sentry-setup-ai-monitoring
All Skills > Feature Setup > AI Monitoring
Setup Sentry AI Agent Monitoring
Configure Sentry to track LLM calls, agent executions, tool usage, and token consumption.
Invoke This Skill When
- User asks to "monitor AI/LLM calls" or "track OpenAI/Anthropic usage"
- User wants "AI observability" or "agent monitoring"
- User asks about token usage, model latency, or AI costs
Important: The SDK versions, API names, and code samples below are examples. Always verify against docs.sentry.io before implementing, as APIs and minimum versions may have changed.
Prerequisites
AI monitoring requires tracing enabled (tracesSampleRate > 0).
Data Capture Warning
Prompt and output recording captures user content that is likely PII. Before enabling recordInputs/recordOutputs (JS) or include_prompts/send_default_pii (Python), confirm:
- The application's privacy policy permits capturing user prompts and model responses
- Captured data complies with applicable regulations (GDPR, CCPA, etc.)
- Sentry data retention settings are appropriate for the sensitivity of the data
Ask the user whether they want prompt/output capture enabled. Do not enable it by default — configure it only when explicitly requested or confirmed. Use tracesSampleRate: 1.0 only in development; in production, use a lower value or a tracesSampler function.
Detection First
Always detect installed AI SDKs before configuring:
# JavaScript
grep -E '"(openai|@anthropic-ai/sdk|ai|@langchain|@google/genai)"' package.json
# Python
grep -E '(openai|anthropic|langchain|huggingface)' requirements.txt pyproject.toml 2>/dev/null
Sampling Check
After detecting AI SDKs, check the current sampling configuration:
# JavaScript
grep -E 'tracesSampleRate|tracesSampler' sentry.*.config.* instrument.* src/instrument.* app/instrument.* 2>/dev/null
# Python
grep -E 'traces_sample_rate|traces_sampler' *.py **/*.py 2>/dev/null
If tracesSampleRate / traces_sample_rate is below 1.0 AND no tracesSampler / traces_sampler is configured:
Ask the user:
"Your current sample rate is {rate}. Agent runs are sampled as complete span trees — if the root span is dropped, all child gen_ai spans are lost. For full AI visibility, gen_ai-related transactions should be sampled at 100%. Would you like me to set up a
tracesSamplerthat keeps AI traces at 100% while sampling other traffic at your current rate?"
If user confirms, read ${SKILL_ROOT}/references/sampling.md for implementation patterns.
Supported SDKs
JavaScript
| Package | Integration | Min Sentry SDK | Auto? |
|---|---|---|---|
openai |
openAIIntegration() |
10.28.0 | Yes |
@anthropic-ai/sdk |
anthropicAIIntegration() |
10.28.0 | Yes |
ai (Vercel) |
vercelAIIntegration() |
10.6.0 | Yes* |
@langchain/* |
langChainIntegration() |
10.28.0 | Yes |
@langchain/langgraph |
langGraphIntegration() |
10.28.0 | Yes |
@google/genai |
googleGenAIIntegration() |
10.28.0 | Yes |
*Vercel AI: 10.6.0+ for Node.js, Cloudflare Workers, Vercel Edge Functions, Bun. 10.12.0+ for Deno. Requires experimental_telemetry per-call.
Python
Integrations auto-enable when the AI package is installed — no explicit registration needed:
| Package | Auto? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
openai |
Yes | Includes OpenAI Agents SDK |
anthropic |
Yes | |
langchain / langgraph |
Yes | |
huggingface_hub |
Yes | |
google-genai |
Yes | |
pydantic-ai |
Yes | |
litellm |
No | Requires explicit integration |
mcp (Model Context Protocol) |
Yes |
JavaScript Configuration
Node.js — auto-enabled integrations
Just ensure tracing is enabled. Integrations auto-enable when the AI package is installed:
Sentry.init({
dsn: "YOUR_DSN",
tracesSampleRate: 1.0, // Lower in production (e.g., 0.1)
// OpenAI, Anthropic, Google GenAI, LangChain integrations auto-enable in Node.js
});
To customize (e.g., enable prompt capture — see Data Capture Warning):
integrations: [
Sentry.openAIIntegration({
// recordInputs: true, // Opt-in: captures prompt content (PII)
// recordOutputs: true, // Opt-in: captures response content (PII)
}),
],
Browser / Next.js OpenAI (manual wrapping required)
In browser-side code or Next.js meta-framework apps, auto-instrumentation is not available. Wrap the client manually:
import OpenAI from "openai";
import * as Sentry from "@sentry/nextjs"; // or @sentry/react, @sentry/browser
const openai = Sentry.instrumentOpenAiClient(new OpenAI());
// Use 'openai' client as normal
LangChain / LangGraph (auto-enabled)
integrations: [
Sentry.langChainIntegration({
// recordInputs: true, // Opt-in: captures prompt content (PII)
// recordOutputs: true, // Opt-in: captures response content (PII)
}),
Sentry.langGraphIntegration({
// recordInputs: true,
// recordOutputs: true,
}),
],
Vercel AI SDK
Add to sentry.edge.config.ts for Edge runtime:
integrations: [Sentry.vercelAIIntegration()],
Enable telemetry per-call:
await generateText({
model: openai("gpt-4o"),
prompt: "Hello",
experimental_telemetry: {
isEnabled: true,
// recordInputs: true, // Opt-in: captures prompt content (PII)
// recordOutputs: true, // Opt-in: captures response content (PII)
},
});
Python Configuration
Integrations auto-enable — just init with tracing. Only add explicit imports to customize options:
import sentry_sdk
sentry_sdk.init(
dsn="YOUR_DSN",
traces_sample_rate=1.0, # Lower in production (e.g., 0.1)
# send_default_pii=True, # Opt-in: required for prompt capture (sends user PII)
# Integrations auto-enable when the AI package is installed.
# Only specify explicitly to customize (e.g., include_prompts):
# integrations=[OpenAIIntegration(include_prompts=True)],
)
Manual Instrumentation
Use when no supported SDK is detected. Follow the canonical Sentry Conventions for gen_ai.* attributes — the JS docs may lag behind; do not set attributes marked deprecated in the conventions.
