> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://clickhouse.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Getting started with ClickHouse Observability

> Getting started with fully managed ClickHouse Observability

[Beta offering](https://clickhouse.com/docs/reference/settings/beta-and-experimental-features.md#beta-features)

Get started with ClickHouse Observability, send a test event, and confirm that the event is available in the observability UI.

The service provides a managed telemetry endpoint. Send data from your applications, agents, or an existing OpenTelemetry Collector to this endpoint.

If you manage your own ingestion pipeline and schema, follow the [self-managed getting-started guide](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/self-configured/getting-started/managed.md).

## Before you begin

You need a fully managed ClickHouse Observability service and access to its telemetry endpoint and API key.

### Create a service

If you don't have a service yet, start with [Create a ClickHouse service](https://clickhouse.com/docs/get-started/setup/cloud.md#1-create-a-clickhouse-service) in the ClickHouse Cloud quickstart. Once your service is running, open ClickHouse Observability. If the service has no data yet, the **Getting Started** page opens automatically. Choose one of the three paths below to send telemetry.

## Set up ClickHouse Observability

Choose the path that matches your environment.

> [tab] Use an existing OpenTelemetry setup
>
> ![Set up OpenTelemetry dialog with URL, Collector config, and Env vars options and masked connection details](https://mintcdn.com/private-7c7dfe99/Zk1feNn6fCQBpold/images/clickstack/getting-started/observability-connection-details.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Zk1feNn6fCQBpold\&q=85\&s=bf9b0aae9c9135108b8373a72eec15ef)
>
> Use this path if your application, agent, or collector already produces OpenTelemetry data.
>
> 1. Select **View connection details** on the getting started page.
>
> 2. Copy the configuration for your telemetry sender. The connection details provide **URL**, **Collector config**, and **Env vars** options.
>
> 3. Configure your sender to export telemetry to the managed endpoint using the provided authentication details.
>
> 4. Generate normal activity in your application, then confirm that the resulting data appears in [Search](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/features/search.md).
>
> You can also find these connection details under **Team Settings → Data → Managed Telemetry**.
>
> > [!TIP]
> >
> > For an optional quick check, select **send a test log** on the getting started page. The button immediately sends a test log from the UI; it does not verify your application's or collector's configuration.

> [tab] Instrument with AI
>
> ![Set it up with an AI agent dialog showing the instrumentation prompt and masked endpoint and API key environment variables](https://mintcdn.com/private-7c7dfe99/Zk1feNn6fCQBpold/images/clickstack/getting-started/observability-ai-instrumentation.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Zk1feNn6fCQBpold\&q=85\&s=b2f047662f0f9f9a7c9260b13e741297)
>
> Use this path if you have application code and want your coding assistant to help add OpenTelemetry instrumentation.
>
> 1. Under **Instrument with AI**, select **Copy prompt** to open the **Set it up with an AI agent** dialog.
> 2. Copy the prompt from the dialog and paste it into your coding assistant with access to your application code, such as Cursor, Copilot, or Claude Code.
> 3. Set `CLICKSTACK_OTLP_ENDPOINT` and `CLICKSTACK_API_KEY` using the values provided in the dialog. Store them in a `.env` file excluded from version control or in your secrets store.
> 4. Review and apply the suggested instrumentation, then run your application and generate an event.
>
> To apply this workflow to your own application, follow [Instrument with AI](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/ingesting-data/sdks/instrument-with-ai.md).
>
> For a complete example with application code and an instrumentation prompt, follow the [HackerNews Analyzer demo](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/example-datasets/instrument-application.md). It walks through sending application logs, traces, metrics, and browser session replay to your managed service.

> [tab] Follow setup guides
>
> ![Send data dialog with searchable setup guides for languages, frameworks, infrastructure, and collectors](https://mintcdn.com/private-7c7dfe99/Zk1feNn6fCQBpold/images/clickstack/getting-started/observability-setup-guides.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Zk1feNn6fCQBpold\&q=85\&s=08a2f88b7bcfe3e6ec1c2b32289b0cf9)
>
> Use this path if you want instructions for a specific application or infrastructure source.
>
> 1. Select **Browse setup guides**.
> 2. Choose the guide for your language, framework, or infrastructure.
> 3. Follow its instrumentation and configuration steps, then generate telemetry from that source.
>
> For managed configuration examples, start with [Kubernetes monitoring](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/example-datasets/kubernetes.md), [local logs and metrics](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/example-datasets/local-data.md), or the [HackerNews Analyzer application](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/example-datasets/instrument-application.md). If you want to try ingestion without instrumenting an application, use [otelgen](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/example-datasets/otelgen.md) or [telemetrygen](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/example-datasets/telemetrygen.md).

## Verify ingestion and start exploring

After completing your chosen path, select **Start exploring** to open [Search](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/features/search.md). Look for an event you generated and confirm that it is present before continuing.

For logs, select the **Logs** source and a time range that includes when you sent the event. The example below shows a log sent using the UI's **send a test log** button, with `example-service` as its service name. Expand an event to inspect its attributes.

![Search showing a UI test log for example-service with its event attributes expanded](https://mintcdn.com/private-7c7dfe99/Zk1feNn6fCQBpold/images/clickstack/getting-started/observability-verify-ingestion.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Zk1feNn6fCQBpold\&q=85\&s=17ebfe90b262e5bb3692078c80d1f420)

## Next steps

### Send application and infrastructure data

Choose a guide for the data that you want to send to ClickHouse Observability:

> [card] [Ingesting data overview](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/ingesting-data/overview.md)
>
> Explore ingestion options and guides for applications, collectors, and integrations.

> [card] [Instrument an application](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/example-datasets/instrument-application.md)
>
> Instrument the HackerNews Analyzer app and explore logs, traces, metrics, and session replay.

> [card] [Monitor Kubernetes](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/example-datasets/kubernetes.md)
>
> Collect cluster logs and metrics and explore the Kubernetes dashboard.

### Explore sample data

Use a sample dataset to explore ClickHouse Observability with richer telemetry:

> [card] [Sample logs, traces, and metrics](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/example-datasets/sample-data.md)
>
> ![](https://mintcdn.com/private-7c7dfe99/Zk1feNn6fCQBpold/images/clickstack/getting-started/observability-sample-data-payment-errors-chart.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Zk1feNn6fCQBpold\&q=85\&s=d06718f65bb719ef73cd936c0531c451)
>
> Load data from the public demo and diagnose an issue.

> [card] [Local logs and metrics](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/example-datasets/local-data.md)
>
> ![](https://mintcdn.com/private-7c7dfe99/dW6bcEakZdn3a5oP/images/clickstack/observability-local-memory-percentage.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=dW6bcEakZdn3a5oP\&q=85\&s=e29e47dc1691ee36b1578a0137bbee56)
>
> Collect local files and system metrics on macOS or Linux.

### Generate synthetic data

Use a generator to test ingestion without an existing application or dataset:

> [card] [Generate data with otelgen](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/example-datasets/otelgen.md)
>
> Send synthetic OTLP logs, traces, and metrics to your managed telemetry endpoint.

> [card] [Generate data with telemetrygen](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/example-datasets/telemetrygen.md)
>
> Generate configurable OpenTelemetry signals to test your managed service.

See [all sample data and demos](https://clickhouse.com/docs/clickstack/observability/example-datasets).