Feature Request: Create an API to service custom Collector builds via HTTP

[eddyleelin]

As the Collector-Builder functionality is enhanced to support Collector users to create custom builds of the Collector, it would be useful for both maintainers and users to have an API to programmatically build binaries. Optionally, by additionally hosting an HTTP server, this service would be able to support both hosting of common pre-built distributions (as proposed in this Collector issue) and to service distribution build requests through a web-based UI.

To achieve these goals, the following features would need to be implemented:

• Adding an API to the OTEL Collector Builder that can accept user manifest files or commands, process through HTTP, and produce/return a custom Collector binary.
• Hosting common pre-built distributions (as specified in the issue above). The implementation should be vendor-agnostic.
• Creating a web-based, UI-driven experience to increase the accessibility of the Collector-Builder to users.
• Tracking metrics of what users are requesting and building the most, so contributors to Collector better understand customer needs.

[jpkrohling]

Could you create issues for each of the steps? I agree with the builder providing a public API so that other consumers can generate a binary based on the given parameters, but I'm not 100% convinced a web UI should be part of the same binary. I think the UI should be one consumer of the public API.

[Chinwendu20]

Hello @jpkrohling and @codeboten could I please work on this issue
I would like to work on the first checklist, creating the http API

[jpkrohling]

Sure, but if you are interested in having this as part of an Outreachy application, note that this might be a bit too big for that.

[Chinwendu20]

Is this issue still valid?

[jpkrohling]

Yes