Rename Datadog tracing library to Datadog SDK#35358
Merged
Merged
Conversation
Standardize terminology from "tracing library", "tracer", and related variants to "SDK" across all English documentation. This covers: - "Datadog tracing library/libraries" → "Datadog SDK/SDKs" - "Datadog [language] tracer" → "Datadog [language] SDK" - Bare "tracing library/libraries" → "SDK/SDKs" - "the tracer/tracers" → "the SDK/SDKs" Preserves original terminology in CLI output, code blocks, eBPF/network traceroute contexts, and AWS X-Ray references.
Replace remaining APM-prefixed terminology: - "APM SDK(s)" → "Datadog SDK(s)" - "APM tracer(s)" → "Datadog SDK(s)" - "APM library" → "Datadog SDK" - Language-specific "Java APM SDK" → "Java SDK", etc. Preserves "APM trace metrics", "APM Trace Explorer", and other product/feature names that use "APM trace" as a compound adjective.
github-actions
Bot
added
Guide
Contributor
brett0000FF
changed the title
Corrects issues from the tracing library -> SDK rename:
- Fix double branding ("Datadog Java Datadog SDK", "SDKs and SDKs")
- Revert runtime-object references back to "tracer" (sends spans,
initializes, creates instance, is loaded, starts, etc.)
- Restore OpenTelemetry standard terminology (tracer provider, tracer instance)
- Fix code comments to match actual tracer objects in code blocks
- Revert literal CLI/diagnostic tool output back to "tracer"
- Fix grammar ("automatic SDKs", "SDK extension", "SDK middleware")
- Fix broken internal anchor link in ingestion_mechanisms.md
- Resolve inconsistencies where mixed terminology appeared in same paragraph
domalessi
reviewed
Mar 23, 2026
| - link: "/tracing/trace_collection/" | ||
| tag: "Documentation" | ||
| text: "Add the tracing library to your application" | ||
| text: "Add the SDK to your application" |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Suggested change
| text: "Add the SDK to your application" | |
| text: "Add the Datadog SDK to your application" |
domalessi
reviewed
Mar 23, 2026
| Additional information can be found in [Microsoft's .NET Framework Lifecycle Policy][4] and in [.NET runtime support policy](#net-runtime-support-policy). | ||
|
|
||
| <div class="alert alert-info">When deciding which tracer version to use for an automatic instrumentation, use the .NET Framework version installed on the application server. For example, if you compile your application to target .NET Framework 4.5.1, but the application runs on a server that has .NET Framework 4.8 installed, use the latest version of the tracer. To determine which version of .NET Framework is installed on a machine, follow the <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/migration-guide/how-to-determine-which-versions-are-installed">guidance provided by Microsoft</a>. | ||
| <div class="alert alert-info">When deciding which tracer version to use for an automatic instrumentation, use the .NET Framework version installed on the application server. For example, if you compile your application to target .NET Framework 4.5.1, but the application runs on a server that has .NET Framework 4.8 installed, use the latest version of the SDK. To determine which version of .NET Framework is installed on a machine, follow the <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/migration-guide/how-to-determine-which-versions-are-installed">guidance provided by Microsoft</a>. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Suggested change
| <div class="alert alert-info">When deciding which tracer version to use for an automatic instrumentation, use the .NET Framework version installed on the application server. For example, if you compile your application to target .NET Framework 4.5.1, but the application runs on a server that has .NET Framework 4.8 installed, use the latest version of the SDK. To determine which version of .NET Framework is installed on a machine, follow the <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/migration-guide/how-to-determine-which-versions-are-installed">guidance provided by Microsoft</a>. | |
| <div class="alert alert-info">When deciding which Datadog SDK version to use for automatic instrumentation, use the .NET Framework version installed on the application server. For example, if you compile your application to target .NET Framework 4.5.1, but the application runs on a server that has .NET Framework 4.8 installed, use the latest version of the SDK. To determine which version of .NET Framework is installed on a machine, follow the <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/migration-guide/how-to-determine-which-versions-are-installed">guidance provided by Microsoft</a>. |
Resolve merge conflicts from master, keeping SDK terminology while incorporating master's content updates. Apply review suggestions from domalessi: use "Datadog SDK" instead of bare "SDK" in compatibility pages.
