add `--telemetry-outfile` flag (#4689)

docs/telemetry.md

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ The following lists the precedence for applying telemetry settings, with items l
     - `--telemetry-target <local|gcp>`: Overrides `telemetry.target`.
     - `--telemetry-otlp-endpoint <URL>`: Overrides `telemetry.otlpEndpoint`.
     - `--telemetry-log-prompts` / `--no-telemetry-log-prompts`: Overrides `telemetry.logPrompts`.
+    - `--telemetry-outfile <path>`: Redirects telemetry output to a file. See [Exporting to a file](#exporting-to-a-file).
 
 1.  **Environment variables:**
     - `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT`: Overrides `telemetry.otlpEndpoint`.
@@ -50,6 +51,16 @@ The following code can be added to your workspace (`.gemini/settings.json`) or u
 }
 ```
 
+### Exporting to a file
+
+You can export all telemetry data to a file for local inspection.
+
+To enable file export, use the `--telemetry-outfile` flag with a path to your desired output file. This must be run using `--telemetry-target=local`.
+
+```bash
+gemini --telemetry --telemetry-target=local --telemetry-outfile=/path/to/telemetry.log "your prompt"
+```
+
 ## Running an OTEL Collector
 
 An OTEL Collector is a service that receives, processes, and exports telemetry data.

packages/cli/src/config/config.ts

@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ export interface CliArgs {
   telemetryTarget: string | undefined;
   telemetryOtlpEndpoint: string | undefined;
   telemetryLogPrompts: boolean | undefined;
+  telemetryOutfile: string | undefined;
   allowedMcpServerNames: string[] | undefined;
   experimentalAcp: boolean | undefined;
   extensions: string[] | undefined;
@@ -159,6 +160,10 @@ export async function parseArguments(): Promise<CliArgs> {
       description:
         'Enable or disable logging of user prompts for telemetry. Overrides settings files.',
     })
+    .option('telemetry-outfile', {
+      type: 'string',
+      description: 'Redirect all telemetry output to the specified file.',
+    })
     .option('checkpointing', {
       alias: 'c',
       type: 'boolean',
@@ -412,6 +417,7 @@ export async function loadCliConfig(
         process.env.OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT ??
         settings.telemetry?.otlpEndpoint,
       logPrompts: argv.telemetryLogPrompts ?? settings.telemetry?.logPrompts,
+      outfile: argv.telemetryOutfile ?? settings.telemetry?.outfile,
     },
     usageStatisticsEnabled: settings.usageStatisticsEnabled ?? true,
     // Git-aware file filtering settings

packages/core/src/config/config.ts

@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ export interface TelemetrySettings {
   target?: TelemetryTarget;
   otlpEndpoint?: string;
   logPrompts?: boolean;
+  outfile?: string;
 }
 
 export interface GeminiCLIExtension {
@@ -255,6 +256,7 @@ export class Config {
       target: params.telemetry?.target ?? DEFAULT_TELEMETRY_TARGET,
       otlpEndpoint: params.telemetry?.otlpEndpoint ?? DEFAULT_OTLP_ENDPOINT,
       logPrompts: params.telemetry?.logPrompts ?? true,
+      outfile: params.telemetry?.outfile,
     };
     this.usageStatisticsEnabled = params.usageStatisticsEnabled ?? true;
 
@@ -468,6 +470,10 @@ export class Config {
     return this.telemetrySettings.target ?? DEFAULT_TELEMETRY_TARGET;
   }
 
+  getTelemetryOutfile(): string | undefined {
+    return this.telemetrySettings.outfile;
+  }
+
   getGeminiClient(): GeminiClient {
     return this.geminiClient;
   }

packages/core/src/telemetry/file-exporters.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright 2025 Google LLC
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import * as fs from 'node:fs';
+import { ExportResult, ExportResultCode } from '@opentelemetry/core';
+import { ReadableSpan, SpanExporter } from '@opentelemetry/sdk-trace-base';
+import { ReadableLogRecord, LogRecordExporter } from '@opentelemetry/sdk-logs';
+import {
