docs(collect): document the telemetry export and --telemetry-days

[fatih-acar]

Why the collect docs need the telemetry collector

Every troubleshooting bundle contains telemetry/telemetry-export.json: by default 30 days of Infrahub product-telemetry snapshots, exported with infrahubctl telemetry export (collect_telemetry.go). No page in docs/ mentioned the export or the --telemetry-days flag. A customer who asked what a bundle contains and whether it is anonymous could not find the answer in the documentation, as reported in #169.

Closes #169

This PR changes documentation only. It does not change the collector, its flags, or the bundle layout. It does not add a way to leave the telemetry export out of a bundle.

Pages that now document the telemetry export

• docs/docs/collect/index.mdx
  • The "What a bundle contains" table has a Telemetry row.
  • "Review before sharing" now covers the telemetry export. It says that:
    • the export is written without masking
    • Infrahub stores snapshots even when INFRAHUB_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT turns reporting to OpsMill off
    • each snapshot records the Infrahub version, the deployment identifier, the send status, and the telemetry payload
    • the Infrahub documentation describes the payload as anonymous, and that description does not cover the rest of the bundle, which Infrahub Collect does not anonymize
• docs/docs/collect/create.mdx
  • The progress output, the manifest example, and the bundle layout list include the telemetry collector.
  • A new section, "Change the telemetry time window", documents --telemetry-days and INFRAHUB_TELEMETRY_DAYS. It says that a value of 0 or less uses the 30-day default, that no flag removes the export, and when the collector is recorded as skipped.
• docs/docs/reference/commands.mdx: the create flag table, a new example, and the collectors table.
• docs/docs/reference/configuration.mdx: the collect command flag table.
• changelog/169.fixed.md: the changelog entry.

Sources for each claim about the telemetry export

• How the collector behaves: it runs in task-worker, uses a 30-day default, falls back to 30 for a value of 0 or less, records skipped when the export produces no file, and keeps infrahubctl output in telemetry-export.err.txt. Source: src/internal/app/collect_telemetry.go
• The flag and its environment variable: src/cmd/infrahub-collect/main.go and the INFRAHUB prefix in src/internal/app/cli.go
• Masking applies only to keys named like secrets, and not to the telemetry export: src/internal/app/masking.go and collect_telemetry.go
• The fields of each snapshot: Infrahub telemetry API at infrahub-v1.9.0 and the infrahubctl telemetry export command
• What the payload contains, and its description as anonymous with no personally identifiable information: Infrahub FAQ, "What telemetry does Infrahub send?"
• Infrahub stores snapshots even when reporting is turned off: Infrahub docs, "Local telemetry storage"
• Infrahub versions earlier than 1.9.0 do not store snapshots: Infrahub 1.9.0 release notes. The snapshot and API files are also absent from the infrahub-v1.8.7 tag.

Docs checks run

• uv run --no-sync rumdl check .: no issues.
• Vale 3.13.0, the version CI uses, on the four pages: no warnings on the new text. Three warnings remain on lines 149, 263, and 281 of commands.mdx, which this PR does not change.
• pnpm run build in docs/ with Node 22: the site builds with no broken-link or broken-anchor warnings.
• uv run towncrier build --draft --version 0.0.0: the entry renders under "Fixed".

No change to the binaries, flags, or bundle format

Documentation only: no change to the binaries, flags, defaults, environment variables, or bundle format.

Follow-up not done in this PR

[CLAUDE RECOMMENDED – based on the new "Change the telemetry time window" section, which has to state that no flag removes the export] Open an issue to discuss an option that leaves the telemetry export out of a bundle, for customers who decide not to share it.

Checklist

• Tests added/updated (not applicable: documentation only)
• Changelog entry added (changelog/169.fixed.md)
• External docs updated (docs/)
• Internal .md docs updated (not needed: dev/knowledge/infrahub-collect.md already describes the telemetry collector)
• I have reviewed AI generated content

---

Assisted-by: opsmill-dev-pr 0.2.0

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

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Summary by cubic

Documents the telemetry/telemetry-export.json file that every troubleshooting bundle already contains, which no docs page previously mentioned. Closes #169.

The docs now describe what the export holds, that Infrahub stores the snapshots even when reporting to OpsMill is opted out, that the export is written without masking, and how to change the 30-day time window with --telemetry-days (INFRAHUB_TELEMETRY_DAYS). Documentation only — no change to binaries, flags, defaults, or bundle format.

^{Written for commit 602e43c. Summary will update on new commits.}

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