Catch stragglers missed in the initial rename: assigning_tags, graalvm profiler setup, and feature flags Go code comments.
Keep "Datadog tracer" in code comments where the comment directly describes the tracer.Start() API call.
Replace the generic SDK definition with a Datadog-specific entry that reflects the terminology standardization from tracing library/tracer to SDK.
duncanhewett
approved these changes
Apr 21, 2026
duncanhewett
left a comment
duncanhewett
left a comment
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Looks good overall! I noticed a few minor things but I looked through a good number of the changes and the approach seems good.
Co-authored-by: Duncan Hewett <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: Duncan Hewett <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: Duncan Hewett <[email protected]>
duncanista
approved these changes
Apr 23, 2026
evazorro
approved these changes
Apr 23, 2026
domalessi
reviewed
Apr 23, 2026
| @@ -332,11 +332,11 @@ When you open a [support ticket][1], the Datadog support team may ask for the fo | |||
|
|
|||
| 1. **Links to a trace or screenshots of the issue**: This helps reproduce your issues for troubleshooting purposes. | |||
|
|
|||
| 2. **Tracer startup logs**: Startup logs help identify tracer misconfiguration or communication issues between the tracer and the Datadog Agent. By comparing the tracer's configuration with the application or container settings, support teams can pinpoint improperly applied settings. | |||
| 2. **Tracer startup logs**: Startup logs help identify tracer misconfiguration or communication issues between the SDK and the Datadog Agent. By comparing the SDK's configuration with the application or container settings, support teams can pinpoint improperly applied settings. | |||
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Suggested change
| 2. **Tracer startup logs**: Startup logs help identify tracer misconfiguration or communication issues between the SDK and the Datadog Agent. By comparing the SDK's configuration with the application or container settings, support teams can pinpoint improperly applied settings. | |
| 2. **SDK startup logs**: Startup logs help identify tracer misconfiguration or communication issues between the SDK and the Datadog Agent. By comparing the SDK's configuration with the application or container settings, support teams can pinpoint improperly applied settings. |
domalessi
reviewed
Apr 23, 2026
| @@ -332,11 +332,11 @@ When you open a [support ticket][1], the Datadog support team may ask for the fo | |||
|
|
|||
| 1. **Links to a trace or screenshots of the issue**: This helps reproduce your issues for troubleshooting purposes. | |||
|
|
|||
| 2. **Tracer startup logs**: Startup logs help identify tracer misconfiguration or communication issues between the tracer and the Datadog Agent. By comparing the tracer's configuration with the application or container settings, support teams can pinpoint improperly applied settings. | |||
| 2. **Tracer startup logs**: Startup logs help identify tracer misconfiguration or communication issues between the SDK and the Datadog Agent. By comparing the SDK's configuration with the application or container settings, support teams can pinpoint improperly applied settings. | |||
|
|
|||
| 3. **Tracer debug logs**: Tracer debug logs provide deeper insights than startup logs, revealing: | |||
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Suggested change
| 3. **Tracer debug logs**: Tracer debug logs provide deeper insights than startup logs, revealing: | |
| 3. **SDK debug logs**: Tracer debug logs provide deeper insights than startup logs, revealing: |
domalessi
requested changes
Apr 23, 2026
domalessi
left a comment
domalessi
left a comment
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Found a few places where we missed the rename - see inline suggestions - but otherwise, this looks great from my perspective!
| ### Personal information in trace data | ||
|
|
||
| Datadog's APM tracing libraries collect relevant observability data about your applications. Because these libraries collect hundreds of unique attributes in trace data, this page describes categories of data, with a focus on attributes that may contain personal information about your employees and end-users. | ||
| Datadog SDKs collect relevant observability data about your applications. Because these libraries collect hundreds of unique attributes in trace data, this page describes categories of data, with a focus on attributes that may contain personal information about your employees and end-users. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
"these libraries" wasn't updated here — the preceding sentence was changed to "Datadog SDKs" but this clause still says "libraries."
