diff --git a/consensus/crdt/consensus.go b/consensus/crdt/consensus.go
index bdcf8e4c8..30a1c87a1 100644
--- a/consensus/crdt/consensus.go
+++ b/consensus/crdt/consensus.go
@@ -276,6 +276,7 @@ func (css *Consensus) setup() {
 	css.crdt = crdt
 
 	clusterState, err := dsstate.New(
+		css.ctx,
 		css.crdt,
 		// unsure if we should set something else but crdt is already
 		// namespaced and this would only namespace the keys, which only
@@ -290,6 +291,7 @@ func (css *Consensus) setup() {
 	css.state = clusterState
 
 	batchingState, err := dsstate.NewBatching(
+		css.ctx,
 		css.crdt,
 		"",
 		dsstate.DefaultHandle(),
@@ -663,5 +665,5 @@ func OfflineState(cfg *Config, store ds.Datastore) (state.BatchingState, error)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	return dsstate.NewBatching(crdt, "", dsstate.DefaultHandle())
+	return dsstate.NewBatching(context.Background(), crdt, "", dsstate.DefaultHandle())
 }
diff --git a/consensus/raft/consensus.go b/consensus/raft/consensus.go
index a183914ef..0de1e717a 100644
--- a/consensus/raft/consensus.go
+++ b/consensus/raft/consensus.go
@@ -71,28 +71,30 @@ func NewConsensus(
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
 
 	logger.Debug("starting Consensus and waiting for a leader...")
 	baseOp := &LogOp{tracing: cfg.Tracing}
 	state, err := dsstate.New(
+		ctx,
 		store,
 		cfg.DatastoreNamespace,
 		dsstate.DefaultHandle(),
 	)
 	if err != nil {
+		cancel()
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	consensus := libp2praft.NewOpLog(state, baseOp)
 	raft, err := newRaftWrapper(host, cfg, consensus.FSM(), staging)
 	if err != nil {
 		logger.Error("error creating raft: ", err)
+		cancel()
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	actor := libp2praft.NewActor(raft.raft)
 	consensus.SetActor(actor)
 
-	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
-
 	cc := &Consensus{
 		ctx:       ctx,
 		cancel:    cancel,
@@ -550,7 +552,7 @@ func OfflineState(cfg *Config, store ds.Datastore) (state.State, error) {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	st, err := dsstate.New(store, cfg.DatastoreNamespace, dsstate.DefaultHandle())
+	st, err := dsstate.New(context.Background(), store, cfg.DatastoreNamespace, dsstate.DefaultHandle())
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/consensus/raft/consensus_test.go b/consensus/raft/consensus_test.go
index bf49d0a25..e33eb5c0b 100644
--- a/consensus/raft/consensus_test.go
+++ b/consensus/raft/consensus_test.go
@@ -316,7 +316,7 @@ func TestRaftLatestSnapshot(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	// Call raft.LastState and ensure we get the correct state
-	snapState, err := dsstate.New(inmem.New(), "", dsstate.DefaultHandle())
+	snapState, err := dsstate.New(ctx, inmem.New(), "", dsstate.DefaultHandle())
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
diff --git a/consensus/raft/log_op_test.go b/consensus/raft/log_op_test.go
index 94deceed4..9aa893502 100644
--- a/consensus/raft/log_op_test.go
+++ b/consensus/raft/log_op_test.go
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ func TestApplyToPin(t *testing.T) {
 	defer cleanRaft(1)
 	defer cc.Shutdown(ctx)
 
-	st, err := dsstate.New(inmem.New(), "", dsstate.DefaultHandle())
+	st, err := dsstate.New(ctx, inmem.New(), "", dsstate.DefaultHandle())
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ func TestApplyToUnpin(t *testing.T) {
 	defer cleanRaft(1)
 	defer cc.Shutdown(ctx)
 
-	st, err := dsstate.New(inmem.New(), "", dsstate.DefaultHandle())
+	st, err := dsstate.New(ctx, inmem.New(), "", dsstate.DefaultHandle())
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
diff --git a/monitor/metrics/checker.go b/monitor/metrics/checker.go
index 2dc996285..a035c2531 100644
--- a/monitor/metrics/checker.go
+++ b/monitor/metrics/checker.go
@@ -7,12 +7,8 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/ipfs/ipfs-cluster/api"
-	"github.com/ipfs/ipfs-cluster/observations"
 
 	peer "github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p-core/peer"
-
-	"go.opencensus.io/stats"
-	"go.opencensus.io/tag"
 )
 
