Abidex

Zero-code monitoring and tracing for AI agents. Add one import, get spans for workflows, agents, and tasks—with role, goal, backstory, and timing out of the box.

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Installation

pip install abidex

For sending traces to an OTLP backend (SigNoz, Uptrace, Jaeger, etc.):

pip install abidex[otlp]

Optional dev setup (editable install + lint/test):

pip install -e ".[dev]"

Also works with uv, pdm, hatch: uv add abidex, pdm add abidex, etc.

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Quickstart

1. Install: pip install abidex
2. Import abidex before your crew/graph so it can patch frameworks.
3. Run your agent script as usual—spans are created automatically.

import abidex  # ← add this first

from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew

researcher = Agent(role="Researcher", goal="Find facts", backstory="You are a researcher.")
task = Task(description="Summarize the topic", agent=researcher)
crew = Crew(agents=[researcher], tasks=[task])

result = crew.kickoff(inputs={"topic": "OpenTelemetry"})

No config required. Traces go to the console by default; point OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT at a backend for a full UI.

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Add Abidex to your agent script

Import abidex before you import or use CrewAI, LangGraph, or Pydantic AI. One line is enough.

CrewAI

import abidex

from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew

agent = Agent(role="Analyst", goal="Analyze data", backstory="You are an analyst.")
task = Task(description="Summarize the report", agent=agent)
crew = Crew(agents=[agent], tasks=[task])
result = crew.kickoff(inputs={"topic": "Q4 report"})

LangGraph

import abidex

from langgraph.graph import StateGraph, MessagesState
# ... build your graph ...
compiled = graph.compile()
result = compiled.invoke({"messages": [...]})

Pydantic AI

import abidex

from pydantic_ai import Agent

agent = Agent("my-model", system_prompt="You are a helpful assistant.")
result = agent.run_sync("Explain observability in one sentence.")

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How to see traces

Console (default)

If you don’t set OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT, spans are printed to stderr. Ideal for local debugging.

SigNoz (persistent UI + dashboards)

1. Start SigNoz (see examples/signoz-quickstart.md or SigNoz Docker docs):

   git clone https://github.com/signoz/signoz.git && cd signoz
   docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose/standalone/docker-compose.yaml up -d
   

2. Set env and run your script:

   export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4317
   pip install abidex[otlp]
   python your_agent_script.py
   

3. Open http://localhost:3301 → Traces. Filter by gen_ai.agent.role, gen_ai.workflow.name, etc.

Uptrace (lightweight, dev-friendly)

1. Start Uptrace:

   docker run -d -p 14317:4317 -p 14318:4318 --name uptrace \
     -e UPTRACE_DSN=postgres://uptrace:uptrace@host.docker.internal:5432/uptrace \
     uptrace/uptrace:latest
   

2. Set env and run:

   export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:14317
   pip install abidex[otlp]
   python your_agent_script.py
   

3. Open http://localhost:14318 → sign up (first user) → Traces.

See examples/uptrace-quickstart.md for more detail.

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Testing checklist

After running a traced workflow, verify:

Check	What to look for
Role / goal / backstory	Spans include gen_ai.agent.role, gen_ai.agent.goal, gen_ai.agent.backstory (CrewAI) or equivalent.
Hierarchy	Workflow span is parent of agent/task spans.
Disable in tests	Set ABIDEX_AUTO=false (or don’t import abidex) in tests to avoid patching and use your own tracer/mocks.

Example for tests:

ABIDEX_AUTO=false pytest tests/

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CLI

The abidex command gives you a rich CLI (tables, colors, spinners). Enable the in-memory buffer so the CLI can see spans from the same process:

export ABIDEX_BUFFER_ENABLED=true
python your_agent_script.py
abidex trace last 10

Command	Description
abidex status	Config, OTEL endpoint, patched frameworks, buffer size. When endpoint is unset, shows a hint: To see persistent traces, start SigNoz/Uptrace and set OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT. Use -v for last-run hint.
abidex trace last [N]	Table of last N spans: name, duration, status (✓ OK / ✗ ERROR), role/goal, start time. Help text: After running your agent, use this to view recent spans.
abidex trace last --filter "role=Researcher"	Filter by attribute (e.g. role=Researcher or plain substring).
abidex trace export --format jsonl -o file.ndjson [--last N]	Export spans to JSONL.
abidex trace export --format pretty [--last N]	Colored JSON in the terminal (default last 10).
abidex init	Print .env template and Docker one-liners for SigNoz and Uptrace.
abidex summary	Stats: count by span name, avg duration, total tokens (if present), error count.

Examples:

abidex status
abidex status -v
abidex trace last 10
abidex trace last 5 --filter "role=Researcher"
abidex trace last --file spans.ndjson
abidex trace export --format jsonl -o traces.ndjson --last 100
abidex trace export --format pretty --last 5
abidex init
abidex summary

For cross-process use: export from your app with abidex.trace_buffer.export_to_jsonl("spans.ndjson", 100), then run abidex trace last --file spans.ndjson.

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Supported frameworks

Framework	Entry points	Extracted fields
CrewAI	Crew.kickoff / akickoff; Agent execute_task / do_task	Workflow name, team agents; agent role, goal, backstory, task description
LangGraph	CompiledStateGraph.invoke / .stream	gen_ai.framework, optional langgraph_node from config
Pydantic AI	Agent.run / run_sync	Agent name, instructions
LlamaIndex	Workflow.run (from llama_index.core.workflow)	Workflow name, gen_ai.framework
n8n	N8nClient.execute_workflow / run_workflow / run (from n8n_sdk_python)	Workflow ID/name, gen_ai.framework

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Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
ABIDEX_AUTO	true	Auto-init and patch on import. Set to false to disable (e.g. in tests).
ABIDEX_VERBOSE	false	When true, print patching messages on init (e.g. "Patched CrewAI successfully").
ABIDEX_BUFFER_ENABLED	false	When true, keep last 1000 spans in memory for abidex trace last / abidex trace export.
OTEL_SERVICE_NAME	—	Service name in traces (e.g. my-agent-app).
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT	—	OTLP gRPC endpoint (e.g. http://localhost:4317). Requires pip install abidex[otlp].

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Troubleshooting

Issue	What to try
No spans	Import abidex before CrewAI/LangGraph/Pydantic AI. Check that your framework version is supported.
Spans only in console	Set OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT and install abidex[otlp]. Ensure the backend (SigNoz/Uptrace/Jaeger) is running and reachable.
CLI says "No spans in buffer"	Set ABIDEX_BUFFER_ENABLED=true and run your agent in the same process, or export to JSONL and use abidex trace last --file file.ndjson.
Wrong or missing attributes	Run with ABIDEX_VERBOSE=true to confirm which framework was patched. Check that you’re using the expected entry points (e.g. crew.kickoff, not a custom wrapper).

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Contributing & feedback

• Bugs & features: GitHub Issues.
• Contributions: PRs welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for dev setup, tests, and how to add framework patches.

We’re focused on execution observability (workflow/agent/task spans and GenAI attributes). More frameworks and deeper instrumentation are on the roadmap.

License

This project is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 (BSL 1.1). You may copy, modify, and redistribute the software for non-production use; production use requires a commercial license from Abide or compliance when the Change Date is reached. On the Change Date (see LICENSE), the license converts to the Apache License, Version 2.0. See LICENSE and MariaDB BSL 1.1 for full terms.