Suggested change
| Datadog SDKs collect relevant observability data about your applications. Because these libraries collect hundreds of unique attributes in trace data, this page describes categories of data, with a focus on attributes that may contain personal information about your employees and end-users. | |
| Datadog SDKs collect relevant observability data about your applications. Because these SDKs collect hundreds of unique attributes in trace data, this page describes categories of data, with a focus on attributes that may contain personal information about your employees and end-users. |
| To prevent leaking sensitive data when you're monitoring live processes and live containers, Datadog provides some default sensitive keyword scrubbing in process arguments and in Helm charts. You can obfuscate additional sensitive sequences within process commands or arguments by using the [`custom_sensitive_words` setting][16], and add to the container scrubbing word list by using the [`DD_ORCHESTRATOR_EXPLORER_CUSTOM_SENSITIVE_WORDS` environment variable][17]. | ||
|
|
||
| ### APM and other tracing library based products | ||
| ### APM and other SDK based products |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Missing hyphen in compound modifier — "SDK based" before "products" should be hyphenated.
Suggested change
| ### APM and other SDK based products | |
| ### APM and other SDK-based products |
|
|
||
| {{% collapse-content title="Debug logs" level="h4" %}} | ||
|
|
||
| To capture full details on the Datadog tracer, enable debug mode on your tracer by using the `DD_TRACE_DEBUG` environment variable. You might enable it for your own investigation or if Datadog support has recommended it for triage purposes. However, be sure to disable debug logging when you are finished testing to avoid the logging overhead it introduces. | ||
| To capture full details on the Datadog SDK, enable debug mode on your tracer by using the `DD_TRACE_DEBUG` environment variable. You might enable it for your own investigation or if Datadog support has recommended it for triage purposes. However, be sure to disable debug logging when you are finished testing to avoid the logging overhead it introduces. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Mixed terminology in the same sentence — "Datadog SDK" was updated in the first clause but "your tracer" wasn't updated in the second.
Suggested change
| To capture full details on the Datadog SDK, enable debug mode on your tracer by using the `DD_TRACE_DEBUG` environment variable. You might enable it for your own investigation or if Datadog support has recommended it for triage purposes. However, be sure to disable debug logging when you are finished testing to avoid the logging overhead it introduces. | |
| To capture full details on the Datadog SDK, enable debug mode on your SDK by using the `DD_TRACE_DEBUG` environment variable. |
| - Unified service tagging requires an SDK version that supports new configurations of the [reserved tags][1]. More information can be found per language in the [setup instructions][4]. | ||
|
|
||
|
|
||
| | Language | Minimum Tracer Version | |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
The body text around this table was updated to say "SDK version," but the column header still reads "Tracer Version" — inconsistent on the same page.
Suggested change
| | Language | Minimum Tracer Version | | |
| | Language | Minimum SDK Version | |
| ## How data gets from you to Datadog | ||
|
|
||
| Datadog allows you to send data to Datadog in multiple ways, including from the Agent, [DogStatsD][3], the public API, and integrations. In addition, Real User Monitoring SDKs and tracing libraries generate data based on your application and services code and send it to Datadog. | ||
| Datadog allows you to send data to Datadog in multiple ways, including from the Agent, [DogStatsD][3], the public API, and integrations. In addition, Real User Monitoring SDKs and Datadog SDKs generate data based on your application and services code and send it to Datadog. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Are RUM SDKs and Datadog SDKs the same thing?
Contributor
Author
There was a problem hiding this comment.
They are different. RUM SDKs are different from tracing libraries, which is the only class of "thing" we are renaming to Datadog SDK right now. Maybe we'll consolidate those at some point, but I just want to address tracing libraries in this PR.
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Perf, thanks for clarifying!
| Default configuration values work well in most cases. | ||
|
|
||
| However, if there is a need to fine-tune the tracer's behavior, [Datadog Tracer configuration][3] options can be used. | ||
| However, if there is a need to fine-tune the SDK's behavior, [Datadog Tracer configuration][3] options can be used. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Two issues here: "fine-tune" is on the word list (use "customize" instead), and the link text "Datadog Tracer configuration" wasn't updated.