 // AlertChannelCap specifies how much buffer the alerts channel has.
@@ -135,11 +131,6 @@ func (mc *Checker) alert(pid peer.ID, metricName string) error {
 	}
 	select {
 	case mc.alertCh <- alrt:
-		stats.RecordWithTags(
-			mc.ctx,
-			[]tag.Mutator{tag.Upsert(observations.RemotePeerKey, pid.Pretty())},
-			observations.Alerts.M(1),
-		)
 	default:
 		return ErrAlertChannelFull
 	}
diff --git a/observations/metrics.go b/observations/metrics.go
index 9a9dc5e3f..b2adbffd5 100644
--- a/observations/metrics.go
+++ b/observations/metrics.go
@@ -12,10 +12,10 @@ import (
 var logger = logging.Logger("observations")
 
 var (
-	// taken from ocgrpc (https://github.com/census-instrumentation/opencensus-go/blob/master/plugin/ocgrpc/stats_common.go)
-	// latencyDistribution      = view.Distribution(0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 0.8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 16, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 65, 80, 100, 130, 160, 200, 250, 300, 400, 500, 650, 800, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 20000, 50000, 100000)
-	// bytesDistribution        = view.Distribution(0, 24, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 16384, 65536, 262144, 1048576)
-	messageCountDistribution = view.Distribution(1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768, 65536)
+// taken from ocgrpc (https://github.com/census-instrumentation/opencensus-go/blob/master/plugin/ocgrpc/stats_common.go)
+// latencyDistribution      = view.Distribution(0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 0.8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 16, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 65, 80, 100, 130, 160, 200, 250, 300, 400, 500, 650, 800, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 20000, 50000, 100000)
+// bytesDistribution        = view.Distribution(0, 24, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 16384, 65536, 262144, 1048576)
+// messageCountDistribution = view.Distribution(1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768, 65536)
 )
 
 // attributes
@@ -31,47 +31,49 @@ var (
 
 // metrics
 var (
-	// Pins counts the number of pins ipfs-cluster is tracking.
-	Pins = stats.Int64("cluster/pin_count", "Number of pins", stats.UnitDimensionless)
-	// TrackerPins counts the number of pins the local peer is tracking.
-	TrackerPins = stats.Int64("pintracker/pin_count", "Number of pins", stats.UnitDimensionless)
-	// Peers counts the number of ipfs-cluster peers are currently in the cluster.
-	Peers = stats.Int64("cluster/peers", "Number of cluster peers", stats.UnitDimensionless)
-	// Alerts is the number of alerts that have been sent due to peers not sending "ping" heartbeats in time.
-	Alerts = stats.Int64("cluster/alerts", "Number of alerts triggered", stats.UnitDimensionless)
+	// This metric is managed in state/dsstate.
+	Pins = stats.Int64("pins", "Total number of pins", stats.UnitDimensionless)
+
+	// These metrics are managed by the pintracker/optracker module.
+	PinsQueued   = stats.Int64("pins/pin_queued", "Number of pins queued for pinning", stats.UnitDimensionless)
+	PinsPinning  = stats.Int64("pins/pinning", "Number of pins currently pinning", stats.UnitDimensionless)
+	PinsPinError = stats.Int64("pins/pin_error", "Number of pins in pin_error state", stats.UnitDimensionless)
 )
 
 // views, which is just the aggregation of the metrics
 var (
 	PinsView = &view.View{
-		Measure:     Pins,
-		TagKeys:     []tag.Key{HostKey},
+		Measure: Pins,
+		// This would add a tag to the metric if a value for this key
+		// is present in the context when recording the observation.
+
+		//TagKeys: []tag.Key{HostKey},
 		Aggregation: view.LastValue(),
 	}
 
-	TrackerPinsView = &view.View{
-		Measure:     TrackerPins,
-		TagKeys:     []tag.Key{HostKey},
-		Aggregation: view.LastValue(),
+	PinsQueuedView = &view.View{
+		Measure: PinsQueued,
+		//TagKeys:     []tag.Key{HostKey},
+		Aggregation: view.Sum(),
 	}
 
