Last updated: July 13, 2026
Trace Lambda Invocations
The Dash0 Lambda Extension automatically captures distributed traces for every Lambda invocation—no code changes required for Python, Node.js, and Java functions.
Prerequisites
The extension must be attached to your function. See Set Up AWS Lambda Auto Instrumentation for installation instructions.
What You See in Dash0
Each invocation produces a trace containing:
- An entry span for the Lambda function, tagged with invocation ID, event source, and cold start duration.
- Child spans for outbound calls (HTTP requests, DynamoDB, SQS, SNS, EventBridge).
- Spans from downstream Lambda functions if they are also instrumented.
- Event payload (raw event input and return value visible in the Payload tab).
- Correlated logs accessible from the same trace view.
Navigating to Invocation Details
To view an individual invocation and its trace:
- Navigate to Infrastructure > AWS > Lambda and click on a function name.
- The function detail page shows metrics charts and an invocations table.
- Click on any invocation row to open the invocation detail panel.
- The panel displays the payload, duration comparison, and a link to View full trace.
Viewing the Event Payload
Select any Lambda span and open the Payload tab to view the raw Lambda event and the function's return value as structured log records.
Sensitive values are automatically masked before leaving the function. Default patterns cover passwords, API keys, secrets, and credentials. For documentation on how to configure additional masking rules beyond the defaults, see the Dash0 Lambda Extension repository README.
Connecting Traces Across Brokers
Standard OpenTelemetry loses trace context when a Lambda function is triggered via SQS, SNS, or EventBridge because these brokers do not propagate trace headers by default.
The extension reconstructs the connection by enriching spans with the event source ARN and batch record counts, so you can follow the full chain from producer to consumer in Dash0.
Filtering and Searching Traces
Use standard Dash0 trace filters to find Lambda invocations, for example:
faas.invocation_id: The AWS request ID for a specific invocation.faas.trigger: The event source type (e.g.,aws:sqs,aws:event_bridge).service.name: Set via theOTEL_SERVICE_NAMEenvironment variable on your function.cloud.resource_id: The full Lambda function ARN.

