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+# OpenTelemetry Specification Compliance
+
+This document tracks the compliance of `dartastic_opentelemetry_api` — the
+OpenTelemetry API for Dart — against the
+[OpenTelemetry specification](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/otel/)
+and the W3C Trace Context Recommendation. It is the durable record of the
+2026-07 spec-compliance audit wave coordinated in
+[#44](https://github.com/MindfulSoftwareLLC/dartastic_opentelemetry_api/issues/44).
+
+## How compliance is verified
+
+Every audited clause follows the same TDD shape:
+
+1. A commit pins the contract with **red** tests that quote the spec
+   clause verbatim.
+2. A commit turns them **green** — or, where the fix needed design work,
+   the red tests were `skip:`-ed behind a linked issue so CI stayed green
+   until the fix landed, then unskipped by the fix PR.
+
+Semantic conventions are verified differently: the enums are generated
+from the registry model with OTel Weaver, and the generator also emits
+audit tests asserting every key, value, metric, event, and entity against
+the registry it was generated from (see PR
+[#52](https://github.com/MindfulSoftwareLLC/dartastic_opentelemetry_api/pull/52)).
+
+## Status matrix
+
+Statuses reflect the repository as of 2026-07-18 — the audit wave is
+fully merged. Version numbers refer to the release train in
+[CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md); "beta.10" entries ship with the
+`1.0.0-beta.10` release.
+
+| Spec area | Clause(s) | Status | Where |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| Context (`context/README.md`) | Context works before/without initialization; keys are unique; immutability | Shipped (beta.8/beta.9) | #27, #31, #32, #34 |
+| Propagators (`context/api-propagators.md`) | Global `TextMapPropagator` get/set; "MUST use no-op propagators unless explicitly configured otherwise"; factory-routed like all API objects | Shipped (beta.10) | [#55](https://github.com/MindfulSoftwareLLC/dartastic_opentelemetry_api/pull/55) (fixed #42; #43 pinned the contract) |
+| Baggage (`baggage/api.md`, `error-handling.md`) | Values are any valid UTF-8 string incl. empty; API methods never throw on misuse | Shipped (beta.10) | [#36](https://github.com/MindfulSoftwareLLC/dartastic_opentelemetry_api/pull/36) |
+| Trace: no-SDK behavior (`trace/api.md`) | Non-recording spans; parent `SpanContext` passthrough; all-zero empty span; `NonRecordingSpan` wrapper | Shipped (beta.10) | [#54](https://github.com/MindfulSoftwareLLC/dartastic_opentelemetry_api/pull/54) (fixed #40; #41 pinned the contracts) |
+| Trace: `TraceState` (`trace/api.md`, `error-handling.md`) | Mutations validate input, never throw, never return invalid data | Shipped (beta.10) | [#37](https://github.com/MindfulSoftwareLLC/dartastic_opentelemetry_api/pull/37) |
+| Trace: `tracestate` grammar (W3C Trace Context) | Key/value grammar incl. multi-tenant `tenant-id@system-id` form (tenant ≤ 241 starting `lcalpha`/DIGIT, system ≤ 14 starting `lcalpha`) | Shipped (beta.7, exact grammar beta.9) | #38 |
+| Trace: multi-tenant `tracestate` accessors | Typed multi-tenant key helpers (beyond the spec — W3C conformance prior art) | Parked pre-donation | #48 (ships as a Dartastic extension); upstream proposal: [#53](https://github.com/MindfulSoftwareLLC/dartastic_opentelemetry_api/pull/53) (fixes #49) |
+| Providers (`trace/api.md`, `error-handling.md`) | `tracerProvider('')`/`meterProvider('')`/`loggerProvider('')` return working defaults, never throw | Shipped (beta.10) | [#39](https://github.com/MindfulSoftwareLLC/dartastic_opentelemetry_api/pull/39) |
+| API lifecycle | Pre-initialization accessors lazily install the no-op API factory instead of throwing | Shipped (beta.8/beta.9) | #27, #32, #33, #34 |
+| Semantic conventions (attribute registry, metrics, events, entities) | Full registry coverage, generated with OTel Weaver, per-namespace files, registry-audit tests | Shipped (beta.10) | [#52](https://github.com/MindfulSoftwareLLC/dartastic_opentelemetry_api/pull/52) (fixed #50, #51) |
+
+## Known gaps and posture
+
+- **`telemetry.sdk.language` has no `dart` well-known value upstream** —
+  an upstream semantic-conventions gap discovered while generating the
+  registry enums; SDKs keep emitting the literal `dart`. Candidate for an
+  upstream PR alongside the multi-tenant `tracestate` proposal
+  ([doc/proposals/tracestate-multi-tenant.md](doc/proposals/tracestate-multi-tenant.md)
+  once merged).
+- **Vendor/RUM conventions** are not part of the OTel specification and
+  are deprecated for removal from this package (see PR #52); the API
+  surface will contain only official conventions.
+- **Metrics and Logs API clauses** were not part of this audit wave
+  beyond the provider-accessor and lifecycle work; they are the natural
+  next audit targets.
+
+## Coordination
+
+This work is part of standing up the **Dart & Flutter SIG**. Discussion
+happens publicly on the issues and PRs above (interim home: #44) until
+the SIG's CNCF Slack channel exists.