OpenTelemetry Go API and SDK
This report summarizes scanner evidence for open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go, a Go project with 6,573 GitHub stars. SynthScan examined 975,032 lines of code across 1503 source files, recording 14992 pattern matches distributed across 5 syntactic categories. The legacy adjusted pattern signal is 9.4 (Moderate pattern signal); it is not an authorship estimate.
Use the findings to ask whether maintainers can explain intent, verify dependencies, simplify unnecessary scaffolding, and focus review effort. Risk Payload v1 adds ownership, supply-chain, over-engineering, and review-effort vectors when available. These are prompts for human verification, not probabilities, security findings, or measured maintenance costs.
Use each vector to guide manual verification of the underlying findings.
Can maintainers explain intent, assumptions, and trade-offs? 14987 finding(s).
Are imports declared and package/API names verified? 0 finding(s).
Are wrappers, guards, and repeated structures necessary? 5 finding(s).
Which changes need focused human review? 14992 finding(s).
This chart tracks the legacy adjusted pattern score across scan runs. Changes can reflect source changes, scan coverage, or detector/scoring versions; they do not measure AI adoption or prove that a team refactored code. Compare runs only when their scoring versions are compatible. The dashed line tracks the raw pattern-hit count.
Groups findings by configured severity weight. Severity is not a confidence estimate, security rating, or proof that a package is missing. Verify imports against the project's manifests and inspect each finding in its local design context.
This horizontal bar chart shows where configured pattern scores accumulate across directories. Treat the bars as locations to inspect, not as evidence of authorship or code quality. Use the file-level findings to decide whether a directory needs a focused ownership, dependency, complexity, or review check.
The scanner identified 14992 distinct pattern matches across 5 syntactic categories. Each entry below represents a discrete location in the source code where the engine recorded a detector match to inspect in context. Expand any category row to inspect the individual file paths, line numbers, code snippets, and the lexical context (CODE, COMMENT, or STRING) in which each match was detected.
Reading the findings table: The Severity column indicates the configured finding weight (CRITICAL / HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW). The Context column identifies whether the match occurred inside executable code, an inline comment, or a string literal — legacy comment-context matches receive a ×1.5 score weight. The ⚡ bolt icon marks clustered matches: three or more patterns within a 10-line window, each receiving an additional ×1.5 density multiplier under the legacy scoring model.
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | log.go | 1 | // Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors | COMMENT |
| LOW | handler.go | 1 | // Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors | COMMENT |
| LOW | handler.go | 21 | // to the new ErrorHandler for prior returned instances. | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace.go | 21 | // | COMMENT |
| LOW | metric.go | 1 | // Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors | COMMENT |
| LOW | metric.go | 21 | // the new MeterProvider. | COMMENT |
| LOW | error_handler.go | 1 | // Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/provider.go | 1 | // Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/provider.go | 21 | // | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/provider.go | 41 | // libraries may sometimes use traces to communicate different domains of | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/tracestate.go | 101 | COMMENT | |
| LOW | trace/tracestate.go | 161 | COMMENT | |
| LOW | trace/noop.go | 81 | // SetName does nothing. | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/hex.go | 1 | // Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/auto.go | 381 | // number of valid characters contained in s. | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/auto.go | 621 | } | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/auto.go | 641 | // if that is not set, is used. | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/tracer.go | 21 | embedded.Tracer | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/span.go | 21 | // default behavior for unimplemented methods. | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/span.go | 41 | AddLink(link Link) | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/span.go | 61 | SetStatus(code codes.Code, description string) | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/span.go | 81 | // the same Trace or across different Traces. | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/span.go | 121 | // SpanKindUnspecified is an unspecified SpanKind and is not a valid | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/noop/noop.go | 1 | // Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/internal/telemetry/span.go | 21 | // the same `trace_id`. The ID is a 16-byte array. An ID with all zeroes OR | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/internal/telemetry/span.go | 41 | // Flags, a bit field. | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/internal/telemetry/span.go | 61 | // [Optional]. | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/internal/telemetry/span.go | 81 | // is the time when the server's application handler starts running. | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/internal/telemetry/span.go | 101 | // The OpenTelemetry API specification further restricts the allowed value types: | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/internal/telemetry/span.go | 241 | // expression like: | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/internal/telemetry/span.go | 261 | // remote. Bit 8 (`HAS_IS_REMOTE`) indicates whether the value is known. | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/internal/telemetry/span.go | 281 | // RPC or other remote network request. | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/internal/telemetry/span.go | 381 | } | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/internal/telemetry/span.go | 401 | // then no attributes were dropped. | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/internal/telemetry/test/doc.go | 1 | // Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/embedded/embedded.go | 1 | // Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/embedded/embedded.go | 21 | // experience a compilation error, signaling they need to update to your latest | COMMENT |
| LOW | trace/embedded/embedded.go | 41 | // compilation error, signaling they need to update to your latest | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/encoder.go | 21 | COMMENT | |
| LOW | attribute/kv.go | 41 | // possible. | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/kv.go | 101 | // | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/kv.go | 121 | // | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/key.go | 21 | // BoolSlice returns a [KeyValue] for a []bool value. | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/key.go | 41 | // If creating both a key and value at the same time, use the package-level [Int] | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/key.go | 81 | // Note that many observability backends are not optimized to query, index, or | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/key.go | 121 | COMMENT | |