Suggested change
| However, if there is a need to fine-tune the SDK's behavior, [Datadog Tracer configuration][3] options can be used. | |
| However, to customize the SDK's behavior, [Datadog SDK configuration][3] options can be used. |
domalessi
reviewed
Apr 23, 2026
| ### Personal information in trace data | ||
|
|
||
| Datadog's APM tracing libraries collect relevant observability data about your applications. Because these libraries collect hundreds of unique attributes in trace data, this page describes categories of data, with a focus on attributes that may contain personal information about your employees and end-users. | ||
| Datadog SDKs collect relevant observability data about your applications. Because these libraries collect hundreds of unique attributes in trace data, this page describes categories of data, with a focus on attributes that may contain personal information about your employees and end-users. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
"these libraries" wasn't updated here — the preceding sentence was changed to "Datadog SDKs" but this clause still says "libraries."
Suggested change
| Datadog SDKs collect relevant observability data about your applications. Because these libraries collect hundreds of unique attributes in trace data, this page describes categories of data, with a focus on attributes that may contain personal information about your employees and end-users. | |
| Datadog SDKs collect relevant observability data about your applications. Because these SDKs collect hundreds of unique attributes in trace data, this page describes categories of data, with a focus on attributes that may contain personal information about your employees and end-users. |
domalessi
reviewed
Apr 23, 2026
| To prevent leaking sensitive data when you're monitoring live processes and live containers, Datadog provides some default sensitive keyword scrubbing in process arguments and in Helm charts. You can obfuscate additional sensitive sequences within process commands or arguments by using the [`custom_sensitive_words` setting][16], and add to the container scrubbing word list by using the [`DD_ORCHESTRATOR_EXPLORER_CUSTOM_SENSITIVE_WORDS` environment variable][17]. | ||
|
|
||
| ### APM and other tracing library based products | ||
| ### APM and other SDK based products |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Missing hyphen in compound modifier — "SDK based" before "products" should be hyphenated.
Suggested change
| ### APM and other SDK based products | |
| ### APM and other SDK-based products |
domalessi
reviewed
Apr 23, 2026
|
|
||
| {{% collapse-content title="Debug logs" level="h4" %}} | ||
|
|
||
| To capture full details on the Datadog tracer, enable debug mode on your tracer by using the `DD_TRACE_DEBUG` environment variable. You might enable it for your own investigation or if Datadog support has recommended it for triage purposes. However, be sure to disable debug logging when you are finished testing to avoid the logging overhead it introduces. | ||
| To capture full details on the Datadog SDK, enable debug mode on your tracer by using the `DD_TRACE_DEBUG` environment variable. You might enable it for your own investigation or if Datadog support has recommended it for triage purposes. However, be sure to disable debug logging when you are finished testing to avoid the logging overhead it introduces. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Mixed terminology in the same sentence — "Datadog SDK" was updated in the first clause but "your tracer" wasn't updated in the second.
Suggested change
| To capture full details on the Datadog SDK, enable debug mode on your tracer by using the `DD_TRACE_DEBUG` environment variable. You might enable it for your own investigation or if Datadog support has recommended it for triage purposes. However, be sure to disable debug logging when you are finished testing to avoid the logging overhead it introduces. | |
| To capture full details on the Datadog SDK, enable debug mode on your SDK by using the `DD_TRACE_DEBUG` environment variable. |
domalessi
reviewed
Apr 23, 2026
| - Unified service tagging requires an SDK version that supports new configurations of the [reserved tags][1]. More information can be found per language in the [setup instructions][4]. | ||
|
|
||
|
|
||
| | Language | Minimum Tracer Version | |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
The body text around this table was updated to say "SDK version," but the column header still reads "Tracer Version" — inconsistent on the same page.
Suggested change
| | Language | Minimum Tracer Version | | |
| | Language | Minimum SDK Version | |
domalessi
reviewed
Apr 23, 2026
| ## How data gets from you to Datadog | ||
|
|
||
| Datadog allows you to send data to Datadog in multiple ways, including from the Agent, [DogStatsD][3], the public API, and integrations. In addition, Real User Monitoring SDKs and tracing libraries generate data based on your application and services code and send it to Datadog. | ||
| Datadog allows you to send data to Datadog in multiple ways, including from the Agent, [DogStatsD][3], the public API, and integrations. In addition, Real User Monitoring SDKs and Datadog SDKs generate data based on your application and services code and send it to Datadog. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Are RUM SDKs and Datadog SDKs the same thing?
domalessi
reviewed
Apr 23, 2026
| Default configuration values work well in most cases. | ||
|
|
||
| However, if there is a need to fine-tune the tracer's behavior, [Datadog Tracer configuration][3] options can be used. | ||
| However, if there is a need to fine-tune the SDK's behavior, [Datadog Tracer configuration][3] options can be used. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Two issues here: "fine-tune" is on the word list (use "customize" instead), and the link text "Datadog Tracer configuration" wasn't updated.
