Custom IDs & attributes
Tag requests with your own record IDs, conversation threads, and custom properties, then group and filter by them.
Respan indexes a few fields you can send with any request, so you can find every span that belongs to a ticket, an order, or a conversation. To tag the end user, use customer_identifier instead. See Users.
| Field | Use it for | Where you use it |
|---|---|---|
custom_identifier | A record in your app, like a ticket, order, or document: CS-1042 | Users & identifiers › Custom IDs, and the Custom ID filter in Logs |
thread_identifier | One conversation: conv_5d21 | The Threads grouping and Thread ID filter in Logs |
metadata | Any other key-value pairs, shown as Custom properties: {"feature": "support"} | The Custom property filter in Logs |
Send the fields
One request can carry all of them, plus customer_identifier.
client is the OpenAI client pointed at Respan, as in the Gateway quickstart. For other clients and headers, see Respan params.
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="gpt-5.5",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Draft a reply to ticket CS-1042."}],
extra_body={
"custom_identifier": "CS-1042",
"thread_identifier": "conv_5d21",
"metadata": {"feature": "support", "region": "us-east"},
},
)Logging spans with the API? These are top-level span fields. See Create span.
Send custom_identifier as its own field. A custom_identifier key inside metadata is only a custom property, and doesn’t show up under Custom IDs.
Check a span
In Observability › Logs, click a span and open the Metadata tab. The identifiers are under Properties, and your metadata is under Custom properties.
Hover a row and click its filter icon to show only the spans with that value.
Filter Logs
In Observability › Logs:
- Custom ID or Thread ID: click More filters, pick the field, and enter the value.
- A custom property: click Custom property, search for the key, and pick a value.
- A whole conversation: switch the grouping from Spans to Threads. Each row is one
thread_identifier.
See Logs for filter groups and saved views.
Compare custom IDs
Switch to Custom IDs
Go to Observability › Users & identifiers and switch the grouping from Users to Custom IDs.
Each row is one custom_identifier, with its requests, tokens, cost, errors, and latency in the selected range. Click a metric card to chart the top five custom IDs by that metric.
Pick a time range
Use 5m, 1h, 1d, 7d or Custom above the chart. The default is 7 days, and the longest range is 31 days. Drag across the chart to zoom in. Type part of an ID in Search custom IDs… and press Enter to find it.
Open a custom ID
Click a row to see its Properties, Activity, Metrics and Performance. Click Open in logs (L) to see its spans in Logs for the same range.