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OTEL-039: Transform/attributes processor after batch

Severity: warn (advisory)

Rule Details​

transform and attributes mutate individual items — they add resource attributes, rename fields, or redact PII. Running them after batch means the batcher already grouped items based on their pre-transform shape; the downstream exporter then has to unpack and re-serialize those items anyway. Run mutators before batching.

This rule fires when a pipeline contains batch and a transform or attributes processor appearing after it.

Options​

This rule has no options.

Examples​

Avoid
service:
  pipelines:
    traces:
      receivers: [otlp]
      processors: [memory_limiter, batch, attributes]
      exporters: [otlp/backend]
Prefer
service:
  pipelines:
    traces:
      receivers: [otlp]
      processors: [memory_limiter, attributes, batch]
      exporters: [otlp/backend]

When Not To Use It​

A transform that only runs on batch-level metadata (rare) can live after batch. In almost every other case, mutators belong before batching.

  • OTEL-013 — batch processor should be last in pipeline
  • OTEL-038 — filter processor after batch
  • OTEL-043 — batch before tail_sampling/groupbytrace

Version​

Available since augur v0.1.0.

Further Reading​

Resources​