Feature request: BigQueryLoggerConfig.export_internal_spans flag to disable plugin span export

[rannn505]

Context

BigQueryAgentAnalyticsPlugin (current as of ADK 1.34.1) emits internal spans agent, llm_request, tool via its TraceManager. Per the source docstring at google/adk/plugins/bigquery_agent_analytics_plugin.py:642-647, these spans intentionally do NOT attach to ambient OTel context to avoid corrupting framework span hierarchy.

Problem

When a global BatchSpanProcessor is configured for an external exporter (e.g., Cloud Trace), those internal spans STILL get exported — SpanProcessor.on_start / on_end fire for every span the tracer creates, regardless of context attachment.

Result in Cloud Trace UI:

• Generic spans agent, llm_request, tool (no agent name) appear alongside the readable ADK spans invoke_agent {name} / execute_tool {name}
• Because they don't share OTel parent context, they appear as orphan top-level spans with "(Missing span ID xxxx)" parent references
• Hard to read

Current workarounds

1. Subclass SpanProcessor to drop spans with instrumentation_scope.name == "google.adk.plugins.bigquery_agent_analytics" at export time. Works but burns CPU creating spans we then discard, and requires maintenance across ADK bumps
2. Disable the plugin entirely — loses the analytics writes which is the plugin's primary purpose

Proposal

Add a config flag on BigQueryLoggerConfig:

class BigQueryLoggerConfig:
    ...
    export_internal_spans: bool = True
    """If False, plugin's internal spans (agent/llm_request/tool) are recorded for BigQuery row generation
    but NOT exported via the global TracerProvider's SpanProcessors. Useful when an external trace
    backend like Cloud Trace already receives readable spans from ADK's own _instrumentation.py."""

Implementation: gate the tracer.start_span(...) calls in TraceManager.push_span to use a tracer whose spans bypass external SpanProcessors when the flag is False. One approach: maintain a separate TracerProvider internal to the plugin with no SpanProcessor for export — only feeds the plugin's own _SpanRecord stack.

Related issues

• OpenTelemetry contextvars leak across asynchronous generator boundaries in BaseAgent and Runner #5722 — contextvars leak across async generator boundaries (root cause of "Calling end() on an ended span" warnings this plugin also surfaces)
• BigQueryAgentAnalyticsPlugin: parent_span_id Points to Unlogged OTel Spans #5310 — orphan parent_span_id (partially addressed but still visible with this plugin)
• Support for Disabling or Extending Internal OpenTelemetry Tracing in Google ADK (Python) #2792 — general request to disable or extend internal OTel tracing

Running ADK 1.34.1 with this plugin active in production. The trace export pollution forces a choice between losing the analytics or fighting trace UI noise.

— @rannn505

[llalitkumarrr]

Hello @rannn505,

Thank you for sharing your inputs. We will review this request and let you know if any additional information is required. Thank you for your patience.