trace-generator

trace-generator is a development utility for testing and debugging OpenTelemetry-based applications. It was developed to be used with the ExplorViz software visualization tool.

The goal is to easily create telemetry data for applications of various sizes and shapes. This is achieved by first generating fake class-based application structures and then generating traces upon those structures in a randomized manner.

Installation

Clone this repository:

git clone [REPOSITORY_URL]

Navigate into the repository folder:

cd trace-generator

Install npm packages:

pnpm install

Configuration

Ports for the frontend and backend can be configured via environment variables in the .env file.

The .env file supports the following variables:

• BACKEND_PORT - Port for the backend server (default: 8079)
• VITE_FRONTEND_PORT - Port for the frontend development server (default: 3000)
• VITE_BACKEND_URL - Backend URL for the frontend proxy (default: http://localhost:8079)

Usage

Using the frontend

Start both frontend and backend:

pnpm run dev

Or start them separately:

# Backend only
pnpm run dev:backend

# Frontend only
pnpm run dev:frontend

Open URL in browser. By default, the frontend runs on http://localhost:3000 and the backend on http://localhost:8079 (configurable via .env). Modify parameters as desired, then click Send Trace.

Using Docker

Build and run

# Build image
docker build -t trace-generator .

# Run container
docker run -p 8079:8079 trace-generator

Environment Variables

The following environment variables can be configured when running the Docker container:

• BACKEND_PORT - Port for the backend server (default: 8079)
• OTEL_COLLECTOR_HOSTNAME - OpenTelemetry collector hostname (default: otel-collector)
• OTEL_COLLECTOR_PORT - OpenTelemetry collector port (default: 55678)

Example with custom configuration:

docker run -p 8079:8079 \
  -e BACKEND_PORT=8079 \
  -e OTEL_COLLECTOR_HOSTNAME=my-collector \
  -e OTEL_COLLECTOR_PORT=4317 \
  trace-generator

Note: The OpenTelemetry collector URL can also be configured per-request via the frontend form, which will override the default environment variable values for that specific trace generation request.