-	PeersView = &view.View{
-		Measure:     Peers,
-		TagKeys:     []tag.Key{HostKey},
-		Aggregation: view.LastValue(),
+	PinsPinningView = &view.View{
+		Measure: PinsPinning,
+		//TagKeys:     []tag.Key{HostKey},
+		Aggregation: view.Sum(),
 	}
 
-	AlertsView = &view.View{
-		Measure:     Alerts,
-		TagKeys:     []tag.Key{HostKey, RemotePeerKey},
-		Aggregation: messageCountDistribution,
+	PinsPinErrorView = &view.View{
+		Measure: PinsPinError,
+		//TagKeys:     []tag.Key{HostKey},
+		Aggregation: view.Sum(),
 	}
 
 	DefaultViews = []*view.View{
 		PinsView,
-		TrackerPinsView,
-		PeersView,
-		AlertsView,
+		PinsQueuedView,
+		PinsPinningView,
+		PinsPinErrorView,
 	}
 )
 
diff --git a/pintracker/optracker/operation.go b/pintracker/optracker/operation.go
index c9f9e08ea..a976460a9 100644
--- a/pintracker/optracker/operation.go
+++ b/pintracker/optracker/operation.go
@@ -137,12 +137,14 @@ func (op *Operation) Phase() Phase {
 // SetPhase changes the Phase and updates the timestamp.
 func (op *Operation) SetPhase(ph Phase) {
 	_, span := trace.StartSpan(op.ctx, "optracker/SetPhase")
+	recordMetric(op, -1)
 	op.mu.Lock()
 	{
 		op.phase = ph
 		op.ts = time.Now()
 	}
 	op.mu.Unlock()
+	recordMetric(op, 1)
 	span.End()
 }
 
@@ -194,6 +196,7 @@ func (op *Operation) Error() string {
 // an error message. It updates the timestamp.
 func (op *Operation) SetError(err error) {
 	_, span := trace.StartSpan(op.ctx, "optracker/SetError")
+	recordMetric(op, -1)
 	op.mu.Lock()
 	{
 		op.phase = PhaseError
@@ -201,6 +204,7 @@ func (op *Operation) SetError(err error) {
 		op.ts = time.Now()
 	}
 	op.mu.Unlock()
+	recordMetric(op, 1)
 	span.End()
 }
 
diff --git a/pintracker/optracker/operationtracker.go b/pintracker/optracker/operationtracker.go
index 767540b77..0859f4b5c 100644
--- a/pintracker/optracker/operationtracker.go
+++ b/pintracker/optracker/operationtracker.go
@@ -13,10 +13,12 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/ipfs/ipfs-cluster/api"
+	"github.com/ipfs/ipfs-cluster/observations"
 
 	logging "github.com/ipfs/go-log/v2"
 	peer "github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p-core/peer"
 
+	"go.opencensus.io/stats"
 	"go.opencensus.io/trace"
 )
 
@@ -52,6 +54,8 @@ func (opt *OperationTracker) String() string {
 
 // NewOperationTracker creates a new OperationTracker.
 func NewOperationTracker(ctx context.Context, pid peer.ID, peerName string) *OperationTracker {
+	initializeMetrics(ctx)
+
 	return &OperationTracker{
 		ctx:        ctx,
 		pid:        pid,
@@ -78,6 +82,7 @@ func (opt *OperationTracker) TrackNewOperation(ctx context.Context, pin api.Pin,
 		if op.Type() == typ && op.Phase() != PhaseError && op.Phase() != PhaseDone {
 			return nil // an ongoing operation of the same sign exists
 		}
+		recordMetric(op, -1)
 		op.Cancel() // cancel ongoing operation and replace it
 	}
 
@@ -89,6 +94,7 @@ func (opt *OperationTracker) TrackNewOperation(ctx context.Context, pin api.Pin,
 	}
 	logger.Debugf("'%s' on cid '%s' has been created with phase '%s'", typ, pin.Cid, ph)
 	opt.operations[pin.Cid] = op2
+	recordMetric(op2, 1)
 	return op2
 }
 
