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Observability

Implement structured logging, metrics, and distributed tracing with OpenTelemetry.

Updated Feb 15, 2026
Search Tags:#monitoring#logging#metrics#observability#reliability#tracing#alerting
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/ftnilsson/agent-cli --skill observability-ftnilsson
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: Observability
Source: https://github.com/ftnilsson/agent-cli/tree/main/backend/skills/05-observability
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/ftnilsson/agent-cli --skill observability-ftnilsson

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill includes references (resource) components.

What problem does it solve?

This Skill provides the foundational knowledge and practices to instrument backend systems, enabling quick diagnosis of production issues and proactive problem detection through structured logging, metrics, and distributed tracing.

Core Features & Use Cases

  • Structured Logging: Implement machine-parseable JSON logs with essential contextual fields.
  • Metrics Collection: Instrument key application and infrastructure metrics using RED and USE methods.
  • Distributed Tracing: Understand request flows across multiple services using OpenTelemetry.
  • Health Checks: Define liveness and readiness endpoints for robust service management.
  • SLI/SLO Definition: Establish reliability targets and error budgets.
  • Actionable Alerting: Design alerts that prompt immediate investigation.
  • Use Case: When a critical service experiences intermittent failures, this Skill guides you to trace the request flow, examine relevant logs and metrics, and identify the root cause across distributed components.

Quick Start

Implement structured logging for your backend service following the provided JSON schema and logging rules.

Frequently Asked Questions about Observability

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I implement distributed tracing to diagnose intermittent failures across microservices?▼

Distributed tracing maps request flows across multiple services using OpenTelemetry to pinpoint failure sources. It correlates traces with relevant metrics and structured logs to identify root causes within distributed components quickly.

What is the difference between the RED and USE methods for collecting metrics?▼

The RED and USE methods are metrics collection strategies for deep system visibility. RED targets application rate, errors, and duration, while USE focuses on infrastructure utilization, saturation, and errors to ensure reliability.

How do I set up structured logging for a backend service?▼

Structured logging formats logs as machine-parseable JSON with essential contextual fields. Implementing this JSON schema for your backend service enables quick diagnosis of production issues by providing consistent, queryable log data.

How do I define SLIs, SLOs, and error budgets for system reliability?▼

Defining SLIs and SLOs establishes concrete reliability targets for your production environment. Error budgets quantify allowable failure rates against these targets, balancing feature velocity with necessary system stability.

Can I use liveness and readiness health checks for robust service management?▼

Liveness and readiness endpoints provide robust service management by determining container traffic routing and restart policies. Defining these health checks ensures your orchestration platform handles service failures proactively.

What is the best way to design actionable alerting strategies for production monitoring?▼

Actionable alerting strategies trigger immediate investigation by notifying teams only on actionable system anomalies. They combine threshold-based metrics and distributed tracing data to reduce noise and ensure reliability.

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