# Set up tracing

{% hint style="info" %}
**You are looking at the old Evidently documentation**: this API is available with versions 0.6.7 or lower. Check the newer version [here](https://docs.evidentlyai.com/introduction).
{% endhint %}

For an end-to-end example, check the [Tracing Quickstart](/get-started/quickstart-cloud/cloud_quickstart_tracing.md).

## Installation and Imports

Install the `tracely` package from PyPi.

```python
!pip install tracely 
```

Imports:

```python
from tracely import init_tracing
from tracely import trace_event
```

## Initialize tracing

Use `init_tracing` to enable tracely tracing. Example:

```python
init_tracing(
   address="https://app.evidently.cloud/",
   api_key=”YOUR_EVIDENTLY_TOKEN”,
   project_id="YOUR_PROJECT_ID",
   export_name="YOUR_TRACING_DATASET_NAME",
   )
```

### Tracing parameters

| **Parameter**                  | **Description**                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `address: Optional[str]`       | <p>The URL of the collector service where tracing data will be sent. For Evidently Cloud, set <code><https://app.evidently.cloud/></code>.<br><strong>Required:</strong> No, <strong>Default:</strong> <code>None</code></p>           |
| `exporter_type: Optional[str]` | <p>Specifies the type of exporter to use for tracing. Options are <code>grpc</code> for gRPC protocol or <code>http</code> for HTTP protocol.<br><strong>Required:</strong> No, <strong>Default:</strong> <code>None</code></p>        |
| `api_key: Optional[str]`       | <p>The authorization API key for Evidently Cloud tracing. This key authenticates your requests and is necessary for sending data to Evidently Cloud.<br><strong>Required:</strong> No, <strong>Default:</strong> <code>None</code></p> |
| `project_id: str`              | <p>The ID of your Project in Evidently Cloud.<br><strong>Required:</strong> Yes, <strong>Default:</strong> <code>None</code></p>                                                                                                       |
| `export_name: Optional[str]`   | <p>A string name assigned to the exported tracing data. All data with the same <code>export\_name</code> will be grouped into a single dataset.<br><strong>Required:</strong> No, <strong>Default:</strong> <code>None</code></p>      |
| `as_global: bool = True`       | Indicates whether to register the tracing provider globally for OpenTelemetry (`opentelemetry.trace.TracerProvider`) or use it locally within a scope. **Default:** `True`                                                             |

## Tracing a function

To trace a function call use `trace_event()` decorator.

**Example 1.** To log all arguments of the function:

```
@trace_event()
```

**Example 2.** To log only input arguments of the function:

```
@trace_event(track_args=[])
```

**Example 3.** To log only "arg1" and "arg2":

```
@trace_event(track_args=["arg1", "arg2"])
```

See the [Tracing Quickstart](/get-started/quickstart-cloud/cloud_quickstart_tracing.md) for an end-to-end example.

| **Parameter**                      | **Description**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| ---------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `span_name: Optional[str]`         | <p>The name of the span to track. This is how the event will be labeled in the trace. By giving it a name, you can identify and analyze this particular step within your tracing data.<br><strong>Required:</strong> No, <strong>Default:</strong> <code>None</code></p>                                      |
| `track_args: Optional[List[str]]`  | <p>A list of arguments to capture during tracing. If set to <code>None</code>, it captures all arguments by default. If set to <code>\[]</code>, it captures no arguments.<br><strong>Required:</strong> No, <strong>Default:</strong> <code>None</code></p>                                                  |
| `ignore_args: Optional[List[str]]` | <p>A list of arguments to ignore from tracking. For instance, if a function has sensitive information that you don’t want to log, you can list those arguments here. If set to <code>None</code>, no arguments are ignored.<br><strong>Required:</strong> No, <strong>Default:</strong> <code>None</code></p> |
| `track_output: Optional[bool]`     | <p>Indicates whether to track the output of the function call. If set to <code>True</code>, the trace will include the function’s output, allowing you to see not just what was passed in but also what was returned.<br><strong>Required:</strong> No, <strong>Default:</strong> <code>True</code></p>       |


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