> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://arize-ax.mintlify.site/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Instructor

> Trace Instructor structured-output extractions with OpenInference and send spans to Arize AX for LLM observability.

[Instructor](https://github.com/jxnl/instructor) is a Python library for getting Pydantic-typed structured output out of LLMs. Arize AX captures every Instructor extraction — the patched chat completion, retries, and validation errors — via the [`openinference-instrumentation-instructor`](https://github.com/Arize-ai/openinference/tree/main/python/instrumentation/openinference-instrumentation-instructor) package, alongside the underlying LLM client's instrumentor.

## Prerequisites

* Python 3.9+
* An Arize AX account ([sign up](https://arize.com/sign-up/))
* An `OPENAI_API_KEY` from the [OpenAI Platform](https://platform.openai.com/api-keys)

## Launch Arize AX

1. Sign in to your [Arize AX account](https://app.arize.com/).
2. From **Space Settings**, copy your **Space ID** and **API Key**. You will set them as `ARIZE_SPACE_ID` and `ARIZE_API_KEY` below.

## Install

```bash theme={null}
pip install arize-otel \
  openinference-instrumentation-instructor \
  openinference-instrumentation-openai \
  'instructor<1.15.3' openai
```

<Note>
  `instructor` is pinned below `1.15.3` because that release removed the internal `instructor.patch` module that `openinference-instrumentation-instructor` (≤`0.1.17`) wraps to emit spans — newer versions instrument without error but produce no Instructor spans. `1.15.1` is the latest compatible release. Remove the pin once a version of `openinference-instrumentation-instructor` that supports Instructor's newer patch path ships.
</Note>

## Configure credentials

```bash theme={null}
export ARIZE_SPACE_ID="<your-space-id>"
export ARIZE_API_KEY="<your-api-key>"
export ARIZE_PROJECT_NAME="instructor-tracing-example"
export OPENAI_API_KEY="<your-openai-api-key>"
```

## Setup tracing

```python theme={null}
# instrumentation.py
import os

from arize.otel import register
from openinference.instrumentation.instructor import InstructorInstrumentor
from openinference.instrumentation.openai import OpenAIInstrumentor

tracer_provider = register(
    space_id=os.environ["ARIZE_SPACE_ID"],
    api_key=os.environ["ARIZE_API_KEY"],
    project_name=os.environ["ARIZE_PROJECT_NAME"],
)

InstructorInstrumentor().instrument(tracer_provider=tracer_provider)
OpenAIInstrumentor().instrument(tracer_provider=tracer_provider)
print("Arize AX tracing initialized for Instructor.")
```

## Run Instructor

```python theme={null}
# example.py

# Importing instrumentation first ensures tracing is set up
# before `instructor` and `openai` are imported.
from instrumentation import tracer_provider

import instructor
from openai import OpenAI
from pydantic import BaseModel


class UserInfo(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


client = instructor.from_openai(OpenAI())

user_info = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-5.5",
    response_model=UserInfo,
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "John Doe is 30 years old.",
        },
    ],
)

print(f"Name: {user_info.name}, Age: {user_info.age}")
```

### Expected output

```text wrap theme={null}
Arize AX tracing initialized for Instructor.
Name: John Doe, Age: 30
```

## Verify in Arize AX

1. Open your Arize AX space and select project **`instructor-tracing-example`**.
2. You should see a new trace within \~30 seconds containing an `instructor.patch` parent span plus nested OpenAI `ChatCompletion` LLM spans with the prompt, response, and token usage attached. Instructor emits multiple child spans per call when it validates and (where applicable) retries.
3. If no traces appear, see [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting).

### Check from the skill, CLI, or SDK

Confirm spans are actually reaching your Arize AX project. Use whichever fits your workflow — the skill and CLI work for any framework; the SDK check is shown for each language.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Arize skill (agent)">
    Install the [Arize Skills](https://github.com/Arize-ai/arize-skills) plugin and let your coding agent check for you:

    ```bash theme={null}
    npx skills add Arize-ai/arize-skills
    ```

    Then prompt your agent:

    > Use the `arize-trace` skill to export and analyze recent traces from my project. Confirm spans are arriving, and summarize any errors or latency issues.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="AX CLI">
    Export recent spans for your project — any rows mean traces are landing:

    ```bash theme={null}
    ax spans export "$ARIZE_PROJECT_NAME" --space "$ARIZE_SPACE_ID" \
      --limit 5 --stdout | jq 'length'
    ```

    A non-zero count confirms spans reached Arize AX. Run `ax auth login` first if you have not authenticated. See the [`ax spans` reference](/api-clients/cli/spans).
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="SDK">
    Query the project's spans and check that at least one came back.

    <CodeGroup>
      ```python Python theme={null}
      import os
      from arize import ArizeClient

      client = ArizeClient(api_key=os.environ["ARIZE_API_KEY"])
      resp = client.spans.list(
          project=os.environ["ARIZE_PROJECT_NAME"],
          space=os.environ["ARIZE_SPACE_ID"],
          limit=5,
      )
      count = len(resp.spans)
      print(
          f"{count} span(s) found" if count else "No spans yet — recheck setup"
      )
      ```

      ```typescript TypeScript theme={null}
      // Reads ARIZE_API_KEY from the environment.
      import { listSpans } from "@arizeai/ax-client";

      const { data: spans } = await listSpans({
        project: process.env.ARIZE_PROJECT_NAME!,
        space: process.env.ARIZE_SPACE_ID!,
        limit: 5,
      });
      const count = spans.length;
      console.log(
        count ? `${count} span(s) found` : "No spans yet — recheck setup",
      );
      ```

      ```go Go theme={null}
      client, err := arize.NewClient(
          arize.Config{APIKey: os.Getenv("ARIZE_API_KEY")},
      )
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
      resp, err := client.Spans.List(ctx, spans.ListRequest{
          Project: os.Getenv("ARIZE_PROJECT_NAME"),
          Space:   os.Getenv("ARIZE_SPACE_ID"),
          Limit:   5,
      })
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
      fmt.Printf("%d span(s) found\n", len(resp.Spans))
      ```
    </CodeGroup>

    SDK span references: [Python](/api-clients/python/version-8/client-resources/spans) · [TypeScript](/api-clients/typescript/version-1/client-resources/spans) · [Go](/api-clients/go/version-2/client-resources/spans).
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Troubleshooting

* **No traces in Arize AX.** Confirm `ARIZE_SPACE_ID` and `ARIZE_API_KEY` are set in the same shell that runs `example.py`. Enable OpenTelemetry debug logs with `export OTEL_LOG_LEVEL=debug` and re-run.
* **Instructor spans missing but OpenAI spans present.** `InstructorInstrumentor().instrument(...)` must run before `instructor.from_openai(...)`. Make sure `instrumentation.py` is the first import in your entry point.
* **`401` from OpenAI.** Verify `OPENAI_API_KEY` is set and has access to `gpt-5.5`. Swap for a model your key can call.
* **Pydantic `ValidationError` retries.** Instructor retries on validation failure (default 1); each retry is a separate child span. Increase `max_retries=` on the call to see them surface, or tighten the prompt to avoid the retry.

## Resources

<CardGroup>
  <Card icon="book-open" href="https://python.useinstructor.com/" title="Instructor Documentation" horizontal />

  <Card icon="terminal" href="https://github.com/Arize-ai/openinference/tree/main/python/instrumentation/openinference-instrumentation-instructor" title="OpenInference Instructor Instrumentor" horizontal />

  <Card icon="github" href="https://github.com/jxnl/instructor" title="Instructor GitHub" horizontal />
</CardGroup>