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Quickstart

Build an OpenTelemetry Collector configuration and deploy it to a running collector in a fleet.

This quickstart takes you from an empty canvas to a configuration running on a collector. You build a pipeline, publish it as a release, create a fleet, install one collector, and watch it pull the configuration and report In sync, without logging into the host. The core path takes about 15 minutes.

Quickstart: build, publish, create a fleet, install, in syncTWO WAYS TO BUILDDrag & connectorDescribe to AI1Builda pipeline2Publisha release3Create fleetof collectors4Installone collector5In syncconfig is live
The Quickstart path. Build a pipeline either way, then publish, create a fleet, install one collector, and confirm it reports in sync.

Before you begin

  • A Telflo account. Sign in at telflo.com.
  • A host where you can run a collector. Collectors run on Linux (arm64 or amd64/x86_64), in a container or directly on the host. A host with Docker is the quickest option. To manage collectors in a Kubernetes cluster instead, see Kubernetes fleets.
  • Fleet management enabled for your account. The Fleet management section appears when it is enabled.
  • For the AI build path only: AI enabled in Settings > AI, and access granted to your account. See AI access.

You can explore the editor without an account in the public editor, but you must sign in to save, publish, and deploy. This quickstart deploys a configuration, so sign in first.

Create a configuration

A configuration is a named project: one canvas, one generated YAML document, and its version history.

  1. Sign in at telflo.com. The Configurations list opens on the Home screen.
  2. Select New Configuration, then enter a name and an optional description in the dialog. The editor opens on an empty canvas, with the component palette on the left, the canvas in the center, and the toolbar along the top.
  3. Leave the collector version in the toolbar at its default unless you target a specific version. To rename the configuration later, select its name in the toolbar.

Build a pipeline

Build a minimal but real pipeline: receive OTLP, batch it, and export it. Choose either path below. Both produce the same standard Collector YAML, and the rest of the quickstart is identical.

  1. From the palette, drag an OTLP receiver onto the canvas. The otlp receiver accepts telemetry from instrumented applications.
  2. Drag a Batch processor onto the canvas. batch groups telemetry before export and is recommended on most pipelines.
  3. Drag an OTLP exporter onto the canvas. otlp forwards telemetry to a backend. To watch output while you learn, also add a Debug exporter, which prints telemetry to the collector console.
  4. Connect the components. Drag from the receiver's output handle to the processor, then from the processor to each exporter. Telflo adds the connected components to a pipeline for the matching signal type.
  5. Select the OTLP exporter and set its endpoint in the configuration panel on the right, such as your backend's OTLP endpoint. To keep credentials out of the YAML, reference an environment variable with ${env:NAME} or a vault variable with #NAME.

The AI tab appears when AI is enabled and access is granted for your account. See AI access.

  1. Select the AI tab.
  2. In Plan mode, describe the pipeline you want, such as "Receive OTLP, batch it, and export over OTLP to my backend." The assistant proposes a design and asks follow-up questions.
  3. Switch to Build mode to generate the configuration. The components appear on the canvas and in the YAML as if you placed them.
  4. Review the result on the canvas. Adjust any component, such as the exporter endpoint, in the configuration panel.
Quickstart pipeline: otlp, batch, otlp and debugOPENTELEMETRY COLLECTORRECEIVERPROCESSOREXPORTERSotlpbatchotlpdebug
The pipeline you built: OTLP in, batched, then exported over OTLP, with a debug exporter to watch the output in the console.

Select the YAML tab to see the generated configuration, including the service.pipelines block. Edits on the canvas and in the YAML stay in sync.

Validate the configuration

Telflo validates the configuration continuously as you build, so problems surface before you deploy. The YAML view shows a status row with the result: Config valid, or the number of errors.

Expand the status row to see each issue, with the affected component and a description. Resolve every error before you publish. See Validation.

Validation confirms that the configuration is well-formed. To confirm what it does to real telemetry, run sample data through it on the Testing tab. The Testing tab appears when testing is enabled for your account. See Testing.

Publish a version

Only published versions can be deployed to a fleet.

