[MLObs] adding clarification notes about the metrics#35248
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[MLObs] adding clarification notes about the metrics#35248
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Yun-Kim
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Mar 12, 2026
| ## Enriching spans | ||
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| The <code>metrics</code> parameter here refers to numeric values attached as attributes on individual spans — not <a href="/llm_observability/monitoring/metrics/">Datadog platform metrics</a>. Datadog automatically generates platform metrics (such as <code>ml_obs.span.llm.input.tokens</code>) from these span attributes for use in dashboards and monitors. |
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Customers might interpret this as Datadog automatically generating datadog metrics for all numeric values they annotate on span.metrics - can we clarify we only do this for certain token/usage based metrics?
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| If you're using automatic instrumentation, token and cost metrics appear on your spans automatically. If you're instrumenting manually, follow the guidance below. | ||
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| <div class="alert alert-info">In this context, "token metrics" and "cost metrics" refer to numeric key-value pairs you attach to spans through the <code>metrics</code> parameter of the <code>LLMObs.annotate()</code> method. These are distinct from <a href="/llm_observability/monitoring/metrics/">LLM Observability metrics</a>, which are Datadog platform metrics automatically generated from your span data for use in dashboards and monitors.</div> |
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What does this PR do? What is the motivation?
Add clarifications of the
metricsparameter in SDK usage doc, explaining the difference between the actual datadog platform metrics.Merge instructions
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