# OpenTelemetry on Linux hosts

> Install OpenTelemetry as a system package to automatically instrument the applications running on a Linux host.

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LLMS index: [llms.txt](/llms.txt)

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Setting up OpenTelemetry usually depends on where your applications run. Some
environments are highly automated, such as
[Kubernetes](/docs/platforms/kubernetes/), thanks to the OpenTelemetry Operator,
or [Functions as a Service](/docs/platforms/faas/) with the OpenTelemetry Lambda
layers. But many Java, .NET, Node.js, and Python applications run directly on
Linux hosts, where instrumenting them has traditionally meant downloading agents
by hand and wiring up environment variables yourself.

The
[OpenTelemetry Packaging SIG](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-packaging)
provides **system packages** that make OpenTelemetry a dependency of the host
itself. After installing a single package and restarting your applications, the
Java, .NET, Node.js, and Python processes on the host are automatically
instrumented and start emitting telemetry.

## How it works

The `opentelemetry` package is a metapackage that depends on:

- The
  [OpenTelemetry Injector](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-injector),
  which configures the dynamic linker so that supported runtimes load the
  matching auto-instrumentation when a process starts.
- The language-specific auto-instrumentation packages for Java, .NET, Node.js,
  and Python.

Once installed, the injector attaches to every newly started, dynamically linked
process on the host. It only has a visible effect on processes of a supported
runtime, loading the matching auto-instrumentation for them; processes of
runtimes without an OpenTelemetry SDK are left unaffected. Applications that
were already running are instrumented after they are restarted. By default,
telemetry is exported using OTLP to `localhost` on ports `4317` (gRPC) and
`4318` (HTTP), so you typically run a local
[OpenTelemetry Collector](/docs/collector/) to receive and forward it. The
Collector itself is distributed as system packages by the
[OpenTelemetry Collector Releases](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-releases)
project; integrating it into this system-package repository is tracked in
[opentelemetry-collector-releases#1561](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-releases/issues/1561).

The Packaging and OBI SIGs also plan to deliver
[OpenTelemetry eBPF Instrumentation](/docs/zero-code/obi/) as a system package,
extending zero-code instrumentation to additional runtimes such as Go, Rust, and
C++.

## Get started

- [Installation](installation/): add the repository and install the package on
  Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, or RHEL and derivatives.
- [Configuration](configuration/): point the injector at your Collector or
  backend and tune what gets instrumented.

## Status and limitations

> [!WARNING]
>
> The system packages are early in their journey and are **not yet meant for
> production workloads**. Expect changes as the packaging story matures.
>
> Specifically:
>
> - The APT and YUM repositories are currently hosted on GitHub Pages, which is
>   **not their final home**.
> - Packages are **not yet signed**, so the installation instructions disable
>   signature verification.
> - The [OpenTelemetry Collector](/docs/collector/) is not yet part of the base
>   metapackage; you install and run it separately for now.
>
> The Packaging SIG is actively looking for end-user feedback. Please try the
> packages and open issues in the
> [opentelemetry-packaging](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-packaging)
> repository.

## Learn more

- Blog post:
  [One-command OpenTelemetry setup on Linux hosts](/blog/2026/packaging-first-repo/)
- The
  [opentelemetry-packaging](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-packaging)
  repository and its weekly SIG meeting.

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Section pages:

- [Installation](/fr/docs/platforms/linux/installation/): Add the OpenTelemetry package repository and install the system packages on Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, or RHEL and derivatives.
- [Configuration](/fr/docs/platforms/linux/configuration/): Point the OpenTelemetry Injector at your Collector or backend and control what gets instrumented on a Linux host.