Azure Application Insights - Tracking Operations in a Console App

If you are using the Application Insights SDK inside your ASP.NET (Core) application, every incoming HTTP request will start an operation context and will allow you track this request including any dependencies called along the way. But if you are using a console application(as a batch job for example) , there isn't the concept of an incoming request so the SDK doesn't track a lot out-of-the-box.

Configure your Console app to use Application Insights

Let me show you how you can still track operations in a Console App.

• Start by adding the Microsoft.ApplicationInsights.WorkerService nuget package to your console app:

dotnet add package Microsoft.ApplicationInsights.WorkerService

• Now you can add the bootstrapping logic to configure App Insights for your console app:

	static async Task Main(string[] args)
	{
	IServiceCollection services = new ServiceCollection();
	services.AddApplicationInsightsTelemetryWorkerService(options=> options.ConnectionString= "Add connection String");
	// Build ServiceProvider.
	IServiceProvider serviceProvider = services.BuildServiceProvider();
	// Obtain TelemetryClient instance from DI, for additional manual tracking or to flush.
	var telemetryClient = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<TelemetryClient>();
	// Explicitly call Flush() followed by sleep is required in console apps.
	// This is to ensure that even if application terminates, telemetry is sent to the back-end.
	await telemetryClient.FlushAsync(CancellationToken.None);
	}

view raw Program.cs hosted with ❤ by GitHub

• The code above will build up the required services and allows you to resolve a TelemetryClient instance that we’ll use in the next part.
• Remark: Notice the FlushAsync method at the end to make sure that all telemetry data is sent to Azure.

Track operations manually

To track operations manually we need to invoke the StartOperation() method on the TelemetryClient instance.

	using (telemetryClient.StartOperation<RequestTelemetry>("operation"))
	{
	await Task.Delay(1000);
	}

view raw StartOperation.cs hosted with ❤ by GitHub

The StartOperation() method returns an IOperationHolder<> that will stop the operation once disposed. It is also possible to explicitly call the StopOperation() method.

Every call that we do inside the using block will be linked to the same operation:

	using (telemetryClient.StartOperation<RequestTelemetry>("operation"))
	{
	//Will use the same operation id 👇
	telemetryClient.TrackTrace("Starting operation");
	await Task.Delay(1000);
	//Will use the same operation id 👇
	telemetryClient.TrackTrace("Completing operation");
	}

view raw TrackTrace.cs hosted with ❤ by GitHub

If you look at how the data arrives in Application Insights, you see that is nicely correlated.

Here is the Transaction Search view:

And here is the same operation queried using KQL:

 

More information:

• Application Insights API for custom events and metrics - Azure Monitor | Microsoft Learn
• Application Insights for Worker Service apps (non-HTTP apps) - Azure Monitor | Microsoft Learn