Integrating APItoolkit with Docker

This guide explains how to integrate APItoolkit with Docker containers using OpenTelemetry for API monitoring and observability.

Prerequisites

Docker installed on your system
Docker Compose (optional, but recommended)
APItoolkit account with an API key

Integration with Docker

Option 1: Using Environment Variables in Dockerfile

Add OpenTelemetry environment variables directly to your Dockerfile:

FROM your-base-image

# ... other Dockerfile instructions

# Configure OpenTelemetry
ENV OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT="http://otelcol.apitoolkit.io:4317"
ENV OTEL_SERVICE_NAME="your-service-name"
ENV OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES="at-project-key=YOUR_API_KEY"
ENV OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL="grpc"

# ... rest of your Dockerfile

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual APItoolkit project key.

Option 2: Using Docker Compose

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

version: '3'
services:
  app:
    build: .
    environment:
      - OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://otelcol.apitoolkit.io:4317
      - OTEL_SERVICE_NAME=your-service-name
      - OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=at-project-key=YOUR_API_KEY
      - OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=grpc

Run your application with Docker Compose:

docker-compose up

Option 3: Using Docker Run Command

If you’re running containers with the docker run command:

docker run \
  -e OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT="http://otelcol.apitoolkit.io:4317" \
  -e OTEL_SERVICE_NAME="your-service-name" \
  -e OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES="at-project-key=YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -e OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL="grpc" \
  your-image-name

Using OpenTelemetry Collector in Docker

For more advanced setups, you can use the OpenTelemetry Collector in a multi-container deployment:

version: '3'
services:
  app:
    build: .
    environment:
      - OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://otel-collector:4317
      - OTEL_SERVICE_NAME=your-service-name
      - OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=grpc
    depends_on:
      - otel-collector

  otel-collector:
    image: otel/opentelemetry-collector:latest
    command: ["--config=/etc/otel-collector-config.yaml"]
    volumes:
      - ./otel-collector-config.yaml:/etc/otel-collector-config.yaml
    environment:
      - OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=at-project-key=YOUR_API_KEY

Create an otel-collector-config.yaml file:

receivers:
  otlp:
    protocols:
      grpc:
      http:

processors:
  batch:

exporters:
  otlp:
    endpoint: "otelcol.apitoolkit.io:4317"
    tls:
      insecure: true

service:
  pipelines:
    traces:
      receivers: [otlp]
      processors: [batch]
      exporters: [otlp]
    metrics:
      receivers: [otlp]
      processors: [batch]
      exporters: [otlp]

Verifying the Setup

After starting your Docker containers:

Check container logs to make sure there are no connection errors: bash docker logs <container_id>
Verify that your application is sending data to APItoolkit by checking your APItoolkit dashboard.

Next Steps

Configure health checks in your Docker containers
Set up Docker container monitoring alongside API monitoring
Use Docker labels to organize and categorize your API services