoint supports the protocol you have configured

Authentication failures

• Verify that API keys/tokens are valid and not expired
• Check the header format matches the provider's requirements
• Ensure environment variables are set and accessible to the process

For further help, see the OpsPilot OpenTelemetry troubleshooting guide or contact support via the chat bubble on this page.