> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://notes.kodekloud.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Demo Exporting Logs to Collector > Guide to configuring OpenTelemetry Python to export logs via OTLP HTTP to a Collector, including setup, Docker Compose example, verification steps, and troubleshooting. In this lesson you’ll replace the console log exporter with an OTLP log exporter so application logs are forwarded to an OpenTelemetry Collector. In production you typically send traces and logs to a Collector, and the Collector forwards them to a backend such as Elasticsearch, Splunk, or a vendor-specific ingest. Overview * Install the OTLP HTTP exporter package. * Import and configure the OTLP log exporter. * Wire the exporter into the SDK's log pipeline. * Run the app and verify the Collector receives the logs. Before running the code, install the OTLP HTTP exporter package: ```bash theme={null} pip install opentelemetry-exporter-otlp-proto-http ``` ## What we’ll change * Keep the span exporter (ConsoleSpanExporter) if you want to continue viewing spans locally. * Configure an OTLP log exporter to point at the Collector HTTP endpoint (default path for OTLP logs is `/v1/logs` on port `4318`). * Create a `BatchLogRecordProcessor` and attach it to the SDK `LoggerProvider`. * Optionally capture stdlib `logging` records and forward them to OpenTelemetry logs. ## Imports and configuration Notes: * Use `opentelemetry.exporter.otlp.proto.http._log_exporter.OTLPLogExporter` for the OTLP HTTP logs exporter (module and class names are case-sensitive). * If you also want to send spans to OTLP, add the corresponding OTLP span exporter (for example, `opentelemetry.exporter.otlp.proto.http.trace_exporter.OTLPSpanExporter`) and a span processor. Example configuration (consolidated): ```python theme={null} import time import logging from opentelemetry import trace from opentelemetry.sdk.trace import TracerProvider from opentelemetry.sdk.trace.export import ConsoleSpanExporter, SimpleSpanProcessor from opentelemetry.sdk._logs import LoggerProvider, LoggingHandler from opentelemetry._logs import set_logger_provider from opentelemetry.sdk._logs.export import BatchLogRecordProcessor from opentelemetry.sdk._logs.export import ConsoleLogExporter from opentelemetry._logs.severity import SeverityNumber # OTLP logs exporter (HTTP) from opentelemetry.exporter.otlp.proto.http._log_exporter import OTLPLogExporter # --- Tracing (optional: still export spans to console here) --- span_exporter = ConsoleSpanExporter() span_processor = SimpleSpanProcessor(span_exporter) tracer_provider = TracerProvider() tracer_provider.add_span_processor(span_processor) trace.set_tracer_provider(tracer_provider) tracer = trace.get_tracer("flight-booking", "0.1.2") # --- Logging: configure OTLP exporter and processor --- logger_provider = LoggerProvider() # Send logs to the local Collector at http://localhost:4318/v1/logs otlp_log_exporter = OTLPLogExporter(endpoint="http://localhost:4318/v1/logs") log_processor = BatchLogRecordProcessor(otlp_log_exporter) logger_provider.add_log_record_processor(log_processor) # Make the SDK logger provider the global provider set_logger_provider(logger_provider=logger_provider) # Optionally capture Python `logging` records and forward them to OpenTelemetry logs handler = LoggingHandler(level=logging.NOTSET, logger_provider=logger_provider) root_logger = logging.getLogger() root_logger.setLevel(logging.INFO) root_logger.addHandler(handler) # Example usage logger = logging.getLogger(__name__) logger.info("starting booking process") ``` ## Docker Compose — Local Collector This minimal Docker Compose example runs an OpenTelemetry Collector that accepts both OTLP gRPC (4317) and OTLP HTTP (4318). It mounts a local config file into the container. ```yaml theme={null} services: otel-collector: image: otel/opentelemetry-collector-contrib:0.85.0 container_name: otel-collector ports: - "4317:4317" # OTLP gRPC - "4318:4318" # OTLP HTTP volumes: - ./otel-collector-config.yaml:/etc/otel-collector-config.yaml:ro command: ["--config", "/etc/otel-collector-config.yaml"] ``` | Resource | Purpose | Example / Notes | | - | - | - | | Collector HTTP endpoint | Receives OTLP logs over HTTP | `http://localhost:4318/v1/logs` | | Collector gRPC endpoint | Receives OTLP traces/metrics via gRPC | `localhost:4317` | | Local config | Collector pipeline, receivers, exporters | Mount via `./otel-collector-config.yaml` | ## Verify the Collector received logs 1. Start the Collector via Docker Compose. 