Disable OpenAI Agents Tracing and Enable Phoenix Tracing

Brandon B.

·May 24, 2025 10:10 PM

RunLLM How do I disable the default openai agents tracing and enable Phoenix tracing?

11 comments

· Sorted by Oldest

RunLLM
APP
·
To disable the default OpenAI Agents SDK tracing and enable Phoenix tracing, use the Phoenix `register` function with `auto_instrument=True` to set up tracing, and ensure you do not initialize the default OpenAI tracing. If OpenAI tracing is already active, you can call `OpenAIInstrumentor().uninstrument()` before registering Phoenix tracing. Then, instrument Phoenix as follows: ``` from phoenix.otel import register tracer_provider = register( project_name="agents", endpoint="http://localhost:6006/v1/traces", auto_instrument=True ) ``` This setup ensures only Phoenix handles tracing, and OpenAI's default tracing is disabled. For more, see <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-agents-sdk-tracing|OpenAI Agents SDK Tracing> and <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-tracing|OpenAI Tracing>. Would you like more detail? Sources: - <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-agents-sdk-tracing|OpenAI Agents SDK Tracing> - <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-tracing|OpenAI Tracing>
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Brandon B.
·
RunLLM So OpenAI agents has tracing on by default. I can turn it off, but it messes with the Phoenix tracing. if I don't turn it off, Phoenix and OpenAI get the tracing. I don't want both to get the traces.
RunLLM
APP
·
To ensure only Phoenix receives traces and not the default OpenAI Agents tracing, do not enable OpenAI's built-in tracing. Instead, use Phoenix's `register` with `auto_instrument=True` to handle all tracing. If OpenAI tracing is already active, call `OpenAIInstrumentor().uninstrument()` before registering Phoenix tracing. This prevents duplicate traces and ensures only Phoenix collects them, as described in <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-agents-sdk-tracing|OpenAI Agents SDK Tracing>. Would you like a step-by-step code example? Sources: - <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-agents-sdk-tracing|OpenAI Agents SDK Tracing>
💡 Hint: Mention RunLLM in the thread for followups.
Brandon B.
·
RunLLM can you give me a full example using OpenAIInstrumentor().uninstrument()?
RunLLM
APP
·
Certainly! Here is a full example that disables the default OpenAI tracing using `OpenAIInstrumentor().uninstrument()` before enabling Phoenix tracing: ``` from openinference.instrumentation.openai import OpenAIInstrumentor from phoenix.otel import register # Disable OpenAI's default tracing OpenAIInstrumentor().uninstrument() # Register Phoenix tracing tracer_provider = register( project_name="agents", endpoint="http://localhost:6006/v1/traces", auto_instrument=True ) # Now use OpenAI as usual; only Phoenix will receive traces import openai client = openai.OpenAI() response = client.chat.completions.create( model="gpt-4o", messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Write a haiku."}], ) print(response.choices[0].message.content) ``` This ensures only Phoenix receives traces, not the default OpenAI tracing. See <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-agents-sdk-tracing|OpenAI Agents SDK Tracing> for more details. Sources: - <https://github.com/Arize-ai/phoenix/issues/2340|https://github.com/Arize-ai/phoenix/issues/2340> - <https://github.com/Arize-ai/phoenix/blob/main/docs/tracing/how-to-tracing/setup-tracing-python.md|https://github.com/Arize-ai/phoenix/blob/main/docs/tracing/how-to-tracing/setup-tracing-python.md>
💡 Hint: Mention RunLLM in the thread for followups.

Brandon B.

RunLLM so that's what I'm trying. Here's my code:

from openinference.instrumentation.openai_agents import OpenAIAgentsInstrumentor

# Disable OpenAI's default tracing
OpenAIAgentsInstrumentor().uninstrument()

client = AsyncOpenAI(
    base_url=BASE_URL, 
    api_key=API_KEY,
)

I get a message: Attempting to uninstrument while already uninstrumented but it is still sending to openai

RunLLM
APP
·
The message `Attempting to uninstrument while already uninstrumented` means the OpenAIAgentsInstrumentor was not active, so calling `.uninstrument()` had no effect. If traces are still being sent to OpenAI, it's likely that tracing is being enabled elsewhere—possibly by auto-instrumentation or another instrumentor. According to <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-agents-sdk-tracing|OpenAI Agents SDK Tracing>, you should ensure that only Phoenix tracing is registered and that no other tracing (including OpenAI's) is initialized. Double-check that you are not calling any other tracing setup (including environment-based auto-instrumentation) before or after your `uninstrument()` call. Would you like help debugging where tracing might be getting enabled? Sources: - <https://arize-ai.slack.com/archives/C04R3GXC8HK/p1722528199.497779|https://arize-ai.slack.com/archives/C04R3GXC8HK/p1722528199.497779> - <https://github.com/Arize-ai/phoenix/issues/2510|https://github.com/Arize-ai/phoenix/issues/2510>
💡 Hint: Mention RunLLM in the thread for followups.
Mikyo
·
hey Brandon B. - I'm not super familiar but this might be relevant? https://github.com/Arize-ai/openinference/pull/1586
Brandon B.
·
Mikyo I'll take a look at that. Thanks!
Brandon B.
·
Mikyo That is absolutely related. I'm still working through the code to see what's missing though. Thanks for sharing that!
Mikyo
·
Sounds good! Let us know if you need anything

