OpenTelemetry.AutoInstrumentation fails with console application

[wondering639]

Bug Report

Symptom

Describe the bug
Install the NuGet package into a "regular" (no ASP.NET or so) console application, following instructions at https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet-instrumentation/blob/main/docs/using-the-nuget-packages.md

Expected behavior
Working instrumentation, however I am unable to start my instrumented application:

You must install or update .NET to run this application.

App: /app/MyApp.dll
Architecture: x64
Framework: 'Microsoft.AspNetCore.App', version '9.0.0' (x64)  <================ Note ASP.NET Core here, though I have a "regular" console application
.NET location: /usr/share/dotnet/

No frameworks were found.

Note the framework Microsoft.AspNetCore.App while I have a "regular" console application. Instrumentation seems to change this. Therefore it is unable to start the application, as only the regular runtime is installed in mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/runtime:9.0.
This is what is installed in the container and is sufficient when running without instrumentation:

app@image:/app$ dotnet --list-runtimes
Microsoft.NETCore.App 9.0.0 [/usr/share/dotnet/shared/Microsoft.NETCore.App]

Side note: Interestingly, when using the "shell script installer" https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet-instrumentation?tab=readme-ov-file#shell-scripts everything works. However, as installing the NuGet package is the recommended way and I have access to the source code, I prefer to install the NuGet package instead of using the installer.

Screenshots
If applicable, add screenshots to help explain your problem.

Runtime environment (please complete the following information):

• OpenTelemetry Automatic Instrumentation version: OpenTelemetry.AutoInstrumentation 1.9.0
• OS: Docker image mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/runtime:9.0
• .NET version: 9

Additional context
Add any other context about the problem here.

Reproduce

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Create console application, including Host.CreateApplicationBuilder; based on worker template
2. Install OpenTelemetry.AutoInstrumentation
3. Run, in my case inside docker.
4. Note it will fail to run with instrumentation, expecting a ASP.Net runtime. See Expected behavior for details.

[wondering639]

Did some further testing with a new project without docker. This makes it also easier to demonstrate the issue:

1. dotnet new worker
   The dependencies in Jetbrains Rider now look like this:
   

Once I add OpenTelemetry.AutoInstrumentation, they look like this:

Note how frameworks now additionally contains Microsoft.AspNetCore.App.

[RassK]

May try to skip the ASP.NET Core instrumentation
https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet-instrumentation/blob/main/docs/using-the-nuget-packages.md#using-the-nuget-packages

... although for sure it's not going to change installed deps.

[wondering639]

yeah, I think the instrumentation is not the issue, but the dependency on Microsoft.AspNetCore.App. Interestingly the script version seems to have no issues with that, so I hope this can be optimized.

[RassK]

Yes, just the AspNetCore instrumentation should be lazy loaded. At least on the runtime it should not crash then.
NuGet package has to ship with certain dependency requirements, that should be the difference.

SkippedInstrumentations should make it not to load ASP.NET Core as a dependency.

[wondering639]

Maybe two NuGet packages can be greated, something like
OpenTelemetry.AutoInstrumentation.Console and OpenTelemetry.AutoInstrumentation.AspNet or so?

[RassK]

Unfortunately these are not the only issues. It will bring anyway max set of packages and the dependencies (some by the reference and not physically).