go-redis/redis · error

failed to create operation duration histogram: %w

Error message

failed to create operation duration histogram: %w

What it means

Returned by createRecorder (redisotel.go:194) when dbconv.NewClientOperationDuration fails to create the 'db.client.operation.duration' Float64Histogram. Only checked when the MetricGroupCommand group is enabled. The wrapped error comes from the OTel SDK's meter.Float64Histogram call.

Source

Thrown at extra/redisotel-native/redisotel.go:194

	}
}

// createRecorder creates a metricsRecorder with all instruments based on config.
func (o *ObservabilityInstance) createRecorder(meter metric.Meter, cfg config) (*metricsRecorder, error) {
	var err error

	var operationDuration metric.Float64Histogram
	if cfg.isMetricGroupEnabled(MetricGroupCommand) {
		var operationDurationOpts []metric.Float64HistogramOption
		if cfg.histAggregation == HistogramAggregationExplicitBucket {
			operationDurationOpts = append(operationDurationOpts,
				metric.WithExplicitBucketBoundaries(cfg.bucketsOperationDuration...),
			)
		}
		var operationDurationConv dbconv.ClientOperationDuration
		operationDurationConv, err = dbconv.NewClientOperationDuration(meter, operationDurationOpts...)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create operation duration histogram: %w", err)
		}
		operationDuration = operationDurationConv.Inst()
	}

	var connectionCount metric.Int64UpDownCounter // OTel semconv: UpDownCounter
	var connectionCreateTime metric.Float64Histogram
	var connectionRelaxedTimeout metric.Int64UpDownCounter
	var connectionHandoff metric.Int64Counter

	if cfg.isMetricGroupEnabled(MetricGroupConnectionBasic) {
		connectionCount, err = meter.Int64UpDownCounter(
			dbconv.ClientConnectionCount{}.Name(),
			metric.WithDescription(dbconv.ClientConnectionCount{}.Description()),
			metric.WithUnit(dbconv.ClientConnectionCount{}.Unit()),
		)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create connection count metric: %w", err)
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to 36d97525cd)

Solutions

1. Search for other code registering 'db.client.operation.duration' and reconcile unit/description metadata
2. Verify the MeterProvider is from a compatible OTel SDK version
3. Check that cfg.BucketsOperationDuration contains valid float64 boundary values when HistogramAggregation is ExplicitBucket

Example fix

// before - conflicting 'db.client.operation.duration' from another lib
hist, _ := meter.Float64Histogram("db.client.operation.duration",
    metric.WithUnit("ms")) // conflicts with semconv unit "s"

// after - use the same unit as redisotel semconv (seconds)
hist, _ := meter.Float64Histogram("db.client.operation.duration",
    metric.WithUnit("s"))

// Validate bucket boundaries are monotonically increasing before Init
for i := 1; i < len(cfg.BucketsOperationDuration); i++ {
    if cfg.BucketsOperationDuration[i] <= cfg.BucketsOperationDuration[i-1] {
        return fmt.Errorf("invalid bucket boundaries")
    }
}

if err := obs.Init(cfg); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "operation duration histogram") {
        log.Error("conflict on 'db.client.operation.duration'; reconcile metadata across OTel integrations")
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling Init with MetricGroups including MetricGroupFlagCommand, and the OTel SDK rejects the histogram creation (duplicate name with conflicting metadata, invalid name, or a broken MeterProvider).

Common situations: Another instrumentation library already registered 'db.client.operation.duration' with different unit or description; the global MeterProvider is the default no-op but an incompatible SDK version is mixed in; custom bucket boundaries in cfg.BucketsOperationDuration are malformed.

Related errors

• failed to create connection create time histogram: %w
• failed to create connection wait time histogram: %w
• failed to create stream lag histogram: %w
• failed to create metrics recorder: %w
• failed to create connection count metric: %w

AI-assisted analysis of go-redis/redis@36d97525cd (2026-08-06). Data as JSON: /data/errors/3883771275bd25f7.json. Report an issue: GitHub.