Remove stale copilot-otel.jsonl references from docs and specs

[Copilot]

The copilot-otel.jsonl file-export pipeline (Copilot CLI OTEL spans mirrored to a local file and forwarded to OTLP endpoints) was removed from the compiler and runtime in PR #32280, but the docs, spec, and skills content were never updated to match — leaving users to expect an artifact that no code produces.

Documentation

• docs/src/content/docs/guides/open-telemetry.mdx: dropped copilot-otel.jsonl from the artifact list and the cat copilot-otel.jsonl | jq example; added an explanation that Copilot CLI inherits standard OTel env vars (OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT, OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS, OTEL_SERVICE_NAME, OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES) and exports spans directly to the configured OTLP backend, queryable by github.run_id (see ADR-34450)
• docs/src/content/docs/reference/artifacts.md: removed the copilot-otel.jsonl bullet from the agent artifact contents
• docs/src/content/docs/reference/open-telemetry.mdx: removed the corresponding line item

Spec

• specs/otel-observability-spec.md: updated the telemetry artifacts section to stop listing copilot-otel.jsonl as a companion file; added a changelog entry noting the removal in Pass OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS env var to mcpg container; remove headers from gateway JSON config #32280

Skills and internal references

• .github/skills/otel-queries/SKILL.md: removed the local mirror path from the telemetry-source priority list; Copilot CLI spans now point to the OTLP backend directly
• scratchpad/layout.md: removed both filesystem-layout rows referencing the file
• .github/workflows/smoke-otel-backends.md: removed the stale COPILOT_OTEL_FILE_EXPORTER_PATH env echo (no code sets this var anymore) and recompiled the paired .lock.yml

A patch changeset is included describing the documentation correction.

• Fixes Docs still reference copilot-otel.jsonl artifact removed in #32280 #52575

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Removes stale references to the retired Copilot CLI telemetry mirror and documents direct OTLP export behavior.

Changes:

• Updates guides, references, specifications, and skills.
• Removes the obsolete smoke-workflow environment check and recompiles its lock file.
• Adds a patch changeset.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
.changeset/patch-remove-copilot-otel-jsonl-docs.md	Records the documentation correction.
.github/skills/otel-queries/SKILL.md	Directs Copilot span queries to OTLP backends.
.github/workflows/smoke-otel-backends.md	Removes the obsolete environment-variable check.
.github/workflows/smoke-otel-backends.lock.yml	Updates generated workflow metadata.
docs/src/content/docs/guides/open-telemetry.mdx	Documents direct Copilot OTLP export.
docs/src/content/docs/reference/artifacts.md	Removes the retired artifact entry.
docs/src/content/docs/reference/open-telemetry.mdx	Removes the retired mirror reference.
scratchpad/layout.md	Removes obsolete filesystem entries.
specs/otel-observability-spec.md	Updates artifact requirements and changelog.

Review details

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• Files reviewed: 9/9 changed files
• Comments generated: 0
• Review effort level: Balanced

[github-actions]

✅ Design Decision Gate 🏗️ completed the design decision gate check.

No ADR enforcement needed: PR #53724 does not have the 'implementation' label and has 0 new lines of code in business logic directories (threshold: 100).

🏗️ ADR gate enforced by Design Decision Gate 🏗️

[github-actions]

🧠 Matt Pocock Skills Reviewer has completed the skills-based review. ✅

🧠 Reviewed using Matt Pocock's skills by Matt Pocock Skills Reviewer

[github-actions]

✅ PR Code Quality Reviewer completed the code quality review.

🔎 Code quality review by PR Code Quality Reviewer

[github-actions]

✅ Ponytail Reviewer completed successfully!

Lean already. Ship.

Generated by Ponytail Reviewer for #53724

[github-actions]

✅ Test Quality Sentinel completed test quality analysis.

No test files were added or modified in this PR. Test Quality Sentinel skipped.

🧪 Test quality analysis by Test Quality Sentinel

[github-actions]

Clean, consistent documentation and spec cleanup. All references to the stale copilot-otel.jsonl artifact have been removed across docs, specs, skills, and the scratchpad layout — replaced with accurate guidance directing users to query Copilot CLI spans from the configured OTLP backend. The changeset entry and spec changelog accurately attribute the removal to PR #32280. No issues found.

🧵 Reviewed using Impeccable skills by Impeccable Skills Reviewer · sonnet46 · 15.6 AIC · ⌖ 8.77 AIC · ⊞ 5.7K

[github-actions]

Skills-Based Review 🧠

Applied /grill-with-docs — this is a documentation correction removing stale copilot-otel.jsonl references. The changes are accurate, internally consistent, and well-described in the PR body.

📋 Summary

Positive Highlights

• ✅ All references removed consistently across docs, specs, skills, workflow, and scratchpad
• ✅ Spec changelog entry documents the removal with context and PR reference — good practice
• ✅ Replacement text correctly directs users to the OTLP backend with the github.run_id filter hint and ADR-34450 link
• ✅ Lock file correctly recompiled after workflow change
• ✅ Changeset included

Minor Observation

In docs/src/content/docs/reference/open-telemetry.mdx, after removing the copilot-otel.jsonl list item, the bullet list now contains only one item (otel.jsonl). This is fine but could optionally be converted to prose for readability. Not a blocker.

🧠 Reviewed using Matt Pocock's skills by Matt Pocock Skills Reviewer · sonnet46 · 19 AIC · ⌖ 9.82 AIC · ⊞ 7.8K
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[github-actions]

Comment Memory

reviewed_at: 2026-08-18T16:38:26Z
review_event: COMMENT
top_themes:
  - docs/spec cleanup only
  - no changed-line correctness regressions found
files_reviewed:
  - .changeset/patch-remove-copilot-otel-jsonl-docs.md
  - .github/skills/otel-queries/SKILL.md
  - .github/workflows/smoke-otel-backends.lock.yml
  - .github/workflows/smoke-otel-backends.md
  - docs/src/content/docs/guides/open-telemetry.mdx
  - docs/src/content/docs/reference/artifacts.md
  - docs/src/content/docs/reference/open-telemetry.mdx
  - scratchpad/layout.md
  - specs/otel-observability-spec.md
comment_count: 0

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🔎 Code quality review by PR Code Quality Reviewer · gpt54 · 4.04 AIC · ⌖ 7.91 AIC · ⊞ 4.5K · ◷
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[github-actions]

Verdict

COMMENT — this is a documentation/spec cleanup and I did not find any changed-line correctness, security, or maintainability issue that blocks merge.

Themes checked

• Verified the docs/specs consistently stop promising a copilot-otel.jsonl artifact.
• Checked that the workflow change only removes a stale debug echo for an env var that no longer exists.
• Looked for mismatches between the guide, artifact reference, skill guidance, and spec wording; nothing in the diff introduces a contradictory runtime claim.
• grumpy-coder did not return usable output, so this verdict is based on the direct review only.

🔎 Code quality review by PR Code Quality Reviewer · gpt54 · 4.04 AIC · ⌖ 7.91 AIC · ⊞ 4.5K
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[github-actions]

🎉 This pull request is included in a new release.

Release: v0.87.1