fix(observability): read T3CODE_OTEL_SDK_DISABLED before OTEL_SDK_DISABLED

[yordis]

• Every other setting in the OTLP chain asks T3 Code's own name first and falls back to the standard one. Whether anything is exported at all was the exception: only OTEL_SDK_DISABLED could answer it, so the answer came from whatever the machine happened to inherit.
• Asking ours first is what makes the setting recoverable. A profile that exports OTEL_SDK_DISABLED=true for every other SDK on the box used to leave no way to get T3 Code's telemetry back except unsetting a variable the rest of the machine depends on. T3CODE_OTEL_SDK_DISABLED=false is now that way.
• Either name still stops every export, Settings included, because that is one setting with two sources rather than two switches with different reach.

[cursor]

PR Summary

Medium Risk
Changes global telemetry export on/off for server and desktop when ambient OTEL_SDK_DISABLED is set; behavior is intentional but operators must know the new override name.

Overview
Export on/off now follows the same T3 Code name first, then standard OTEL order as the rest of OTLP config. Shared otelEnvironment.load reads T3CODE_OTEL_SDK_DISABLED with T3-style booleans (true/1/yes/on and negatives); only when that name is unset or unreadable does OTEL_SDK_DISABLED apply (still spec-strict: only true disables).

T3CODE_OTEL_SDK_DISABLED=false can keep server and desktop exporting when a shell profile sets OTEL_SDK_DISABLED=true, without unsetting the profile. Disable messaging is centralized in otelEnvironment (including a hint to set the T3 override); duplicate warnings were removed from desktop OTLP resolution and the server observability layer.

Tests cover override, parsing, and end-to-end config/desktop resolution; ops and fork docs describe the new variable and precedence.

^{Reviewed by Cursor Bugbot for commit 8c9ae36. Bugbot is set up for automated code reviews on this repo. Configure here.}

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between a6e60da and 8c9ae36.

📒 Files selected for processing (8)

• apps/desktop/src/app/DesktopOtlpExport.test.ts
• apps/desktop/src/app/DesktopOtlpExport.ts
• apps/server/src/cli/config.test.ts
• docs/fork/0018-the-standard-otel-variables-are-honored.md
• docs/fork/0022-the-desktop-app-reports-its-own-work.md
• docs/operations/observability.md
• packages/shared/src/otelEnvironment.test.ts
• packages/shared/src/otelEnvironment.ts

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Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between d6d0b1d and a6e60da.

📒 Files selected for processing (10)

• apps/desktop/src/app/DesktopOtlpExport.test.ts
• apps/desktop/src/app/DesktopOtlpExport.ts
• apps/server/src/cli/config.test.ts
• apps/server/src/cli/config.ts
• apps/server/src/observability/Layers/Observability.ts
• docs/fork/0018-the-standard-otel-variables-are-honored.md
• docs/fork/0022-the-desktop-app-reports-its-own-work.md
• docs/operations/observability.md
• packages/shared/src/otelEnvironment.test.ts
• packages/shared/src/otelEnvironment.ts

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• apps/server/src/observability/Layers/Observability.ts

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The change adds T3CODE_OTEL_SDK_DISABLED as a global telemetry shutdown switch. OTEL_SDK_DISABLED now disables only routes configured by standard variables. Server and desktop exporters, tests, warnings, and documentation reflect this separation.

Changes

Telemetry disablement controls

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Shared environment controls packages/shared/src/otelEnvironment.ts, packages/shared/src/otelEnvironment.test.ts	Adds forceDisabled, parses T3CODE_OTEL_SDK_DISABLED, emits distinct warnings, and covers affirmative and invalid values.
Server and desktop exporter integration apps/server/src/cli/config.ts, apps/server/src/cli/config.test.ts, apps/server/src/observability/Layers/Observability.ts, apps/desktop/src/app/DesktopOtlpExport.ts, apps/desktop/src/app/DesktopOtlpExport.test.ts	Uses forceDisabled to clear all export endpoints. Standard disablement preserves named endpoints. Tests and warning behavior match the split.
Disablement documentation docs/fork/0018-the-standard-otel-variables-are-honored.md, docs/fork/0022-the-desktop-app-reports-its-own-work.md, docs/operations/observability.md	Documents both switches, their scope, accepted values, precedence, warnings, and environment variable references.

Priority: ⬇️ Low

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~25 minutes

Change: Bug fix

Sequence Diagram(s)

sequenceDiagram
  participant EnvironmentLoader
  participant ServerConfig
  participant DesktopOtlpExport
  EnvironmentLoader->>ServerConfig: provide forceDisabled and signal settings
  EnvironmentLoader->>DesktopOtlpExport: provide forceDisabled and signal settings
  ServerConfig->>ServerConfig: clear all OTLP URLs when forceDisabled is true
  DesktopOtlpExport->>DesktopOtlpExport: disable all signals when forceDisabled is true

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🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 0 functions across 6…
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly identifies the observability change and the precedence between T3CODE_OTEL_SDK_DISABLED and OTEL_SDK_DISABLED.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description clearly explains what changed and why. It covers the new application-owned switch and its relationship to OTEL_SDK_DISABLED. The template headings and checklist are omitted, but the ke…

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[github-actions]

Thread transfer impact

✅ Thread transfer remains within every enforced ceiling.

Provider	Metric	Main baseline	This PR	Impact	PR ceiling
Codex	Total thread wire	13.5 KiB	13.5 KiB	−6 B (−0.0%)	15.1 KiB	✅
Codex	Thread snapshot wire	7.1 KiB	7.1 KiB	−2 B (−0.0%)	7.3 KiB	✅
Codex	Live turn WebSocket wire	6.4 KiB	6.4 KiB	−4 B (−0.1%)	7.8 KiB	✅
Codex	Live turn WebSocket decoded	56.2 KiB	56.2 KiB	0 B (0.0%)	66.4 KiB	✅
Codex	Live turn messages	9	9	0 (0.0%)	21	✅
Claude	Total thread wire	13.5 KiB	13.5 KiB	−4 B (−0.0%)	15.1 KiB	✅
Claude	Thread snapshot wire	7.1 KiB	7.1 KiB	+4 B (+0.1%)	7.3 KiB	✅
Claude	Live turn WebSocket wire	6.4 KiB	6.4 KiB	−8 B (−0.1%)	7.8 KiB	✅
Claude	Live turn WebSocket decoded	57.0 KiB	57.0 KiB	0 B (0.0%)	66.4 KiB	✅
Claude	Live turn messages	9	9	0 (0.0%)	21	✅

Baseline: d6d0b1d · PR result: 8c9ae36 · Source CI: success

Scenario and decoded snapshot size

10 historical turns, 5 command tools per turn, 878.9 KiB retained MCP result per historical turn, and a 1.05 MiB retained result in the measured turn.

• Codex decoded thread snapshot: 113.9 KiB
• Claude decoded thread snapshot: 114.6 KiB

Updated in place by a trusted workflow. PR artifacts are strictly validated and never executed.