> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://arize-ax.mintlify.site/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # GitHub Copilot > Trace GitHub Copilot sessions in VS Code and the Copilot CLI in Arize AX using the Arize Coding Harness Tracing or Copilot's native OpenTelemetry export. > Trace GitHub Copilot sessions in VS Code and the Copilot CLI in Arize AX for full observability. [GitHub Copilot](https://github.com/features/copilot) is GitHub's AI pair programmer for VS Code and the command line. There are two ways to get Copilot activity into Arize AX: the [Arize Coding Harness Tracing](https://github.com/Arize-ai/coding-harness-tracing), which installs hooks and exports [OpenInference](https://github.com/Arize-ai/openinference) spans directly, or Copilot's own OpenTelemetry export, which Arize AX normalizes on ingestion. ## Choose an approach | | Arize Coding Harness Tracing | Native OpenTelemetry export | | :------------------ | :---------------------------------------------------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Setup scope** | Once per repository, since the hooks file lives in each workspace | Once per user, device, or enterprise | | **Central rollout** | Each developer runs the installer | Through Copilot managed settings (MDM, server-managed, or file-based) | | **Credentials** | `~/.arize/harness/config.json`, or environment variables | Managed headers stay inside the extension's exporter and never enter environment variables | | **Content capture** | On by default, with three separate `ARIZE_LOG_*` redaction flags | One `captureContent` toggle, off by default, lockable by an admin | | **Span fidelity** | Native OpenInference, no convention mapping in between | Normalized from `gen_ai.*` on ingestion, so hook spans arrive unclassified | For a team or an enterprise, prefer the [native OpenTelemetry export](#native-opentelemetry-export). It scales without touching every repository, and an administrator can mandate it centrally so developers configure nothing. Use the harness when you need per-category redaction control, or when you want OpenInference spans with no convention mapping in between. Both paths need an Arize AX Space ID and API key. ## Launch Arize AX To get started, sign up for a free [Arize AX account](https://app.arize.com/auth/join) and get your Space ID and API Key: 1. Log in at [app.arize.com](https://app.arize.com) 2. Click **Settings** and copy the **Space ID** 3. Open the **API Keys** tab and create or copy an API key ## Install This installs the Arize Coding Harness. Copilot hooks are installed at the **project level** under `.github/hooks/`, so run the installer from the root of each repository where you want tracing. To avoid a per-repository install entirely, use the [native OpenTelemetry export](#native-opentelemetry-export) instead, which needs no installer. ### Curl installer **macOS / Linux:** ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light-default","dark":"github-dark-default"}} cd /path/to/your/project curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Arize-ai/coding-harness-tracing/main/install.sh | bash -s -- copilot ``` **Windows (PowerShell):** ```powershell theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light-default","dark":"github-dark-default"}} cd C:\path\to\your\project iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Arize-ai/coding-harness-tracing/main/install.bat -OutFile $env:TEMP\install.bat & $env:TEMP\install.bat copilot ``` ### Local clone ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light-default","dark":"github-dark-default"}} git clone https://github.com/Arize-ai/coding-harness-tracing.git cd /path/to/your/project /path/to/coding-harness-tracing/install.sh copilot # macOS / Linux \path\to\coding-harness-tracing\install.bat copilot # Windows ``` The installer prompts for your Arize AX credentials and project name, writes them to `~/.arize/harness/config.json`, and registers VS Code (`.github/hooks/*.json`) and Copilot CLI (`.github/hooks/hooks.json`) hooks in the current project. ## Configuration Credentials live in `~/.arize/harness/config.json` and apply across all projects. Per-project environment variables override `config.json` and can be set in your shell profile. ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light-default","dark":"github-dark-default"}} export ARIZE_API_KEY="" export ARIZE_SPACE_ID="" export ARIZE_PROJECT_NAME="copilot" export ARIZE_TRACE_ENABLED="true" ``` ### Redaction controls Each `ARIZE_LOG_*` flag accepts `"true"` or `"false"` and defaults to `"true"`. Set to `"false"` to opt out per category: ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light-default","dark":"github-dark-default"}} export ARIZE_LOG_PROMPTS="false" export ARIZE_LOG_TOOL_DETAILS="false" export ARIZE_LOG_TOOL_CONTENT="false" ``` | Flag | Redacts | | :----------------------- | :-------------------------------------- | | `ARIZE_LOG_PROMPTS` | User prompt and assistant response text | | `ARIZE_LOG_TOOL_DETAILS` | Tool names and arguments | | `ARIZE_LOG_TOOL_CONTENT` | Tool call output content | ## Observe Once tracing is enabled, Copilot activity from both VS Code and the CLI streams to Arize AX. You'll see: * **Turn traces** — each prompt → response cycle as a parent span * **Tool spans** — nested spans for each tool call with inputs, outputs, and duration * **Subagent spans** — activity from any subagents Copilot spawns (VS Code) * **Error spans** — `errorOccurred` events from the CLI * **Session grouping** — all turns from the same session grouped by `session_id` ### Hooks Captured Copilot in VS Code and on the CLI use different event names. The Agent Kit handles both with one install command. | Surface | Hook File | Events | | :------ | :--------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | VS Code | `.github/hooks/session-start.json` | `SessionStart` | | VS Code | `.github/hooks/user-prompt.json` | `UserPromptSubmit` | | VS Code | `.github/hooks/pre-tool.json` | `PreToolUse` | | VS Code | `.github/hooks/post-tool.json` | `PostToolUse` | | VS Code | `.github/hooks/stop.json` | `Stop` | | VS Code | `.github/hooks/subagent-stop.json` | `SubagentStop` | | CLI | `.github/hooks/hooks.json` | `sessionStart`, `userPromptSubmitted`, `preToolUse`, `postToolUse`, `errorOccurred`, `sessionEnd` | ## Native OpenTelemetry export Copilot Chat emits its own OpenTelemetry traces following the [OTel GenAI semantic conventions](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/agents/guides/monitoring-agents), with no hooks and no installer. Arize AX [normalizes `gen_ai.