RunLLM
APP
·
To disable the default OpenAI Agents SDK tracing and enable Phoenix tracing, use the Phoenix `register` function with `auto_instrument=True` to set up tracing, and ensure you do not initialize the default OpenAI tracing. If OpenAI tracing is already active, you can call `OpenAIInstrumentor().uninstrument()` before registering Phoenix tracing. Then, instrument Phoenix as follows: ``` from phoenix.otel import register tracer_provider = register( project_name="agents", endpoint="http://localhost:6006/v1/traces", auto_instrument=True ) ``` This setup ensures only Phoenix handles tracing, and OpenAI's default tracing is disabled. For more, see <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-agents-sdk-tracing|OpenAI Agents SDK Tracing> and <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-tracing|OpenAI Tracing>. Would you like more detail? Sources: - <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-agents-sdk-tracing|OpenAI Agents SDK Tracing> - <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-tracing|OpenAI Tracing>
💡 Hint: Mention RunLLM in the thread for followups.
Brandon B.
·
RunLLM So OpenAI agents has tracing on by default. I can turn it off, but it messes with the Phoenix tracing. if I don't turn it off, Phoenix and OpenAI get the tracing. I don't want both to get the traces.
RunLLM
APP
·
To ensure only Phoenix receives traces and not the default OpenAI Agents tracing, do not enable OpenAI's built-in tracing. Instead, use Phoenix's `register` with `auto_instrument=True` to handle all tracing. If OpenAI tracing is already active, call `OpenAIInstrumentor().uninstrument()` before registering Phoenix tracing. This prevents duplicate traces and ensures only Phoenix collects them, as described in <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-agents-sdk-tracing|OpenAI Agents SDK Tracing>. Would you like a step-by-step code example? Sources: - <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-agents-sdk-tracing|OpenAI Agents SDK Tracing>
💡 Hint: Mention RunLLM in the thread for followups.
Brandon B.
·
RunLLM can you give me a full example using OpenAIInstrumentor().uninstrument()?
RunLLM
APP
·
Certainly! Here is a full example that disables the default OpenAI tracing using `OpenAIInstrumentor().uninstrument()` before enabling Phoenix tracing: ``` from openinference.instrumentation.openai import OpenAIInstrumentor from phoenix.otel import register # Disable OpenAI's default tracing OpenAIInstrumentor().uninstrument() # Register Phoenix tracing tracer_provider = register( project_name="agents", endpoint="http://localhost:6006/v1/traces", auto_instrument=True ) # Now use OpenAI as usual; only Phoenix will receive traces import openai client = openai.OpenAI() response = client.chat.completions.create( model="gpt-4o", messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Write a haiku."}], ) print(response.choices[0].message.content) ``` This ensures only Phoenix receives traces, not the default OpenAI tracing. See <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-agents-sdk-tracing|OpenAI Agents SDK Tracing> for more details. Sources: - <https://github.com/Arize-ai/phoenix/issues/2340|https://github.com/Arize-ai/phoenix/issues/2340> - <https://github.com/Arize-ai/phoenix/blob/main/docs/tracing/how-to-tracing/setup-tracing-python.md|https://github.com/Arize-ai/phoenix/blob/main/docs/tracing/how-to-tracing/setup-tracing-python.md>
💡 Hint: Mention RunLLM in the thread for followups.

Brandon B.

RunLLM so that's what I'm trying. Here's my code:

from openinference.instrumentation.openai_agents import OpenAIAgentsInstrumentor

# Disable OpenAI's default tracing
OpenAIAgentsInstrumentor().uninstrument()

client = AsyncOpenAI(
    base_url=BASE_URL, 
    api_key=API_KEY,
)

I get a message: Attempting to uninstrument while already uninstrumented but it is still sending to openai

RunLLM
APP
·
The message `Attempting to uninstrument while already uninstrumented` means the OpenAIAgentsInstrumentor was not active, so calling `.uninstrument()` had no effect. If traces are still being sent to OpenAI, it's likely that tracing is being enabled elsewhere—possibly by auto-instrumentation or another instrumentor. According to <https://docs.arize.com/phoenix/integrations/llm-providers/openai/openai-agents-sdk-tracing|OpenAI Agents SDK Tracing>, you should ensure that only Phoenix tracing is registered and that no other tracing (including OpenAI's) is initialized. Double-check that you are not calling any other tracing setup (including environment-based auto-instrumentation) before or after your `uninstrument()` call. Would you like help debugging where tracing might be getting enabled? Sources: - <https://arize-ai.slack.com/archives/C04R3GXC8HK/p1722528199.497779|https://arize-ai.slack.com/archives/C04R3GXC8HK/p1722528199.497779> - <https://github.com/Arize-ai/phoenix/issues/2510|https://github.com/Arize-ai/phoenix/issues/2510>
💡 Hint: Mention RunLLM in the thread for followups.
Mikyo
·
hey Brandon B. - I'm not super familiar but this might be relevant? https://github.com/Arize-ai/openinference/pull/1586
Brandon B.
·
Mikyo I'll take a look at that. Thanks!
Brandon B.
·
Mikyo That is absolutely related. I'm still working through the code to see what's missing though. Thanks for sharing that!
Mikyo
·
Sounds good! Let us know if you need anything