Elastic Observability APM: use API key OR secret token, never both

TL;DR

Verify OTLP variables are all set when no observability data appears. Use EITHER ELASTICAPIKEY OR APMSECRETTOKEN, not both; for Elastic Cloud prefer the API key.

Fix

1. Verify OTLP variables are all set when no observability data appears. Expected: You see the expected output instead of the problem.

When to use

• You are setting up or using this Elastic Observability APM feature.
• The symptom matches: use API key OR secret token, never both.

When NOT to use

• Unrelated Elastic Observability APM issues (different feature, different failure).
• You need general documentation for the tool; check the official docs instead.

Compatibility

Reported against Elastic Observability APM. Source: https://github.com/rajesharma470/elastic-observability-demo.

Variant phrasings

use API key OR secret token, never both

Why it happens

APM agent authentication fails or behaves unexpectedly. Elastic Cloud expects exactly one auth method.

Edge cases

• If your error message differs even slightly, this is probably a different issue; search the exact text.
• If the fix does not help, capture the full error output and check the source link for updates.

Source

https://github.com/rajesharma470/elastic-observability-demo