@@ -121,6 +127,7 @@ func (opt *OperationTracker) Status(ctx context.Context, c api.Cid) (api.Tracker
 // is PhaseDone. Any other phases are considered in-flight and not touched.
 // For things already in error, the error message is updated.
 // Remote pins are ignored too.
+// Only used in tests right now.
 func (opt *OperationTracker) SetError(ctx context.Context, c api.Cid, err error) {
 	opt.mu.Lock()
 	defer opt.mu.Unlock()
@@ -287,6 +294,7 @@ func (opt *OperationTracker) Filter(ctx context.Context, ipfs api.IPFSID, filter
 // with the matching filter. Note, only supports
 // filters of type OperationType or Phase, any other type
 // will result in a nil slice being returned.
+// Only used in tests right now.
 func (opt *OperationTracker) filterOps(ctx context.Context, filters ...interface{}) []*Operation {
 	var fltops []*Operation
 	opt.mu.RLock()
@@ -328,3 +336,24 @@ func filter(ctx context.Context, in, out map[api.Cid]*Operation, filter interfac
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func initializeMetrics(ctx context.Context) {
+	stats.Record(ctx, observations.PinsPinError.M(0))
+	stats.Record(ctx, observations.PinsQueued.M(0))
+	stats.Record(ctx, observations.PinsPinning.M(0))
+}
+
+func recordMetric(op *Operation, val int64) {
+	if op.Type() == OperationPin {
+		switch op.Phase() {
+		case PhaseError:
+			stats.Record(op.Context(), observations.PinsPinError.M(val))
+		case PhaseQueued:
+			stats.Record(op.Context(), observations.PinsQueued.M(val))
+		case PhaseInProgress:
+			stats.Record(op.Context(), observations.PinsPinning.M(val))
+		case PhaseDone:
+			// we have no metric to log anything
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pintracker/pintracker_test.go b/pintracker/pintracker_test.go
index 78ef57501..113290246 100644
--- a/pintracker/pintracker_test.go
+++ b/pintracker/pintracker_test.go
@@ -40,8 +40,8 @@ var sortPinInfoByCid = func(p []api.PinInfo) {
 // - Cid2 - weird / remote // replication factor set to 0, no allocations
 // - Cid3 - remote - this pin is on ipfs
 // - Cid4 - pin everywhere - this pin is not on ipfs
-func prefilledState(context.Context) (state.ReadOnly, error) {
-	st, err := dsstate.New(inmem.New(), "", dsstate.DefaultHandle())
+func prefilledState(ctx context.Context) (state.ReadOnly, error) {
+	st, err := dsstate.New(ctx, inmem.New(), "", dsstate.DefaultHandle())
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -59,7 +59,6 @@ func prefilledState(context.Context) (state.ReadOnly, error) {
 		api.PinWithOpts(test.Cid4, pinOpts),
 	}
 
-	ctx := context.Background()
 	for _, pin := range pins {
 		err = st.Add(ctx, pin)
 		if err != nil {
diff --git a/pintracker/stateless/stateless_test.go b/pintracker/stateless/stateless_test.go
index 7dffc07e2..f1dfb8dd0 100644
--- a/pintracker/stateless/stateless_test.go
+++ b/pintracker/stateless/stateless_test.go
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ func getStateFunc(t testing.TB, items ...api.Pin) func(context.Context) (state.R
 	t.Helper()
 	ctx := context.Background()
 
-	st, err := dsstate.New(inmem.New(), "", dsstate.DefaultHandle())
+	st, err := dsstate.New(ctx, inmem.New(), "", dsstate.DefaultHandle())
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
diff --git a/state/dsstate/datastore.go b/state/dsstate/datastore.go
index 8cda7e1a8..7cc502931 100644
--- a/state/dsstate/datastore.go
+++ b/state/dsstate/datastore.go
@@ -6,8 +6,10 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
+	"sync/atomic"
 
 	"github.com/ipfs/ipfs-cluster/api"
+	"github.com/ipfs/ipfs-cluster/observations"
 	"github.com/ipfs/ipfs-cluster/state"
 
 	ds "github.com/ipfs/go-datastore"
@@ -16,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 	logging "github.com/ipfs/go-log/v2"
 	codec "github.com/ugorji/go/codec"
 
+	"go.opencensus.io/stats"
 	trace "go.opencensus.io/trace"
 )
 
@@ -34,6 +37,8 @@ type State struct {
 	codecHandle codec.Handle
 	namespace   ds.Key
 	// version     int
+
+	totalPins int64
 }
 
