Beacon Python

beacon-otel is the main Beacon Python installation package. This source tree builds the 1.1.0 release.

Install the main package together with the auto-instrumentation plugins required by your framework. For example, a FastAPI application can install the current stable version with:

pip install 'beacon-otel[fastapi]==1.1.0'

To enable profiling, install:

pip install 'beacon-otel[fastapi,profiling]==1.1.0'

Activate the virtual environment where Beacon is installed, configure the OTLP endpoint, and then start the application. You can also pass the full path of an executable in that virtual environment after beacon:

export OTEL_SERVICE_NAME=my-service
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4317
beacon uvicorn myapp:app

beacon --version displays the Beacon Python product version. Optional dependencies are currently provided for requests, flask, fastapi, and django; auto-instrumentation packages for other frameworks can be installed separately according to the official OpenTelemetry documentation. Package availability does not mean that every framework and runtime environment is supported by a stable Beacon release. Refer to the release notes and acceptance records for the supported scope of each version.

Optional dependencies install only the corresponding auto-instrumentation plugins; the application must install the framework itself. Do not install another profiling distribution that registers a conflicting auto-instrumentation entry point in the same Python environment.

By default, beacon selects the Beacon OpenTelemetry distro and configurator and uses the standard OTEL_* environment variables. Explicitly configured OTEL_PYTHON_DISTRO or OTEL_PYTHON_CONFIGURATOR values are not overwritten. Profiling is disabled by default; see the profiling documentation to enable it.

Beacon Security

Beacon Python 1.1.0 includes opt-in Beacon Security in the same beacon-otel wheel and command. It does not require a second Security distribution or a second version lifecycle.

Security currently supports standard-GIL CPython 3.11 through 3.14. The master switch enables its lifecycle and runtime SBOM; an application-module prefix is also required for modeled data-flow collection:

export BEACON_SECURITY_ENABLED=true
export BEACON_SECURITY_PYTHON_INCLUDE=orders
export OTEL_SERVICE_NAME=orders
export OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=service.namespace=shop
export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=grpc
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://127.0.0.1:4317

beacon uvicorn orders.asgi:application --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

BEACON_SECURITY_PYTHON_INCLUDE contains Python module prefixes, not file-system paths. Without it, the enabled lifecycle can report the runtime SBOM but does not transform application code or collect findings. The runtime transforms only included application modules and excludes the standard library, OpenTelemetry, Beacon Security itself, and explicitly configured prefixes. Findings are bounded modeled-flow observations or candidate risks, not confirmed vulnerability reports.

Runtime SBOM collection is enabled by default only after Security itself is enabled. Findings and SBOM snapshots use the existing OpenTelemetry Logs pipeline. Local files are off by default:

For local inspection without an OTLP backend, additionally set BEACON_SECURITY_LOCAL_OUTPUT_ENABLED=true, choose the output paths, and set OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=none. Local files are diagnostic evidence, not durable or cluster-wide delivery.

Gunicorn must initialize OpenTelemetry after each worker fork. Do not prefix this command with beacon or opentelemetry-instrument, and do not enable preload_app:

gunicorn -c python:beacon_security.gunicorn orders.wsgi:application

For Kubernetes, bake the beacon-otel release into the application image and use the checked-in Deployment example. The example needs only the normal application command, environment variables, and an OTLP Collector endpoint; it deliberately leaves local output disabled.

The language-neutral event, identity, configuration, fingerprint, and runtime SBOM contract is maintained in beacon-security-spec. This wheel carries an immutable contract revision in security-spec.properties.