+  ResourceMetrics,
+  PushMetricExporter,
+  AggregationTemporality,
+} from '@opentelemetry/sdk-metrics';
+
+class FileExporter {
+  protected writeStream: fs.WriteStream;
+
+  constructor(filePath: string) {
+    this.writeStream = fs.createWriteStream(filePath, { flags: 'a' });
+  }
+
+  protected serialize(data: unknown): string {
+    return JSON.stringify(data, null, 2) + '\n';
+  }
+
+  shutdown(): Promise<void> {
+    return new Promise((resolve) => {
+      this.writeStream.end(resolve);
+    });
+  }
+}
+
+export class FileSpanExporter extends FileExporter implements SpanExporter {
+  export(
+    spans: ReadableSpan[],
+    resultCallback: (result: ExportResult) => void,
+  ): void {
+    const data = spans.map((span) => this.serialize(span)).join('');
+    this.writeStream.write(data, (err) => {
+      resultCallback({
+        code: err ? ExportResultCode.FAILED : ExportResultCode.SUCCESS,
+        error: err || undefined,
+      });
+    });
+  }
+}
+
+export class FileLogExporter extends FileExporter implements LogRecordExporter {
+  export(
+    logs: ReadableLogRecord[],
+    resultCallback: (result: ExportResult) => void,
+  ): void {
+    const data = logs.map((log) => this.serialize(log)).join('');
+    this.writeStream.write(data, (err) => {
+      resultCallback({
+        code: err ? ExportResultCode.FAILED : ExportResultCode.SUCCESS,
+        error: err || undefined,
+      });
+    });
+  }
+}
+
+export class FileMetricExporter
+  extends FileExporter
+  implements PushMetricExporter
+{
+  export(
+    metrics: ResourceMetrics,
+    resultCallback: (result: ExportResult) => void,
+  ): void {
+    const data = this.serialize(metrics);
+    this.writeStream.write(data, (err) => {
+      resultCallback({
+        code: err ? ExportResultCode.FAILED : ExportResultCode.SUCCESS,
+        error: err || undefined,
+      });
+    });
+  }
+
+  getPreferredAggregationTemporality(): AggregationTemporality {
+    return AggregationTemporality.CUMULATIVE;
+  }
+
+  async forceFlush(): Promise<void> {
+    return Promise.resolve();
+  }
+}

packages/core/src/telemetry/sdk.ts

@@ -29,6 +29,11 @@ import { Config } from '../config/config.js';
 import { SERVICE_NAME } from './constants.js';
 import { initializeMetrics } from './metrics.js';
 import { ClearcutLogger } from './clearcut-logger/clearcut-logger.js';
+import {
+  FileLogExporter,
+  FileMetricExporter,
+  FileSpanExporter,
+} from './file-exporters.js';
 
 // For troubleshooting, set the log level to DiagLogLevel.DEBUG
 diag.setLogger(new DiagConsoleLogger(), DiagLogLevel.INFO);
@@ -74,18 +79,23 @@ export function initializeTelemetry(config: Config): void {
   const otlpEndpoint = config.getTelemetryOtlpEndpoint();
   const grpcParsedEndpoint = parseGrpcEndpoint(otlpEndpoint);
   const useOtlp = !!grpcParsedEndpoint;
+  const telemetryOutfile = config.getTelemetryOutfile();
 
   const spanExporter = useOtlp
     ? new OTLPTraceExporter({
         url: grpcParsedEndpoint,
         compression: CompressionAlgorithm.GZIP,
       })
+    : telemetryOutfile
+      ? new FileSpanExporter(telemetryOutfile)
       : new ConsoleSpanExporter();
   const logExporter = useOtlp
     ? new OTLPLogExporter({
         url: grpcParsedEndpoint,
         compression: CompressionAlgorithm.GZIP,
       })
+    : telemetryOutfile
+      ? new FileLogExporter(telemetryOutfile)
       : new ConsoleLogRecordExporter();
   const metricReader = useOtlp
     ? new PeriodicExportingMetricReader({
@@ -95,6 +105,11 @@ export function initializeTelemetry(config: Config): void {
         }),
         exportIntervalMillis: 10000,
       })
+    : telemetryOutfile
+      ? new PeriodicExportingMetricReader({
+          exporter: new FileMetricExporter(telemetryOutfile),
+          exportIntervalMillis: 10000,
+        })
       : new PeriodicExportingMetricReader({
           exporter: new ConsoleMetricExporter(),
           exportIntervalMillis: 10000,