Suggested change
| However, if there is a need to fine-tune the SDK's behavior, [Datadog Tracer configuration][3] options can be used. | |
| However, to customize the SDK's behavior, [Datadog SDK configuration][3] options can be used. |
domalessi
approved these changes
Apr 23, 2026
1 task
estherk15
pushed a commit
that referenced
this pull request
May 4, 2026
* Rename "Datadog tracing library" to "Datadog SDK" across English docs
Standardize terminology from "tracing library", "tracer", and related
variants to "SDK" across all English documentation. This covers:
- "Datadog tracing library/libraries" → "Datadog SDK/SDKs"
- "Datadog [language] tracer" → "Datadog [language] SDK"
- Bare "tracing library/libraries" → "SDK/SDKs"
- "the tracer/tracers" → "the SDK/SDKs"
Preserves original terminology in CLI output, code blocks, eBPF/network
traceroute contexts, and AWS X-Ray references.
* Rename "APM SDK/tracer/library" to "Datadog SDK" across English docs
Replace remaining APM-prefixed terminology:
- "APM SDK(s)" → "Datadog SDK(s)"
- "APM tracer(s)" → "Datadog SDK(s)"
- "APM library" → "Datadog SDK"
- Language-specific "Java APM SDK" → "Java SDK", etc.
Preserves "APM trace metrics", "APM Trace Explorer", and other
product/feature names that use "APM trace" as a compound adjective.
* Fix incorrect SDK renames where tracer refers to runtime object
Corrects issues from the tracing library -> SDK rename:
- Fix double branding ("Datadog Java Datadog SDK", "SDKs and SDKs")
- Revert runtime-object references back to "tracer" (sends spans,
initializes, creates instance, is loaded, starts, etc.)
- Restore OpenTelemetry standard terminology (tracer provider, tracer instance)
- Fix code comments to match actual tracer objects in code blocks
- Revert literal CLI/diagnostic tool output back to "tracer"
- Fix grammar ("automatic SDKs", "SDK extension", "SDK middleware")
- Fix broken internal anchor link in ingestion_mechanisms.md
- Resolve inconsistencies where mixed terminology appeared in same paragraph
* Rename remaining "Datadog tracer" references to "Datadog SDK"
Catch stragglers missed in the initial rename: assigning_tags,
graalvm profiler setup, and feature flags Go code comments.
* Revert go.md code comment change
Keep "Datadog tracer" in code comments where the comment directly
describes the tracer.Start() API call.
* Add glossary entry for Datadog SDK
Replace the generic SDK definition with a Datadog-specific entry
that reflects the terminology standardization from tracing
library/tracer to SDK.
* Update content/en/logs/log_collection/csharp.md
Co-authored-by: Duncan Hewett <[email protected]>
* Update content/en/glossary/terms/sdk.md
Co-authored-by: Duncan Hewett <[email protected]>
* Update content/en/serverless/glossary/_index.md
Co-authored-by: Duncan Hewett <[email protected]>
* Address review feedback from Dom on SDK terminology rename
---------
Co-authored-by: Duncan Hewett <[email protected]>
This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
Sign up for free
to join this conversation on GitHub.
Already have an account?
Sign in to comment
5 participants
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.This suggestion is invalid because no changes were made to the code.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is closed.Suggestions cannot be applied while viewing a subset of changes.Only one suggestion per line can be applied in a batch.Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.Applying suggestions on deleted lines is not supported.You must change the existing code in this line in order to create a valid suggestion.Outdated suggestions cannot be applied.This suggestion has been applied or marked resolved.Suggestions cannot be applied from pending reviews.Suggestions cannot be applied on multi-line comments.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is queued to merge.Suggestion cannot be applied right now. Please check back later.
Summary
Test plan
#install-the-sdk,#add-the-java-sdk-to-the-jvm)