> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.usetero.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Policies

> Reviewable control-plane artifacts

Policies are the control-plane artifacts Tero uses to turn issue evidence into runtime action.

A policy states which telemetry it matches and what action the runtime should take. Tero presents policies for review with status, source, action, service, recent activity, linked issue, deployment state, and spec.

<Card title="OpenTelemetry policy proposal" icon="github" href="https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/pull/4738">
  Track the upstream OpenTelemetry specification proposal for telemetry policy.
</Card>

{/* screenshot-generated id: policies-table */}

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/tero-0926be64/7xmYF6M7rw0_8Xl4/images/screenshots/policies/policies-table.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=7xmYF6M7rw0_8Xl4&q=85&s=d74642091523966b033a207b951336fd" alt="Policies show status, action, source, service, activity, and linked issue." width="1440" height="1000" data-path="images/screenshots/policies/policies-table.png" />
</Frame>

<p className="screenshot-caption"><small>Policies show status, action, source, service, activity, and linked issue. <a className="demo-screenshot-link" href="https://demo.usetero.com/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Open in demo <Icon icon="arrow-up-right-from-square" /></a></small></p>

## How policies relate to issues

Tero starts with a finding. The issue explains what Tero found and shows evidence. If a policy can address the issue, Tero presents the recommended policy in issue detail.

After approval or deployment, Tero adds the policy to the Policies workspace. You can open the policy to inspect its identity, source, related issue, activity, deployments, and spec.

Tero links each policy to the issue that produced it, so reviewers can check the evidence before approving.

## Policy actions

Policy actions describe what the runtime should do to matching telemetry. Common actions include dropping a matching event, sampling a subset, redacting sensitive values, rewriting fields, or trimming large payloads.

For lookup details, use [Policy lifecycle](/policies/lifecycle) and [Policy categories](/policies/categories/overview).

## Policy states

Policies move through review, deployment, and impact checks. Tero shows policy state, source, linked issue, activity, deployments, and spec so reviewers can connect the policy back to the evidence Tero used to create it.

Use [Policy lifecycle](/policies/lifecycle) for the current state reference.

## Policy detail

Policy detail pages include:

* **Overview**: identity, source, linked issue, hits over time, and activity
* **Deployments**: where the policy runs, including Edge deployment state when present
* **Spec**: the structured policy definition Tero and runtimes use

{/* screenshot-generated id: policy-detail-overview */}

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/tero-0926be64/7xmYF6M7rw0_8Xl4/images/screenshots/policies/policy-detail-overview.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=7xmYF6M7rw0_8Xl4&q=85&s=809b6f763a3f9e6870f6c8c76d36dfcd" alt="Policy detail connects spec, activity, linked issue, and deployments." width="1440" height="1000" data-path="images/screenshots/policies/policy-detail-overview.png" />
</Frame>

<p className="screenshot-caption"><small>Policy detail connects spec, activity, linked issue, and deployments. <a className="demo-screenshot-link" href="https://demo.usetero.com/policies/kafka-log-segment-deletion" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Open in demo <Icon icon="arrow-up-right-from-square" /></a></small></p>

The issue link returns you to the evidence. Open Deployments for runtime state, or Spec for the exact match and action.

## Provider inventory

The Policies workspace can also show Datadog exclusion filters. This inventory helps teams compare existing provider configuration with Tero policies and convert supported filters into policies.

Datadog filter detail can show overview, policy preview, imported policies, and import readiness.

## Related pages

* [Review an issue](/issues/review-an-issue)
* [Policy lifecycle](/policies/lifecycle)
* [Policy categories](/policies/categories/overview)
* [Policy enforcement](/policies/enforcement/overview)
* [Datadog integration](/integrations/datadog)