Always use stable, production-ready versions of observability components (libraries, dependencies, and documentation references) in your applications. Monitoring and observability systems are critical infrastructure that should prioritize stability over cutting-edge features. For libraries: - Avoid alpha, beta, or milestone releases in production code - Test compatibility with your entire observability stack before upgrading - Consider downstream dependencies that might be affected For documentation and references: - Link to specific stable versions (tags or SHAs) rather than main branches Example of what to avoid: ```gradle library("OpenTelemetry", "1.23.1-alpha") { // Problematic: alpha version group("io.opentelemetry") { imports = [ "opentelemetry-bom-alpha" // Indicates unstable release ] } } ``` Instead, use stable versions: ```gradle library("OpenTelemetry", "1.19.0") { // Stable version group("io.opentelemetry") { imports = [ "opentelemetry-bom" // Standard stable artifact ] } } ``` This approach helps ensure your monitoring systems remain reliable and don't introduce unexpected behavior when capturing critical operational data.