  1. Select Save in the toolbar. Telflo records a version of the current canvas and YAML.
  2. Open the version controls and select Publish to Organization. Telflo saves any pending changes first, so the published version matches the canvas.
  3. Confirm in the dialog.

The version is now a release, available when you create or update a fleet. See Versions & publishing.

Create a fleet

A fleet is a named group of collectors that share one published configuration.

  1. Go to Fleet Mgmt and select New Fleet, then select Create New Supervisor Fleet.
  2. For Configuration, select the configuration you published. For Version, keep the most recent published version.
  3. Enter a Name that is unique within your organization.
  4. Set the Token expiry: Never, 180 days, 1 year, or 2 years. Telflo recommends a bounded expiry for long-lived fleets, so an exposed token cannot be used indefinitely.
  5. Select Create fleet.

Creating the fleet issues an install token and the deploy options your collectors use to connect to Telflo and identify themselves as part of this fleet. The version you select becomes the fleet's default version, the version its collectors run. See Create a fleet.

Rolling a configuration out across the fleetTelflous-eastin synceu-westin syncus-westapplyingap-southin sync
Telflo rolls the published configuration out to every collector in the fleet, and each collector reports its status back, so you can stage a rollout and roll back from one place.

Install a collector

Install a collector from the fleet's deploy dialog. Every install option is preconfigured with the fleet's connection endpoint and install token, so the collector connects to the right fleet. Collectors run on Linux (arm64 or amd64/x86_64), in a container or directly on a host.

  1. Open the fleet and select Deploy. The Deploy supervisor bundle dialog opens.
  2. Keep the default Container image (GHCR) platform. It runs Telflo's prebuilt collector image with no build step, which is the quickest way to bring up your first collector. Select Reveal & copy command and run the copied command on a host with Docker.
  3. To install without the prebuilt image instead, select a bundle platform matching your host's architecture and target, then install with one of the two options:
    • Quick Deploy. Copy the generated command and run it on the host. It downloads the bundle and starts the collector in one step. Generate a fresh command for each host, because the Quick Deploy URL expires.
    • Download. Download the zip and follow its README to set up and run the collector.

The run command, the supervisor bundle, and the Quick Deploy URL all contain the fleet's install token, which is a credential. Share them over a secure channel and keep them out of shared logs. The install token cannot be rotated; if one leaks, re-create the fleet. See Tokens & security.

See Install collectors.

Confirm the rollout

Within about a minute, the collector connects to Telflo and appears as an instance on the fleet's detail page. It pulls its assigned configuration, applies it, and reports the result. Watch its status move through:

StatusMeaning
Pending pickupThe version is assigned, but the collector has not received it yet.
ApplyingThe collector received the version and is applying it.
In syncThe collector applied the configuration it was assigned.

When the instance reports In sync, the configuration you built is running on your collector, delivered remotely. You did not log into the host to edit a file. The stats strip at the top of the page summarizes the fleet: total instances, how many are online, version drift, and when the token expires. See Monitor a fleet.

If an instance reports Apply failed, it rejected the configuration. Open the configuration, validate and test it, check the collector's logs on the host, then publish a corrected version and set it as the fleet's default.

Roll out a change and roll back

Updating a fleet follows the same loop as building.

  1. Edit the configuration and test it.
  2. Publish the new version.
  3. On the fleet, select Set Default Version and choose the new published version.

Instances move from Pending pickup to Applying to In sync as they pick up the change. Collectors pull from Telflo, so the rollout happens remotely with no change on the hosts. To roll back, set the fleet's default version to an earlier published version, and instances converge on it the same way. See Update the configuration.

Next steps

Build

The editor in full: components, configuration, pipelines, and YAML.

Testing

Run sample telemetry through a configuration to check its output.

Fleet management

Deploy, monitor, detect drift, and roll back across many collectors.

AI assistant

Plan, build, and explain configurations from a chat panel in the editor.

Last updated on

Introduction

What Telflo is, the problem it solves, and who it's for.

Key concepts

The terms used throughout Telflo and these docs.

On this page

Before you beginCreate a configurationBuild a pipelineValidate the configurationPublish a versionCreate a fleetInstall a collectorConfirm the rolloutRoll out a change and roll backNext steps