| LOW | attribute/key.go | 181 | // Map returns a [KeyValue] for a []KeyValue value. | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/filter.go | 1 | // Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/hash.go | 61 | // before calling Write. | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/set.go | 21 | // This type will remain comparable for backwards compatibility. The | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/set.go | 201 | return encoder.Encode(l.Iter()) | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/set.go | 261 | if div := filteredToFront(kvs, filter); div != 0 { | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/set.go | 281 | // can avoid memory allocations by: | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/value.go | 41 | // INT64 identifies a Value containing an int64. | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/value.go | 81 | // aggregate complex attribute values. Complex values may also carry | COMMENT |
| LOW | attribute/value.go | 181 | COMMENT | |
| LOW | attribute/value.go | 201 | func SliceValue(v ...Value) Value { | COMMENT |
| LOW | semconv/v1.16.0/trace.go | 1 | // Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors | COMMENT |
| LOW | semconv/v1.16.0/trace.go | 21 | // The exception message. | COMMENT |
| LOW | semconv/v1.16.0/trace.go | 41 | ) | COMMENT |
| 14877 more matches not shown… | ||||
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.39.0/attribute_group.go | 6299 | // `gen_ai.data_source.id` MAY also leverage additional attributes, such as | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.39.0/attribute_group.go | 11827 | // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.39.0/attribute_group.go | 11830 | // The system will utilize the default scale tier. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.33.0/attribute_group.go | 6120 | // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.33.0/attribute_group.go | 6123 | // The system will utilize the default scale tier. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.37.0/attribute_group.go | 6020 | // `gen_ai.data_source.id` MAY also leverage additional attributes, such as | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.37.0/attribute_group.go | 10862 | // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.37.0/attribute_group.go | 10865 | // The system will utilize the default scale tier. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.30.0/attribute_group.go | 5331 | // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.30.0/attribute_group.go | 5334 | // The system will utilize the default scale tier. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.34.0/attribute_group.go | 5889 | // `gen_ai.data_source.id` MAY also leverage additional attributes, such as | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.34.0/attribute_group.go | 6425 | // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.34.0/attribute_group.go | 6428 | // The system will utilize the default scale tier. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.41.0/attribute_group.go | 6393 | // `gen_ai.data_source.id` MAY also leverage additional attributes, such as | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.41.0/attribute_group.go | 12660 | // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.41.0/attribute_group.go | 12663 | // The system will utilize the default scale tier. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.31.0/attribute_group.go | 5574 | // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.31.0/attribute_group.go | 5577 | // The system will utilize the default scale tier. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.40.0/attribute_group.go | 6370 | // `gen_ai.data_source.id` MAY also leverage additional attributes, such as | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.40.0/attribute_group.go | 12271 | // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.40.0/attribute_group.go | 12274 | // The system will utilize the default scale tier. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.32.0/attribute_group.go | 5903 | // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.32.0/attribute_group.go | 5906 | // The system will utilize the default scale tier. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.38.0/attribute_group.go | 6278 | // `gen_ai.data_source.id` MAY also leverage additional attributes, such as | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.38.0/attribute_group.go | 11506 | // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.38.0/attribute_group.go | 11509 | // The system will utilize the default scale tier. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.36.0/attribute_group.go | 5904 | // `gen_ai.data_source.id` MAY also leverage additional attributes, such as | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.36.0/attribute_group.go | 6440 | // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.36.0/attribute_group.go | 6443 | // The system will utilize the default scale tier. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.28.0/attribute_group.go | 4981 | // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.28.0/attribute_group.go | 4984 | // The system will utilize the default scale tier. | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.39.0/attribute_group.go | 521 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.39.0/attribute_group.go | 1253 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.37.0/attribute_group.go | 475 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.37.0/attribute_group.go | 1207 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.42.0/attribute_group.go | 546 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.42.0/attribute_group.go | 1278 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.34.0/attribute_group.go | 398 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.34.0/attribute_group.go | 1130 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.41.0/attribute_group.go | 521 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.41.0/attribute_group.go | 1253 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.40.0/attribute_group.go | 521 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.40.0/attribute_group.go | 1253 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.38.0/attribute_group.go | 521 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.38.0/attribute_group.go | 1253 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.36.0/attribute_group.go | 398 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.36.0/attribute_group.go | 1130 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.43.0/attribute_group.go | 546 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | semconv/v1.43.0/attribute_group.go | 1278 | // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.html | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM⚡ | .github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml | 6 | # ┌───────────── minute (0 - 59) | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM⚡ | .github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml | 7 | # │ ┌───────────── hour (0 - 23) | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM⚡ | .github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml | 8 | # │ │ ┌───────────── day of the month (1 - 31) | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM⚡ | .github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml | 9 | # │ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1 - 12 or JAN-DEC) | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM⚡ | .github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml | 10 | # │ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of the week (0 - 6 or SUN-SAT) | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | sdk/trace/trace_test.go | 1967 | // NOTE: This function tests ReadWriteSpan which is an interface which | COMMENT |