Semantic conventions for session

Status: Experimental

This document defines semantic conventions to apply to client-side applications when tracking sessions.

Session is defined as the period of time encompassing all activities performed by the application and the actions executed by the end user.

Consequently, a Session is represented as a collection of Logs, Events, and Spans emitted by the Client Application throughout the Session’s duration. Each Session is assigned a unique identifier, which is included as an attribute in the Logs, Events, and Spans generated during the Session’s lifecycle.

When a session reaches end of life, typically due to user inactivity or session timeout, a new session identifier will be assigned. The previous session identifier may be provided by the instrumentation so that telemetry backends can link the two sessions.

Attributes

AttributeTypeDescriptionExamplesRequirement Level
session.idstringA unique id to identify a session.00112233-4455-6677-8899-aabbccddeeffOpt-In
session.previous_idstringThe previous session.id for this user, when known.00112233-4455-6677-8899-aabbccddeeffOpt-In