redis/node-redis · error · OpenTelemetryError

@opentelemetry/api not found

Error message

@opentelemetry/api not found

What it means

OpenTelemetry.init() requires the @opentelemetry/api package; it attempts require('@opentelemetry/api') and throws OpenTelemetryError if the require fails. The metrics instrumentation depends on the OpenTelemetry API to obtain a meter and register instruments, so without it initialization cannot proceed.

Source

Thrown at packages/client/lib/opentelemetry/index.ts:64

   *   metrics: {
   *     enabled: true,
   *     enabledMetricGroups: ["pubsub", "connection-basic", "resiliency"],
   *     includeCommands: ["GET", "SET"],
   *     hidePubSubChannelNames: true
   *   }
   * });
   * ```
   */
  public static init(config: ObservabilityConfig) {
    if (OpenTelemetry._instance) {
      throw new OpenTelemetryError("OpenTelemetry already initialized");
    }

    const api: OpenTelemetryApiModule = (() => {
      try {
        return require("@opentelemetry/api");
      } catch {
        throw new OpenTelemetryError("@opentelemetry/api not found");
      }
    })();

    OpenTelemetry._instance = new OpenTelemetry();
    ClientRegistry.init();
    OTelMetrics.init({ api, config });
  }
}

export {
  OTelClientAttributes,
  OTEL_ATTRIBUTES,
  CONNECTION_CLOSE_REASON,
  CSC_RESULT,
  CSC_EVICTION_REASON,
} from "./types";
export { OTelMetrics } from "./metrics";
export {

View on GitHub (pinned to bb5beb5657)

Solutions

1. Install the dependency: npm install @opentelemetry/api (and @opentelemetry/sdk-metrics for a MeterProvider).
2. Verify the package resolves from the same node_modules tree as the redis import.
3. If you did not mean to enable metrics, remove the OpenTelemetry.init call.
4. For bundlers, ensure @opentelemetry/api is not marked external-only without being installed.

Example fix

// before
OpenTelemetry.init({ metrics: { enabled: true } }); // throws, api missing

// after
// npm install @opentelemetry/api @opentelemetry/sdk-metrics
import { metrics } from '@opentelemetry/api';
OpenTelemetry.init({ metrics: { enabled: true } });

import { existsSync } from 'node:module';
// Pre-check resolution:
try { require.resolve('@opentelemetry/api'); } catch { throw new Error('install @opentelemetry/api first'); }

try { OpenTelemetry.init(config); } catch (e) { if (/@opentelemetry\/api not found/.test(e.message)) { console.error('Run: npm install @opentelemetry/api'); } throw e; }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling OpenTelemetry.init({...}) in a project that has not installed @opentelemetry/api (and optionally @opentelemetry/sdk-metrics). The dependency is a peer/optional and is not bundled with redis.

Common situations: Enabling the new metrics config without adding the OTel dependencies to package.json; monorepo where the package with init() call lacks the dependency; tree-shaking/externalization that drops @opentelemetry/api from the bundle.

Related errors

• OpenTelemetry already initialized
• OTelMetrics already initialized

AI-assisted analysis of redis/node-redis@bb5beb5657 (2026-08-03). Data as JSON: /data/errors/66e59217ca42735d.json. Report an issue: GitHub.