AI Observer

Unified local observability for AI coding assistants

AI Observer is a self-hosted, single-binary, OpenTelemetry-compatible observability backend designed specifically for monitoring local AI coding tools like Claude Code, Gemini CLI, OpenAI Codex CLI, GitHub Copilot, and OpenCode.

Track token usage, costs, API latency, error rates, and session activity across all your AI coding assistants in one unified dashboard—with real-time updates and zero external dependencies.

Why AI Observer?

AI coding assistants are becoming essential development tools, but understanding their behavior and costs remains a challenge:

• Visibility: See exactly how your AI tools are performing across sessions
• Cost tracking: Monitor token usage and API calls to understand spending
• Debugging: Trace errors and slow responses back to specific interactions
• Privacy: Keep your telemetry data local—no third-party services required

Features

• Multi-tool support — Works with Claude Code, Gemini CLI, OpenAI Codex CLI, GitHub Copilot, and OpenCode
• Real-time dashboard — Live updates via WebSocket as telemetry arrives
• Persistent dashboards — Drag-and-drop dashboard builder with saved widgets and multiple widget types
• File watcher mode — Watch Claude, Codex, and Gemini session files in real-time, no OTLP configuration needed
• Historical import — Import past Claude, Codex, and Gemini sessions from local JSONL/JSON files with cost calculation
• Cost tracking — Embedded pricing data across Claude, Codex/OpenAI, Gemini, and GitHub Copilot model aliases, plus native OpenCode plugin cost metrics
• Fast analytics — DuckDB-powered storage for instant queries on large datasets
• Single binary — One ~54MB executable with embedded frontend—no external dependencies
• Multi-arch Docker — Ready-to-run ~97MB images for linux/amd64 and linux/arm64
• OTLP-native — Standard OpenTelemetry Protocol ingestion (HTTP/JSON and HTTP/Protobuf)

Documentation

• Import Command — Import historical session data from local AI tool files
• Export Command — Export telemetry data to Parquet files for archiving and sharing
• Watch Command — Watch local session files and import incrementally in real-time
• Pricing System — Cost calculation for Claude, Codex/OpenAI, Gemini, and GitHub Copilot models; OpenCode costs are ingested from the OTEL plugin

Screenshots

Dashboard

Metrics View

Logs View

Traces View

Quick Start

Using Docker (Recommended)

docker run -d \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -p 4318:4318 \
  -v ai-observer-data:/app/data \
  --name ai-observer \
  tobilg/ai-observer:latest

Dashboard: http://localhost:8080

Using a local directory for data persistence:

# Create a local data directory
mkdir -p ./ai-observer-data

# Run with local volume mount
docker run -d \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -p 4318:4318 \
  -v $(pwd)/ai-observer-data:/app/data \
  -e AI_OBSERVER_DATABASE_PATH=/app/data/ai-observer.duckdb \
  --name ai-observer \
  tobilg/ai-observer:latest

This stores the DuckDB database in your local ./ai-observer-data directory, making it easy to backup or inspect.

Using Homebrew (macOS Apple Silicon)

brew tap tobilg/ai-observer
brew install ai-observer
ai-observer

Using Binary