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docs(observability): say what the sdk costs an application - #3682

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kamilmysliwiec merged 1 commit into
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docs/observe-overhead
Oct 30, 2026
Merged

kamilmysliwiec merged 1 commit into
masterfrom
docs/observe-overhead

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@kamilmysliwiec

@kamilmysliwiec kamilmysliwiec commented Oct 30, 2026 •

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PR Checklist

PR Type

  • Bugfix
  • Feature
  • Code style update (formatting, local variables)
  • Refactoring (no functional changes, no api changes)
  • Build related changes
  • Docs
  • Other... Please describe:

What is the current behavior?

The Observability overview doesn't say what the SDK costs an application, which is usually the first question asked about an APM agent.

Issue Number: N/A

What is the new behavior?

A Performance overhead section at the end of the overview, just before "Where to go next". It gives the median latency and CPU each request gains on endpoints with 1, 9 and 102 traced calls, the share of a core at 150 requests a second, memory and idle CPU, and a rule of thumb: about 8 µs per request plus 1-2.5 µs per traced call. It then sets that against the time other Node.js agents add per request in third-party benchmarks (NodeSource, Platformatic).

Does this PR introduce a breaking change?

  • Yes
  • No

Other information

Please merge after the @nestjs/observe release that ships nestjs/observe#59. The numbers describe the SDK with that change, and the hint's link to the benchmark (bench/README.md) stays dead until it is on master.

A performance overhead section in the overview: latency and CPU added
per request on endpoints with 1, 9 and 102 traced calls, memory and
idle CPU, and how that compares with the throughput other Node.js
agents lose in third-party benchmarks. The numbers come from the SDK's
own benchmark, added in nestjs/observe#59 and run in October 2026.
@kamilmysliwiec
kamilmysliwiec merged commit 0f3aeb2 into master Oct 30, 2026
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