*` spans into OpenInference on ingestion](/docs/ax/concepts/otel-openinference/semantic-conventions#how-arize-ax-ingests-genai-spans), so you can point Copilot straight at the Arize AX OTLP endpoint. Enabling OTel instruments every agent type at once: the foreground agent, Copilot CLI sessions, Claude agent sessions, and any subagents, with trace context propagated across them. ### Set up a single developer In **settings.json**: ```json theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light-default","dark":"github-dark-default"}} { "github.copilot.chat.otel.enabled": true, "github.copilot.chat.otel.otlpEndpoint": "https://otlp.arize.com", "github.copilot.chat.otel.captureContent": true } ``` There is no user-level setting for OTLP headers, so credentials and project routing go through environment variables: ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light-default","dark":"github-dark-default"}} export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="space_id=,api_key=" export OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES="openinference.project.name=copilot" ``` Without `openinference.project.name`, spans have no project to land in. `OTEL_SERVICE_NAME` does not route them. The exported URL must resolve to `https://otlp.arize.com/v1/traces`. VS Code appends `/v1/traces` to the endpoint you configure, the same way it does for the `http://localhost:4318` collector default. If no spans arrive, set `otlpEndpoint` to the full path instead. Posting to the bare host returns an HTTP success and silently discards the spans. Leave `captureContent` off and you get metadata only: model names, token counts, durations, and tool names, but no prompts, responses, or tool arguments. ### Roll out across an enterprise Administrators can mandate the whole configuration through the `telemetry` block in [Copilot managed settings](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/enterprise/ai-settings#_configure-telemetry-export-with-opentelemetry), delivered by MDM (Intune, Jamf, Group Policy), server-managed settings from your `.github-private` repository, or a file-based `managed-settings.json`. Developers configure nothing. ```json theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light-default","dark":"github-dark-default"}} { "telemetry": { "enabled": true, "endpoint": "https://otlp.arize.com", "protocol": "http/protobuf", "captureContent": true, "lockCaptureContent": true, "resourceAttributes": { "openinference.project.name": "copilot" }, "headers": { "space_id": "", "api_key": "" } } } ``` A managed value always wins, taking precedence over environment variables and user settings. `lockCaptureContent` prevents developers from changing whether prompt and tool content is captured. Managed `telemetry.headers` are applied only to the Copilot Chat extension's exporter and are deliberately never passed through environment variables, so an API key cannot leak into the tool subprocesses the agent host spawns. As a consequence, managed headers do not currently reach the agent host, so Copilot CLI terminal sessions still need `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS` set in the environment. ### Spans Captured Copilot's operation names normalize to OpenInference span kinds as follows: | Copilot span | `gen_ai.operation.name` | Arize AX span kind | | :------------- | :---------------------- | :----------------- | | `invoke_agent` | `invoke_agent` | `AGENT` | | `chat` | `chat` | `LLM` | | `execute_tool` | `execute_tool` | `TOOL` | | `execute_hook` | `execute_hook` | Unclassified | On the agent and chat spans you get prompts and responses as `llm.input_messages` and `llm.output_messages`, token counts, model name, and computed cost. Tool spans carry `tool.name`, `tool.parameters`, and the tool result as `output.value`. `gen_ai.conversation.id` becomes `session.id`, so turns group into sessions. The raw `gen_ai.*`, `github.copilot.*`, and `copilot_chat.*` attributes are all preserved on the span, so you can still filter on things like `github.copilot.git.branch`. ### What does not carry over * **Hook spans are unclassified.** `execute_hook` is not a recognized GenAI operation, so those spans arrive with no span kind. Their `github.copilot.hook.*` attributes are preserved and still queryable. * **Metrics and events are dropped.** Arize AX ingests traces. The `copilot_chat.*` metrics (edit acceptance, edit survival, time to first token) and the OTel events are not spans and are not stored. * **The provider stays unmapped.** `gen_ai.provider.name` is `github`, which is not in the [provider table](/docs/ax/concepts/otel-openinference/span-kinds#provider-and-system), so it passes through to `llm.system` unchanged and `llm.provider` is left unset. ## Reference For the full list of environment variables, default file paths, and troubleshooting steps, see the [Copilot tracing README](https://github.com/Arize-ai/coding-harness-tracing/blob/main/tracing/copilot/README.md). For the native export, see [Monitor agent usage with OpenTelemetry](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/agents/guides/monitoring-agents) in the VS Code documentation. ## Uninstall Run from the project root where you installed the hooks: ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light-default","dark":"github-dark-default"}} curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Arize-ai/coding-harness-tracing/main/install.sh | bash -s -- uninstall copilot ``` To turn off the native export, set `github.copilot.chat.otel.enabled` to `false`, or set `telemetry.enabled` to `false` in managed settings. ## Resources