@opentelemetry/instrumentation-http not capturing outgoing Axios requests in Node.js backend (Koa)

[deepaktomar2032]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to use @opentelemetry/instrumentation-http in my Node.js backend project to capture all incoming & outgoing HTTP requests (client to server & server to external 3rd party APIs) - particularly those made via Axios. However, I noticed that none of the outgoing Axios calls are being captured in my spans.

Here’s what I’ve done:

Setup

• Using Axios (default setup, no custom adapter)
• Axios is imported after OpenTelemetry setup
• Using getNodeAutoInstrumentations(), Also tried with manual new HttpInstrumentation()
• Node.js version: latest
• Axios version: latest
• @opentelemetry/* versions: latest

Relevant instrumentation code:

const sdk = new NodeSDK({
  instrumentations: [
    getNodeAutoInstrumentations({
      '@opentelemetry/instrumentation-http': {
        enabled: true,
        requestHook: (span, reqInfo: any) => {
          console.log('Request hook fired');
        },
        responseHook: (span, resInfo: any) => {
          console.log('Response hook fired');
        }
      }
    })
  ],
});
sdk.start();

Problem:

• The requestHook and responseHook are never triggered for Axios requests. (only triggered for incoming request)
• No spans are exported for these outgoing HTTP requests.

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Questions:

1. Is @opentelemetry/instrumentation-http expected to capture outgoing Axios requests by default?
2. If yes, what could cause Axios calls to be missed by the HTTP instrumentation?
3. Are there any reliable ways to capture full URLs + headers of outgoing Axios requests in OpenTelemetry?

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Happy to share any other detail if needed.
Thanks in advance!