Span Types
op |
Span name pattern |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
gen_ai.{operation} (e.g. gen_ai.chat, gen_ai.request) |
{operation} {model} (e.g. chat gpt-4o) |
Individual LLM call |
gen_ai.invoke_agent |
invoke_agent {agent_name} |
Agent execution lifecycle |
gen_ai.execute_tool |
execute_tool {tool_name} |
Tool/function call |
gen_ai.handoff |
handoff from {source} to {target} |
Agent-to-agent transition |
For LLM-call spans, the op follows the pattern gen_ai.{gen_ai.operation.name} — use gen_ai.chat, gen_ai.embeddings, gen_ai.generate_content, or gen_ai.text_completion where the operation is known. Span attributes only accept primitives; arrays/objects must be JSON-stringified.
Example (JavaScript)
const inputMessages = [
{ role: "user", parts: [{ type: "text", content: "Tell me a joke" }] },
];
await Sentry.startSpan({
op: "gen_ai.chat",
name: "chat gpt-4o",
attributes: {
"gen_ai.request.model": "gpt-4o",
"gen_ai.operation.name": "chat",
"gen_ai.input.messages": JSON.stringify(inputMessages),
},
}, async (span) => {
const result = await llmClient.complete(inputMessages);
const outputMessages = [
{
role: "assistant",
parts: [{ type: "text", content: result.text }],
finish_reason: result.finishReason,
},
];
span.setAttribute("gen_ai.output.messages", JSON.stringify(outputMessages));
span.setAttribute("gen_ai.usage.input_tokens", result.inputTokens);
span.setAttribute("gen_ai.usage.output_tokens", result.outputTokens);
return result;
});
Key Attributes
Common (all AI spans):
| Attribute | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
gen_ai.request.model |
Yes | Model identifier (e.g., gpt-4o, claude-sonnet-4-6) |
gen_ai.operation.name |
No | Operation label (chat, embeddings, invoke_agent, execute_tool, handoff, etc.) |
gen_ai.agent.name |
No | Agent name (set on agent and tool spans) |
Request / response content (PII — enable only after confirming; see Data Capture Warning above):
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
gen_ai.input.messages |
JSON-stringified array of input messages. Each item uses {role, parts} where parts is [{type, content}]; role is "user", "assistant", "tool", or "system" |
gen_ai.output.messages |
JSON-stringified array of response messages (text + tool calls), same shape as inputs |
gen_ai.system_instructions |
System prompt passed to the model |
gen_ai.tool.definitions |
JSON-stringified list of tools available to the model |
Token usage:
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
gen_ai.usage.input_tokens |
Total input tokens — includes cached tokens |
gen_ai.usage.input_tokens.cached |
Subset of input tokens served from cache |
gen_ai.usage.input_tokens.cache_write |
Tokens written to cache while processing input |
gen_ai.usage.output_tokens |
Total output tokens — includes reasoning tokens |
gen_ai.usage.output_tokens.reasoning |
Subset of output tokens used for reasoning |
gen_ai.usage.total_tokens |
Sum of input + output tokens |
Tool spans (gen_ai.execute_tool):
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
gen_ai.tool.name |
Tool identifier |
gen_ai.tool.description |
Human-readable tool description |
gen_ai.tool.call.arguments |
JSON-stringified tool arguments |
gen_ai.tool.call.result |
JSON-stringified tool result |
Token Usage and Cost Calculation
Sentry uses token attributes to calculate model costs. Cached and reasoning tokens are subsets, not separate counts — gen_ai.usage.input_tokens already includes gen_ai.usage.input_tokens.cached, and gen_ai.usage.output_tokens already includes gen_ai.usage.output_tokens.reasoning.
Sentry subtracts the cached/reasoning counts from the totals to compute the uncached/non-reasoning portion. Reporting a cached or reasoning count greater than its total produces negative costs in the dashboard.
Example — 100 input tokens total, 90 served from cache:
- Correct:
input_tokens = 100,input_tokens.cached = 90 - Wrong:
input_tokens = 10,input_tokens.cached = 90(cached larger than total → negative cost)
The same rule applies to gen_ai.usage.output_tokens vs. gen_ai.usage.output_tokens.reasoning.
Verification
After configuring, make an LLM call and check the Sentry Traces dashboard. AI spans appear with gen_ai.* operations showing model, token counts, and latency.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| AI spans not appearing | Verify tracesSampleRate > 0, check SDK version |
| Token counts missing | Some providers don't return tokens for streaming |
| Negative or wrong costs in dashboard | Cached/reasoning tokens are subsets of totals — see Token Usage and Cost Calculation |
| Prompts not captured | Enable recordInputs/include_prompts |
| Vercel AI not working | Add experimental_telemetry to each call |