--- title: "Jaeger Telemetry MCP Server: review, setup & limitations · Undominated.ai" canonical: https://undominated.ai/mcp-servers/jaeger/ description: "In-tree Jaeger query service MCP server exposing OpenTelemetry distributed tracing queries over Streamable HTTP and SSE." --- # Jaeger Telemetry MCP Server: review, setup & limitations · Undominated.ai > In-tree Jaeger query service MCP server exposing OpenTelemetry distributed tracing queries over Streamable HTTP and SSE. [← Explore all mcp servers](/mcp-servers/) OBSERVABILITY / CNCF Jaeger Project # Jaeger Telemetry MCP Server In-tree Jaeger query service MCP server exposing OpenTelemetry distributed tracing queries over Streamable HTTP and SSE. [See setup guidance ↓](#setup)[Original source ↗](https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger) SOURCE REVIEW Reviewed 2026-10-14 Evidence 5 linked sources Publisher CNCF Jaeger Project Licence [Apache-2.0 ↗](https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/blob/2dbe46862ac14ecfb3b1ea9f511f3d9a83ac7b0d/LICENSE) Revision 2dbe46862ac1 [Read what was—and wasn’t—checked ↓](#review) “Jaeger telemetry MCP server providing distributed tracing inspection tools directly from jaeger-query.” [CNCF Jaeger Project · upstream description ↗](https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/blob/2dbe46862ac14ecfb3b1ea9f511f3d9a83ac7b0d/cmd/jaeger/internal/extension/jaegerquery/internal/mcptools/server.go) Our analysis follows below. 01 / THE REASONING ## Why this made the selection. - Official CNCF OpenTelemetry tracing server exposing 9 dedicated read tools (search_traces, get_services, get_span_details, get_trace_errors, get_trace_topology, get_critical_path, get_dependencies) with zero write or mutation methods. - Mounts natively on jaeger-query's mux under /api/ai/mcp/ via Streamable HTTP without requiring an external proxy or container shim. - The pinned file is Jaeger's telemetry MCP adapter over an existing QueryService, served as streamable HTTP when a caller mounts the handler. - Search results are summaries, and the topology tool omits span attributes, events, and links. ### A good fit for - Find trace summaries, then inspect only relevant spans and critical-path timing. - Compare error-span count with returned details before interpreting a truncated incident sample. - Inspecting services and traces already stored in a Jaeger query service ### Weigh up before choosing - The root LICENSE contains an unfilled Apache appendix template, but source headers explicitly declare Copyright (c) 2026 The Jaeger Authors under Apache-2.0. - Requires enabling the ai.mcp configuration block in Jaeger v2 (ai: mcp: {}); default builds without this config do not mount the endpoint. - The previous Docker 2.0.0/--ai.mcp.enabled=true command was not supported by the inspected source and has been removed; this review establishes current source integration, not a verified historical release launcher. - The MCP handler shares the query server listener and applies tenant extraction. It does not itself establish a separate authenticated public service. - Search returns lightweight summaries, topology omits attributes, and error-span details can be truncated. Compare total counts before treating a sample as exhaustive. 02 / THE REVIEW RECORD ## What we actually inspected. Source review has boundaries. A clear record is more useful than a “safe” badge. ### Material inspected - cmd/jaeger/internal/extension/jaegerquery/internal/mcptools/server.go - cmd/jaeger/internal/extension/jaegerquery/internal/mcptools/mcptools-config.go - LICENSE - 2026-10-14 reread of retained pinned setup/configuration evidence for the specific operational details added in this batch. - cmd/jaeger/internal/extension/jaegerquery/internal/server.go - cmd/jaeger/internal/extension/jaegerquery/internal/mcptools/config.go ### Our findings - Source files declare Copyright (c) 2026 The Jaeger Authors, SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0. - Tool handlers call in-process QueryService read methods directly and mount no file-write or mutating tools. - Additional query-server integration mounts MCP whenever ai.mcp is configured, independently of ai.agent_url. The shared handler owns sessions and a five-minute idle timeout; stopping a client is not an authentication boundary. - The tools wrap a QueryService and are exposed over streamable HTTP. NewHandler does not bind a listener; the caller mounts the handler. - search_traces returns lightweight summaries without individual spans or attributes. get_trace_topology does not include attributes, events, or links. - get_trace_errors may truncate to the server limit. read_skill serves embedded playbooks and is not a trace query. ### Not established by this review - Server compilation and live trace query RPCs were not run. - Authentication bearer token forwarding was not tested. - No authenticated session, installation, permission bypass or package-to-source parity test was performed. - The server was not started and its tools were not called. - A pin does not verify transitive dependencies. The review applies to the material and revision named here. A newer upstream release can change its behavior. 