docs: update OTel environment variable and config guides (#7221)

Signed-off-by: Adrian Cole <adrian@tetrate.io>
Co-authored-by: Rizel Scarlett <rizel@squareup.com>

Author: codefromthecrypt

documentation/docs/guides/config-files.md

@@ -49,8 +49,6 @@ The following settings can be configured at the root level of your config.yaml f
 | `GOOSE_ALLOWLIST` | URL for allowed extensions | Valid URL | None | No |
 | `GOOSE_RECIPE_GITHUB_REPO` | GitHub repository for recipes | Format: "org/repo" | None | No |
 | `GOOSE_AUTO_COMPACT_THRESHOLD` | Set the percentage threshold at which goose [automatically summarizes your session](/docs/guides/sessions/smart-context-management#automatic-compaction). | Float between 0.0 and 1.0 (disabled at 0.0)| 0.8 | No |
-| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT` | OTLP endpoint URL for [observability](/docs/guides/environment-variables#opentelemetry-protocol-otlp) | URL (e.g., `http://localhost:4318`) | None | No |
-| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TIMEOUT` | Export timeout in milliseconds for [observability](/docs/guides/environment-variables#opentelemetry-protocol-otlp) | Integer (ms) | 10000 | No |
 | `SECURITY_PROMPT_ENABLED` | Enable [prompt injection detection](/docs/guides/security/prompt-injection-detection) to identify potentially harmful commands | true/false | false | No |
 | `SECURITY_PROMPT_THRESHOLD` | Sensitivity threshold for prompt injection detection (higher = stricter) | Float between 0.01 and 1.0 | 0.8 | No |
 | `SECURITY_PROMPT_CLASSIFIER_ENABLED` | Enable ML-based prompt injection detection for advanced threat identification | true/false | false | No |
@@ -96,10 +94,6 @@ GOOSE_SEARCH_PATHS:
   - "~/custom/tools"
   - "/opt/homebrew/bin"
 
-# Observability (OpenTelemetry)
-OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT: "http://localhost:4318"
-OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TIMEOUT: 20000
-
 # Security Configuration
 SECURITY_PROMPT_ENABLED: true
 
@@ -155,6 +149,20 @@ GOOSE_SEARCH_PATHS:
 
 These paths are prepended to the system PATH when running extension commands, ensuring your custom tools are found without modifying your global PATH.
 
+## Observability Configuration
+
+Configure goose to export telemetry to [OpenTelemetry](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/) compatible platforms. Environment variables override these settings and support additional options like per-signal configuration. See the [environment variables guide](/docs/guides/environment-variables#opentelemetry-protocol-otlp) for details.
+
+| Setting | Purpose | Values | Default |
+|---------|---------|--------|---------|
+| `otel_exporter_otlp_endpoint` | OTLP endpoint URL | URL (e.g., `http://localhost:4318`) | None |
+| `otel_exporter_otlp_timeout` | Export timeout in milliseconds | Integer (ms) | 10000 |
+
+```yaml
+otel_exporter_otlp_endpoint: "http://localhost:4318"
+otel_exporter_otlp_timeout: 20000
+```
+
 ## Recipe Command Configuration
 You can optionally set up [custom slash commands](/docs/guides/context-engineering/slash-commands) to run recipes that you create. List the command (without the leading `/`) along with the path to the recipe:
 

documentation/docs/guides/environment-variables.md

@@ -462,29 +462,50 @@ Alternatively, proxy settings can be configured through your operating system's
 
 Beyond goose's built-in [logging system](/docs/guides/logs), you can export telemetry to external observability platforms for advanced monitoring, performance analysis, and production insights.
 
-### OpenTelemetry Protocol (OTLP)
+### Observability Configuration
 
-Configure goose to export traces and metrics to any OTLP-compatible observability platform. 
-OTLP is the standard protocol for sending telemetry collected by [OpenTelemetry](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/). When configured, goose exports telemetry asynchronously and flushes on exit.
+Configure goose to export telemetry to any [OpenTelemetry](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/) compatible platform.
+
+To enable export, set a collector endpoint:
 
-| Variable | Purpose | Values | Default |
-|----------|---------|--------|---------|
-| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT` | OTLP endpoint URL | URL (e.g., `http://localhost:4318`) | None |
-| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TIMEOUT` | Export timeout in milliseconds | Integer (ms) | `10000` |
-
-**When to use OTLP:**
-- Diagnosing slow tool execution or LLM response times
-- Understanding intermittent failures across multiple sessions
-- Monitoring goose performance in production or CI/CD environments
-- Tracking usage patterns, costs, and resource consumption over time
-- Setting up alerts for performance degradation or high error rates
-
-**Example:**
 ```bash
 export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT="http://localhost:4318"
-export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TIMEOUT=10000
 ```
 
+You can control each signal (traces, metrics, logs) independently with `OTEL_{SIGNAL}_EXPORTER`:
+
+| Variable pattern | Purpose | Values |
+|---|---|---|
+| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT` | Base OTLP endpoint (applies `/v1/traces`, etc.) | URL |
+| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_{SIGNAL}_ENDPOINT` | Override endpoint for a specific signal | URL |
+| `OTEL_{SIGNAL}_EXPORTER` | Exporter type per signal | `otlp`, `console`, `none` |
+| `OTEL_SDK_DISABLED` | Disable all OTel export | `true` |
+
+Additional variables like `OTEL_SERVICE_NAME`, `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES`,
+and `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TIMEOUT` are also supported.
+See the [OTel environment variable spec][otel-env] for the full list.
+
+**Examples:**
+```bash
+# Export everything to a local collector
+export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT="http://localhost:4318"
+
+# Export only traces, disable metrics and logs
+export OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTER="otlp"
+export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER="none"
+export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER="none"
+export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT="http://localhost:4318"
+
+# Debug traces to console (no collector needed)
+export OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTER="console"
+
+# Sample 10% of traces (reduce volume in production)
+export OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER="parentbased_traceidratio"
+export OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER_ARG="0.1"
+```
+
+[otel-env]: https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/otel/configuration/sdk-environment-variables/
+
 ### Langfuse Integration
 
 These variables configure the [Langfuse integration for observability](/docs/tutorials/langfuse).