[DOCS] OpenTelemetry docs omit `claude_code.assistant_response` and `OTEL_LOG_ASSISTANT_RESPONSES`

[coygeek]

Documentation Type

Missing documentation (feature not documented)

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/monitoring-usage

Section/Topic

OpenTelemetry common configuration variables, event reference, and environment variable reference.

Current Documentation

The monitoring page currently lists prompt and raw-body controls:

OTEL_LOG_USER_PROMPTS | Enable logging of user prompt content (default: disabled)

It also says:

OTEL_LOG_RAW_API_BODIES | Emit the full Anthropic Messages API request and response JSON as api_request_body / api_response_body log events (default: disabled). Bodies include the entire conversation history.

The environment variables page lists:

OTEL_LOG_USER_PROMPTS | Set to 1 to include user prompt text in OpenTelemetry traces and logs. Disabled by default (prompts are redacted).

What's Wrong or Missing?

Claude Code v2.1.193 added a claude_code.assistant_response OpenTelemetry log event containing model response text.

The release note also describes privacy-sensitive behavior that is not documented:

• response text is redacted unless OTEL_LOG_ASSISTANT_RESPONSES=1
• when OTEL_LOG_ASSISTANT_RESPONSES is unset, it follows OTEL_LOG_USER_PROMPTS
• deployments that already log prompt content can start receiving response content on upgrade
• setting OTEL_LOG_ASSISTANT_RESPONSES=0 keeps prompts-only logging

The docs currently do not mention the event name, the new environment variable, the inheritance behavior, or the opt-out value.

Suggested Improvement

Update the monitoring and environment-variable docs with:

• a row for OTEL_LOG_ASSISTANT_RESPONSES
• a short description of the claude_code.assistant_response event
• the default redaction behavior
• the inheritance behavior from OTEL_LOG_USER_PROMPTS when unset
• the explicit 0 opt-out for organizations that want prompt logging without assistant-response logging

Suggested wording:

OTEL_LOG_ASSISTANT_RESPONSES: Controls whether claude_code.assistant_response log events include model response text. Set to 1 to include response text. Set to 0 to keep response text redacted even when OTEL_LOG_USER_PROMPTS=1. When unset, this follows OTEL_LOG_USER_PROMPTS.

Impact

High - Prevents users from using a feature

Additional Context

Affected Pages:

Page	Context
https://code.claude.com/docs/en/monitoring-usage	OpenTelemetry common configuration table and log/event descriptions omit assistant-response logging
https://code.claude.com/docs/en/env-vars	Environment variable table omits OTEL_LOG_ASSISTANT_RESPONSES
https://code.claude.com/docs/en/settings	otelHeadersHelper references OpenTelemetry configuration but does not link to the new response-content control

Total scope: 3 pages affected

Version context: Claude Code v2.1.193 release note: "Added claude_code.assistant_response OpenTelemetry log event containing the model's response text. Redacted unless OTEL_LOG_ASSISTANT_RESPONSES=1; when that var is unset it follows OTEL_LOG_USER_PROMPTS, so deployments that already log prompt content will start receiving response content on upgrade - set OTEL_LOG_ASSISTANT_RESPONSES=0 to keep prompts-only."

[github-actions]

Found 1 possible duplicate issue:

1. [FEATURE] granular OTEL_LOG_ASSISTANT_RESPONSES flag for opt-in logging of assistant response text #68852

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[github-actions]

Closing for now — inactive for too long. Please open a new issue if this is still relevant.