 // DefaultHandle returns the codec handler of choice (Msgpack).
@@ -49,7 +54,7 @@ func DefaultHandle() codec.Handle {
 //
 // The Handle controls options for the serialization of the full state
 // (marshaling/unmarshaling).
-func New(dstore ds.Datastore, namespace string, handle codec.Handle) (*State, error) {
+func New(ctx context.Context, dstore ds.Datastore, namespace string, handle codec.Handle) (*State, error) {
 	if handle == nil {
 		handle = DefaultHandle()
 	}
@@ -59,21 +64,34 @@ func New(dstore ds.Datastore, namespace string, handle codec.Handle) (*State, er
 		dsWrite:     dstore,
 		codecHandle: handle,
 		namespace:   ds.NewKey(namespace),
+		totalPins:   0,
 	}
 
+	stats.Record(ctx, observations.Pins.M(0))
+
 	return st, nil
 }
 
 // Add adds a new Pin or replaces an existing one.
-func (st *State) Add(ctx context.Context, c api.Pin) error {
+func (st *State) Add(ctx context.Context, c api.Pin) (err error) {
 	_, span := trace.StartSpan(ctx, "state/dsstate/Add")
 	defer span.End()
 
 	ps, err := st.serializePin(c)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return
 	}
-	return st.dsWrite.Put(ctx, st.key(c.Cid), ps)
+
+	has, _ := st.Has(ctx, c.Cid)
+	defer func() {
+		if !has && err == nil {
+			total := atomic.AddInt64(&st.totalPins, 1)
+			stats.Record(ctx, observations.Pins.M(total))
+		}
+	}()
+
+	err = st.dsWrite.Put(ctx, st.key(c.Cid), ps)
+	return
 }
 
 // Rm removes an existing Pin. It is a no-op when the
@@ -86,6 +104,11 @@ func (st *State) Rm(ctx context.Context, c api.Cid) error {
 	if err == ds.ErrNotFound {
 		return nil
 	}
+	if err == nil {
+		total := atomic.AddInt64(&st.totalPins, -1)
+		stats.Record(ctx, observations.Pins.M(total))
+	}
+
 	return err
 }
 
@@ -140,7 +163,7 @@ func (st *State) List(ctx context.Context, out chan<- api.Pin) error {
 	}
 	defer results.Close()
 
-	total := 0
+	var total int64
 	for r := range results.Next() {
 		// Abort if we shutdown.
 		select {
@@ -177,7 +200,8 @@ func (st *State) List(ctx context.Context, out chan<- api.Pin) error {
 	if total >= 500000 {
 		logger.Infof("Full pinset listing finished: %d pins", total)
 	}
-
+	atomic.StoreInt64(&st.totalPins, total)
+	stats.Record(ctx, observations.Pins.M(total))
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -308,7 +332,7 @@ type BatchingState struct {
 //
 // The Handle controls options for the serialization of the full state
 // (marshaling/unmarshaling).
-func NewBatching(dstore ds.Batching, namespace string, handle codec.Handle) (*BatchingState, error) {
+func NewBatching(ctx context.Context, dstore ds.Batching, namespace string, handle codec.Handle) (*BatchingState, error) {
 	if handle == nil {
 		handle = DefaultHandle()
 	}
@@ -328,6 +352,8 @@ func NewBatching(dstore ds.Batching, namespace string, handle codec.Handle) (*Ba
 	bst := &BatchingState{}
 	bst.State = st
 	bst.batch = batch
+
+	stats.Record(ctx, observations.Pins.M(0))
 	return bst, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/state/dsstate/datastore_test.go b/state/dsstate/datastore_test.go
index 324e36993..2dfbe5493 100644
--- a/state/dsstate/datastore_test.go
+++ b/state/dsstate/datastore_test.go
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ var c = api.Pin{
 
 func newState(t *testing.T) *State {
 	store := inmem.New()
-	ds, err := New(store, "", DefaultHandle())
+	ds, err := New(context.Background(), store, "", DefaultHandle())
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
diff --git a/test/ipfs_mock.go b/test/ipfs_mock.go
index d02ba3c82..775d98319 100644
--- a/test/ipfs_mock.go
+++ b/test/ipfs_mock.go
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ type mockRepoGCResp struct {
 // NewIpfsMock returns a new mock.
 func NewIpfsMock(t *testing.T) *IpfsMock {
 	store := inmem.New()
-	st, err := dsstate.New(store, "", dsstate.DefaultHandle())
+	st, err := dsstate.New(context.Background(), store, "", dsstate.DefaultHandle())
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}