initialize() | Respan Docs

Overview

The initialize() method sets up the tracing client and establishes connection to Respan. This must be called before using any tracing methods.

Signature

async initialize(): Promise<void>

Basic Usage

import { RespanTelemetry } from '@respan/tracing';
const respanAi = new RespanTelemetry({
    apiKey: process.env.RESPAN_API_KEY,
    appName: 'my-app'
});
// Initialize before using any tracing methods
await respanAi.initialize();
// Now ready to use
await respanAi.withWorkflow(
    { name: 'my_workflow' },
    async () => {
        return 'ready';
    }
);

Constructor Options

const respanAi = new RespanTelemetry({
    apiKey: string;              // Required: Your Respan API key
    baseURL?: string;            // Optional: API base URL (default: https://api.respan.ai)
    appName?: string;            // Optional: Application name for identification
    instrumentModules?: {        // Optional: Modules to auto-instrument
        openAI?: typeof OpenAI;
        anthropic?: typeof Anthropic;
    };
    disableBatch?: boolean;      // Optional: Send spans immediately (default: false)
    logLevel?: string;           // Optional: 'debug' | 'info' | 'warn' | 'error' (default: 'warn')
});

Complete Example

import { RespanTelemetry } from '@respan/tracing';
import OpenAI from 'openai';
const respanAi = new RespanTelemetry({
    apiKey: process.env.RESPAN_API_KEY,
    baseURL: 'https://api.respan.ai',
    appName: 'production-app',
    instrumentModules: {
        openAI: OpenAI,  // Auto-instrument OpenAI
    },
    disableBatch: false,
    logLevel: 'info'
});
// Initialize the client
await respanAi.initialize();
console.log('Respan Tracing initialized successfully');
// Use tracing
await respanAi.withWorkflow(
    { name: 'user_request' },
    async () => {
        // Your code here
    }
);
// Shutdown gracefully when done
await respanAi.shutdown();

Environment Variables

You can also configure using environment variables:

.env

RESPAN_API_KEY=your-api-key
RESPAN_BASE_URL=https://api.respan.ai

const respanAi = new RespanTelemetry({
    apiKey: process.env.RESPAN_API_KEY,
    baseURL: process.env.RESPAN_BASE_URL,
    appName: 'my-app'
});
await respanAi.initialize();

Configuration Options

apiKey

stringRequired

Your Respan API key from the dashboard

baseURL

stringDefaults to https://api.respan.ai

Respan API base URL

appName

string

Application name for identifying traces in the dashboard

instrumentModules

object

Modules to automatically instrument:

openAI: OpenAI SDK class
anthropic: Anthropic SDK class

disableBatch

boolean

If true, sends spans immediately instead of batching them

logLevel

stringDefaults to warn

Logging verbosity: "debug", "info", "warn", "error"

Best Practices

Always call initialize() before using any tracing methods
Initialize once at application startup
Use environment variables for sensitive configuration
Call shutdown() before application exit to flush pending spans
Enable auto-instrumentation for supported SDKs