2. Run your application configured with the OTLP log exporter. 3. If the Collector routes logs to a stdout exporter in its config, you should see decoded log records in the Collector's console. Example Collector stdout output that indicates successful reception and decoding: ```text theme={null} otel-collector | ScopeLogs #0 otel-collector | ScopeLogs SchemaURL: otel-collector | InstrumentationScope root otel-collector | LogRecord #0 otel-collector | ObservedTimestamp: 2025-09-18 23:38:13.04102 +0000 UTC otel-collector | Timestamp: 2025-09-18 23:38:13.041005056 +0000 UTC otel-collector | SeverityText: INFO otel-collector | SeverityNumber: Info(9) otel-collector | Body: Str(INFO:root:starting booking process) otel-collector | Attributes: otel-collector | -> code.file.path: Str(/Users/sanjeev/Documents/courses/logs-demo/main.py) otel-collector | -> code.function.name: Str(book_flight) otel-collector | -> code.line.number: Int(42) otel-collector | Trace ID: ca32c00c90b3aac91ea761e85eaa16c4 otel-collector | Span ID: 3e21b96358e13356 otel-collector | Flags: 1 otel-collector | LogRecord #1 otel-collector | ObservedTimestamp: 2025-09-18 23:38:13.041074 +0000 UTC otel-collector | Timestamp: 2025-09-18 23:38:13.041068032 +0000 UTC otel-collector | SeverityText: INFO otel-collector | SeverityNumber: Info(9) otel-collector | Body: Str(INFO:root:Searching for flights) otel-collector | Attributes: otel-collector | -> code.file.path: Str(/Users/sanjeev/Documents/courses/logs-demo/main.py) otel-collector | -> code.function.name: Str(search_flights) otel-collector | -> code.line.number: Int(48) otel-collector | Trace ID: ca32c00c90b3aac91ea761e85eaa16c4 otel-collector | Span ID: 48d7ae5a6846fa04 otel-collector | Flags: 1 otel-collector | LogRecord #2 otel-collector | ObservedTimestamp: 2025-09-18 23:38:13.041504 +0000 UTC otel-collector | Timestamp: 2025-09-18 23:38:13.041498112 +0000 UTC otel-collector | SeverityText: WARN otel-collector | SeverityNumber: Warn(13) otel-collector | Body: Str(WARNING:root:Reserving flight) otel-collector | Attributes: otel-collector | -> code.file.path: Str(/Users/sanjeev/Documents/courses/logs-demo/main.py) otel-collector | -> code.function.name: Str(reserve_flight) otel-collector | -> code.line.number: Int(54) otel-collector | Trace ID: ca32c00c90b3aac91ea761e85eaa16c4 otel-collector | Span ID: d6768916ca17ae49 otel-collector | Flags: 1 otel-collector | {"kind": "exporter", "data_type": "logs", "name": "logging"} ``` That output confirms: * The application forwarded logs via OTLP to the Collector. * The Collector decoded the OTLP payload and exposed metadata (severity, file/line attributes, trace/span IDs). If you do not see logs in the Collector stdout: * Verify your application can reach `http://localhost:4318`. * Confirm the Collector config includes an OTLP receiver and a stdout (or other) exporter. * Check for network/firewall rules or Docker port mappings that might block port 4318. ## Troubleshooting checklist * Is the OTLP exporter package installed? (`pip show opentelemetry-exporter-otlp-proto-http`) * Is the Collector running and listening on the expected ports? (`docker ps` and `docker logs otel-collector`) * Is the Collector config mounting correctly? Ensure `--config /etc/otel-collector-config.yaml` points to the expected file. * Are there authentication or proxy requirements in your environment? If so, adjust `OTLPLogExporter(endpoint=...)` or use environment variables per the exporter docs. ## Links and references * OpenTelemetry Collector: [https://opentelemetry.io/docs/collector/](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/collector/) * OTLP HTTP logs exporter (PyPI): [https://pypi.org/project/opentelemetry-exporter-otlp-proto-http/](https://pypi.org/project/opentelemetry-exporter-otlp-proto-http/) * OpenTelemetry Python documentation: [https://opentelemetry.io/docs/instrumentation/python/](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/instrumentation/python/) * Docker Hub: [https://hub.docker.com/](https://hub.docker.com/) If you want, I can provide a ready-to-run `otel-collector-config.yaml` example that routes OTLP logs to stdout and to a simple file exporter for local debugging. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.