> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.luciq.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.luciq.ai/android/set-up-luciq-for-android/logs-and-profiling/custom-spans.md).

# Custom Spans

**Overview**

Custom Spans allow you to manually instrument parts of your application and measure how long specific operations take. This helps you track performance for specific spans that are not automatically captured.

Custom spans appear in the Spans timeline alongside automatically collected spans. They will appear inside all APM metrics we already capture such as app launches, screen loading, network logs and Flows. The backend correlates the custom span with its respective metrics based on their timestamps.

**Setup Custom Spans**

To log a new custom spans, please use the below API

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Kotlin" %}

```kotlin
val span: CustomSpan? = APM.startCustomSpan(name:string) 
span?.end()
```

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Java" %}

```java
let span: CustomSpan? = APM.startCustomSpan(_ name: String)
span?.end()
```

{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

To log a completed span, use the below API

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Kotlin" %}

```kotlin
APM.addCompletedCustomSpan(name:String, startDate: Date, endDate: Date)
```

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Java" %}

```java
APM.addCompletedCustomSpan(name: String, startDate: Date, endDate: Date)
```

{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

{% hint style="info" %}
Considerations for creating Custom Spans

1. APM must be enabled to use Custom Spans
2. Luciq SDK must be initialized before calling the API
3. Custom span name cannot be empty
4. Maximum **100 spans per session** (older spans may be dropped if the limit is exceeded
5. Minimum SDK version required is 19.3.0
   {% endhint %}


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.luciq.ai/android/set-up-luciq-for-android/logs-and-profiling/custom-spans.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.