Express Observability with TraceKit
Express middleware is simple until you have 15 layers and a request takes 3 seconds. TraceKit traces every middleware hop, maintains context across async/await boundaries, and helps you find memory leaks before your users do.
Express observability challenges
Common problems that Express developers face in production -- and how TraceKit solves them.
Middleware Stack Debugging
Express apps accumulate middleware layers -- body parsers, auth, CORS, rate limiting, logging. When latency spikes, which layer is responsible? TraceKit instruments every middleware automatically so you can pinpoint the slow one.
Async/Await Trace Continuity
Node.js async execution makes traces fragile. Context gets lost across await boundaries, setTimeout callbacks, and event emitters. TraceKit's SDK maintains trace context through the entire async chain.
Memory Leak Detection
Node.js memory leaks are notoriously hard to diagnose in production. TraceKit correlates memory growth with specific request patterns and traces, so you can identify which endpoints are leaking.
Get started in minutes
Add OpenTelemetry instrumentation to your Express app with a few lines of code.
const { NodeSDK } = require('@opentelemetry/sdk-node');
const { getNodeAutoInstrumentations } = require('@opentelemetry/auto-instrumentations-node');
const sdk = new NodeSDK({
instrumentations: [getNodeAutoInstrumentations()],
serviceName: 'my-express-service',
});
sdk.start();Node.js Distributed Tracing Guide
Go deeper with our Node.js distributed tracing guide -- covering common pain points, production patterns, and code examples.
What you get with TraceKit
Distributed Tracing
Trace requests across Express middleware, external API calls, and database queries. Full visibility into your async Node.js request lifecycle.
Live Code Monitoring
Set breakpoints in your Express route handlers. Inspect request objects, middleware state, and response data in production without redeploying.
Simple Pricing
$29/month flat for your entire Node.js application. No per-process fees, no per-request charges -- predictable cost as your Express app scales.
Related Resources
Learn distributed tracing patterns and best practices for Node.js
IBM-owned automatic APM with real-time discovery. See how TraceKit compares for straightforward monitoring.
Calculate SLA uptime and error budgets for your services
Step-by-step APM implementation checklist covering SDK installation, instrumentation, alerting, and production rollout with OpenTelemetry best practices.
Step-by-step guide to migrate from Datadog to TraceKit. Replace dd-trace with TraceKit SDK, map environment variables, and verify traces in minutes.
Ready to add observability to Express?
Get started with TraceKit in under 5 minutes. $29/month flat -- no per-host fees, no surprises.