test(qa): add local otel smoke harness

docs/concepts/qa-e2e-automation.md

@@ -50,6 +50,21 @@ pnpm qa:lab:watch
 rebuilds that bundle on change, and the browser auto-reloads when the QA Lab
 asset hash changes.
 
+For a local OpenTelemetry trace smoke, run:
+
+```bash
+pnpm qa:otel:smoke
+```
+
+That script starts a local OTLP/HTTP trace receiver, runs the
+`otel-trace-smoke` QA scenario with the `diagnostics-otel` plugin enabled, then
+decodes the exported protobuf spans and asserts the release-critical shape:
+`openclaw.run`, `openclaw.model.call`, `openclaw.context.assembled`, and
+`openclaw.message.delivery` must be present; model calls must not export
+`StreamAbandoned` on successful turns; raw diagnostic IDs and
+`openclaw.content.*` attributes must stay out of the trace. It writes
+`otel-smoke-summary.json` next to the QA suite artifacts.
+
 For a transport-real Matrix smoke lane, run:
 
 ```bash

docs/reference/RELEASING.md

@@ -49,6 +49,10 @@ OpenClaw has three public release lanes:
 - Run `pnpm build && pnpm ui:build` before `pnpm release:check` so the expected
   `dist/*` release artifacts and Control UI bundle exist for the pack
   validation step
+- Run `pnpm qa:otel:smoke` when validating release telemetry. It exercises
+  QA-lab through a local OTLP/HTTP receiver and verifies the exported trace
+  span names, bounded attributes, and content/identifier redaction without
+  requiring Opik, Langfuse, or another external collector.
 - Run `pnpm release:check` before every tagged release
 - Release checks now run in a separate manual workflow:
   `OpenClaw Release Checks`