Propagator

The component that injects context into outgoing requests and extracts it from incoming ones.

The default set is tracecontext and baggage. B3, from Zipkin, is another format: a service that injects B3 while its callee extracts only traceparent breaks the trace at that hop. The set is chosen with OTEL_PROPAGATORS.

Related terms

• trace-context
• baggage

Certification courses

• OTCA course and practice exam: OpenTelemetry Certified Associate