A local development tool, motel ingests OpenTelemetry (OTLP) traces and logs, storing them in a SQLite database. It provides a terminal UI (TUI) and a web UI for developers to inspect runtime evidence, and crucially, offers a companion skill for AI coding agents to leverage this data for debugging. This offers a powerful, self-contained debugging solution without external dependencies or cloud services.

How It Works

The project acts as a local OTLP/HTTP endpoint (http://127.0.0.1:27686), receiving telemetry data from applications. This data is persisted in a local SQLite database, managed with configurable retention policies (defaulting to 7 days and a 1GB ceiling). Users interact via a Bun-powered TUI or a web interface. A key differentiator is the motel-debug skill, which enables AI agents to query this local telemetry store via an OpenAPI-defined HTTP API, facilitating AI-assisted debugging.

Quick Start & Requirements

• Installation: Run one-off via bunx @kitlangton/motel, or install globally with bun add -g @kitlangton/motel or npm install -g @kitlangton/motel.
• Prerequisites: Bun v1.1 or newer is required.
• AI Skill: Install the motel-debug skill for AI agents using npx skills add kitlangton/motel --skill motel-debug (project-local or global).
• Endpoints: Ingests OTLP traces/logs at http://127.0.0.1:27686/v1/traces and /v1/logs.
• AI API: OpenAPI spec available at http://127.0.0.1:27686/openapi.json.

Highlighted Details

• Local OpenTelemetry ingest and debugging suite.
• SQLite backend with configurable data retention and size limits.
• Integrated TUI and web UI for direct developer inspection.
• motel-debug skill enables AI agents (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor) to query runtime telemetry for debugging.
• No Docker or cloud account required; operates as a single managed daemon.

Maintenance & Community

No specific details regarding contributors, sponsorships, or community channels (e.g., Discord, Slack) were found in the provided README snippet.

Licensing & Compatibility

The license type and any compatibility notes for commercial use or closed-source linking are not specified in the provided README snippet. This requires further investigation.

Limitations & Caveats

Requires the Bun runtime environment. The local SQLite database may contain sensitive application data (PII, secrets, prompts) requiring careful handling. Default data retention is 7 days, with older completed traces and logs pruned first. Existing SQLite databases created without incremental auto-vacuum may not shrink automatically.