Configuration file passed as argument is ignored in 1.21

[gh-axel-czarniak]

Describe the bug
When laughing a Java application with opentelemetry 1.21 and a configuration file passed as argument (-Dotel.javaagent.configuration-file), the configuration file is ignored and properties are not loaded in the agent.

In our case, we have done some test using the debug log and a configuration file with these information:

otel.javaagent.enabled=false
otel.metrics.exporter=none
otel.logs.exporter=none

In this case the agent start the instrumentation and send trace to the collector.

If we use environment variable to disable the agent it works fine.

Steps to reproduce
Launch a Java with the java auto instrumentation agent in version 1.21 with a configuration file as property.

What did you expect to see?
The agent is loaded but does not instrument the code and does not send trace to the collector.

What did you see instead?
The agent is loaded and instrument the code and send trace to the collector.

What version are you using?
1.21.0

Environment
Compiler: OpenJDK 17.0
OS: Debian

Tell me if you need additional information or some logs.

Thanks

[mateuszrzeszutek]

Hey @axelczk ,

otel.javaagent.enabled is one of these few configuration settings that actually don't work with the configuration file - the reason for that is that when this property is checked, the configuration file is not even loaded.

In this case the agent start the instrumentation and send trace to the collector.

You could set otel.traces.exporter = none or otel.sdk.disabled = true to turn off the tracing instead.

[gh-axel-czarniak]

Hi @mateuszrzeszutek,

We have few old services using the otel 1.16 release and it works with the configuration file. I didn't see any breaking change announcement in the different release note between the 1.16 and the 1.21. Is there anything that can explain this change ?

[mateuszrzeszutek]

Yeah, we did not really list it in the release notes, must have happened around 1.17/1.18 I think.

It definitely is a breaking change, and it does make things kinda confusing if there are some properties that work with the file and some that don't - I think we should fix that.