spinframework / spinframework/spin
telemetry: Reconsider unconditional trace context propagation for outbound HTTP
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- Dominant language
- Rust
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Description
I noticed in passing that we currently inject otel context unconditionally for outbound http: https://github.com/spinframework/spin/blob/d1eb9acd42addcb4782afd0a1f1fbe0654063cb4/crates/factor-outbound-http/src/wasi.rs#L381
While necessary for distributed tracing, there are privacy and information exposure concerns with sending trace context to external systems: https://www.w3.org/TR/trace-context/#privacy-considerations
We should probably change the default to some opt-in configuration here.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Inspect the outbound HTTP path in crates/factor-outbound-http/src/wasi.rs around line 381, then review the linked W3C Trace Context privacy considerations. Define how an opt-in setting controls propagation and what the default should be. Done means external HTTP requests receive trace context only when explicitly enabled.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- rust
- Domain
- observability, security
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100