03 / PUT IT TO WORK ## Connect a server deliberately. [Upstream setup instructions ↗](https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger) - Use a Jaeger build containing the reviewed query MCP integration and a configured trace store; no compatibility with the old 2.0.0 image is established here. - Configure ai.mcp under the jaeger_query extension, then connect to the query-server base path plus /api/ai/mcp/. - Protect the query endpoint and tenant identity, then begin with bounded trace search and progressively fetch details. ### Before you start - Docker or a compiled Jaeger v2 binary - Active trace store containing OpenTelemetry span data ### Documented configuration example Use the client and authentication context described in the setup guidance. Configuration formats vary between hosts. { "mcpServers": { "jaeger": { "type": "http", "url": "http://127.0.0.1:16686/api/ai/mcp/" } } } Copy configuration ↗ ### Compatibility MCP clients supporting Streamable HTTP or SSE transports · Jaeger v2 / OpenTelemetry distributed tracing backend ### Implementation Go ### Transports Streamable HTTP · SSE ### Jaeger Query Service in-process read tools - Read distributed traces and service dependency graphs - No write or mutation capability ### Cost model Apache-2.0 open source at no charge. Self-hosted compute costs apply. 04 / FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE ## The source trail. Our notes are separate from the original resource. Check upstream before adopting a new version. - [Jaeger MCP tools server implementation ↗](https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/blob/2dbe46862ac14ecfb3b1ea9f511f3d9a83ac7b0d/cmd/jaeger/internal/extension/jaegerquery/internal/mcptools/server.go) Checked 2026-10-14 https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/blob/2dbe46862ac14ecfb3b1ea9f511f3d9a83ac7b0d/cmd/jaeger/internal/extension/jaegerquery/internal/mcptools/server.go Supports: summary, transports, whySelected, bestFor, limitations, install, configExample, access, review, compatibility - [Jaeger repository license ↗](https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/blob/2dbe46862ac14ecfb3b1ea9f511f3d9a83ac7b0d/LICENSE) Checked 2026-10-07 https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/blob/2dbe46862ac14ecfb3b1ea9f511f3d9a83ac7b0d/LICENSE Supports: license - [Additional pinned implementation/setup ↗](https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/blob/2dbe46862ac14ecfb3b1ea9f511f3d9a83ac7b0d/cmd/jaeger/internal/extension/jaegerquery/internal/server.go) Checked 2026-10-14 https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/blob/2dbe46862ac14ecfb3b1ea9f511f3d9a83ac7b0d/cmd/jaeger/internal/extension/jaegerquery/internal/server.go Supports: summary, install, configExample, access, limitations, bestFor, review, compatibility, transports - [Additional pinned implementation/setup ↗](https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/blob/2dbe46862ac14ecfb3b1ea9f511f3d9a83ac7b0d/cmd/jaeger/internal/extension/jaegerquery/internal/mcptools/config.go) Checked 2026-10-14 https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/blob/2dbe46862ac14ecfb3b1ea9f511f3d9a83ac7b0d/cmd/jaeger/internal/extension/jaegerquery/internal/mcptools/config.go Supports: summary, install, configExample, access, limitations, bestFor, review, compatibility, transports - [Jaeger MCP tools server implementation ↗](https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/blob/2dbe46862ac14ecfb3b1ea9f511f3d9a83ac7b0d/cmd/jaeger/internal/extension/jaegerquery/internal/mcptools/server.go) Checked 2026-10-07 https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/blob/2dbe46862ac14ecfb3b1ea9f511f3d9a83ac7b0d/cmd/jaeger/internal/extension/jaegerquery/internal/mcptools/server.go Supports: summary, transports, whySelected, bestFor, limitations KEEP COMPARING ## Other approaches to consider. Related by category or shared topics. These are alternatives to inspect, not a measured quality order. [### Apache SkyWalking MCP Server ↗ Queries a SkyWalking OAP you already run. The inspected install builds a local image; it does not pull a published one.](/mcp-servers/apache-skywalking-mcp/)[### Honeycomb MCP ↗ Explore production telemetry and save investigations in Honeycomb, with additional write scope for operational changes.](/mcp-servers/honeycomb/)[### Logfire MCP ↗ Connects assistants to Logfire traces, metrics and observability management tools in the chosen region.](/mcp-servers/logfire/) [AI Tools ↗](/tools/)[Skills ↗](/skills/)[Agents ↗](/agents/)[MCP Servers ↗](/mcp-servers/)[Workflows ↗](/workflows/) ## Continue your investigation - [Inspect resource evidence](/tools/) - [Choose a host](/agents/) - [Inspect reusable workflows](/skills/) - [Use Undominated data](/api/)