diff --git a/src/RiftCache/Caching/CacheMetrics.cs b/src/RiftCache/Caching/CacheMetrics.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8cef037
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/RiftCache/Caching/CacheMetrics.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+using System.Diagnostics.Metrics;
+
+namespace RiftCache.Caching;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Cache hit/miss counters and a live entry-count gauge, published via System.Diagnostics.Metrics
+/// so the OpenTelemetry SDK picks them up once MeterName is registered with .AddMeter(...).
+/// </summary>
+public sealed class CacheMetrics
+{
+    public const string MeterName = "RiftCache.Caching";
+
+    private readonly Meter _meter;
+    private readonly Counter<long> _hits;
+    private readonly Counter<long> _misses;
+
+    public CacheMetrics(InMemoryCacheStore store)
+    {
+        _meter = new Meter(MeterName);
+        _hits = _meter.CreateCounter<long>("riftcache.cache.hits", description: "Cache reads that found a live entry.");
+        _misses = _meter.CreateCounter<long>("riftcache.cache.misses", description: "Cache reads that found nothing, or an expired entry.");
+        _meter.CreateObservableGauge("riftcache.cache.entries", () => store.Count, description: "Entries currently held in the in-memory store.");
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>Exposed for tests to filter a MeterListener by exact instance rather than just MeterName, since multiple CacheMetrics instances (one per test) share that name.</summary>
+    internal Meter Meter => _meter;
+
+    public void RecordHit() => _hits.Add(1);
+
+    public void RecordMiss() => _misses.Add(1);
+}
diff --git a/src/RiftCache/Caching/MeteredCacheStore.cs b/src/RiftCache/Caching/MeteredCacheStore.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bed07b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/RiftCache/Caching/MeteredCacheStore.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+namespace RiftCache.Caching;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// ICacheStore decorator that records hit/miss metrics around GetAsync. Kept separate from
+/// InMemoryCacheStore rather than injecting CacheMetrics directly into it, since CacheMetrics
+/// itself depends on InMemoryCacheStore (for the entry-count gauge) -- injecting it the other way
+/// too would create a circular dependency.
+/// </summary>
+internal sealed class MeteredCacheStore(ICacheStore inner, CacheMetrics metrics) : ICacheStore
+{
+    public async Task<byte[]?> GetAsync(string key, CancellationToken token = default)
+    {
+        var value = await inner.GetAsync(key, token).ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+        if (value is null)
+        {
+            metrics.RecordMiss();
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            metrics.RecordHit();
+        }
+
+        return value;
+    }
+
+    public Task SetAsync(string key, byte[] value, DateTimeOffset? absoluteExpiration, TimeSpan? slidingExpiration, CancellationToken token = default) =>
+        inner.SetAsync(key, value, absoluteExpiration, slidingExpiration, token);
+
+    public Task<bool> RefreshAsync(string key, CancellationToken token = default) =>
+        inner.RefreshAsync(key, token);
+
+    public Task<bool> RemoveAsync(string key, CancellationToken token = default) =>
+        inner.RemoveAsync(key, token);
+}
diff --git a/src/RiftCache/Program.cs b/src/RiftCache/Program.cs
index 565a1cb..6b48781 100644
--- a/src/RiftCache/Program.cs
+++ b/src/RiftCache/Program.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Options;
+using OpenTelemetry.Metrics;
+using OpenTelemetry.Resources;
+using OpenTelemetry.Trace;
 using RiftCache.Caching;
 using RiftCache.Endpoints;
 using RiftCache.Options;
@@ -13,9 +16,39 @@
 builder.Services.AddSingleton<ISecretProvider, EnvironmentSecretProvider>();
 builder.Services.AddSingleton<IPersistenceProvider, NullPersistenceProvider>();
 builder.Services.AddSingleton<InMemoryCacheStore>();
-builder.Services.AddSingleton<ICacheStore>(sp => sp.GetRequiredService<InMemoryCacheStore>());
+builder.Services.AddSingleton<CacheMetrics>();
+builder.Services.AddSingleton<ICacheStore>(sp =>
+    new MeteredCacheStore(sp.GetRequiredService<InMemoryCacheStore>(), sp.GetRequiredService<CacheMetrics>()));
 builder.Services.AddHostedService<CacheEvictionService>();
 
+// Only export via OTLP when an endpoint is actually configured -- otherwise a self-hoster who set
+// nothing gets zero telemetry noise (no attempted connections, no connection-refused warnings).
+// Read through IConfiguration, not Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable, for the same reason
+// EnvironmentSecretProvider does: picks up env vars, user secrets, and config files uniformly.
+var otlpEndpoint = builder.Configuration["OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT"];
+
+builder.Services.AddOpenTelemetry()
+    .ConfigureResource(resource => resource.AddService("RiftCache"))
+    .WithTracing(tracing =>
+    {
+        tracing.AddAspNetCoreInstrumentation();
+
+        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(otlpEndpoint))
+        {
+            tracing.AddOtlpExporter();
+        }
+    })
+    .WithMetrics(metrics =>
+    {
+        metrics.AddAspNetCoreInstrumentation();
+        metrics.AddMeter(CacheMetrics.MeterName);
+
+        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(otlpEndpoint))
+        {
+            metrics.AddOtlpExporter();
+        }
+    });
+
 var app = builder.Build();
 
 var serverOptions = app.Services.GetRequiredService<IOptions<RiftCacheServerOptions>>().Value;
diff --git a/src/RiftCache/RiftCache.csproj b/src/RiftCache/RiftCache.csproj
index 7e27f69..287fcbe 100644
--- a/src/RiftCache/RiftCache.csproj
+++ b/src/RiftCache/RiftCache.csproj
@@ -11,4 +11,10 @@
     <InternalsVisibleTo Include="RiftCache.Tests" />
   </ItemGroup>
 
+  <ItemGroup>
+    <PackageReference Include="OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol" Version="1.17.0" />
+    <PackageReference Include="OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting" Version="1.17.0" />
+    <PackageReference Include="OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore" Version="1.17.0" />
+  </ItemGroup>
+
 </Project>
diff --git a/tests/RiftCache.Tests/Caching/CacheMetricsTests.cs b/tests/RiftCache.Tests/Caching/CacheMetricsTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c88f7c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/RiftCache.Tests/Caching/CacheMetricsTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+using System.Diagnostics.Metrics;
+using RiftCache.Caching;
+using RiftCache.Providers.Persistence;
+using RiftCache.Tests.TestSupport;
+
+namespace RiftCache.Tests.Caching;
+
+public class CacheMetricsTests
+{
+    [Fact]
+    public void RecordHit_PublishesToHitsCounter()
+    {
+        var metrics = new CacheMetrics(new InMemoryCacheStore(new FakePersistenceProvider(), TimeProvider.System));
+
+        // Filters by exact Meter instance, not just CacheMetrics.MeterName -- multiple tests
+        // create their own CacheMetrics (and therefore their own Meter with the same name), and
+        // xUnit can run different test classes in parallel, so name-only filtering would leak
+        // measurements across tests.
+        using var listener = new MeterListener();
+        var measurements = new List<long>();
+        listener.InstrumentPublished = (instrument, l) =>
+        {
+            if (ReferenceEquals(instrument.Meter, metrics.Meter) && instrument.Name == "riftcache.cache.hits")
+            {
+                l.EnableMeasurementEvents(instrument);
+            }
+        };
+        listener.SetMeasurementEventCallback<long>((_, measurement, _, _) => measurements.Add(measurement));
+        listener.Start();
+
+        metrics.RecordHit();
+        metrics.RecordHit();
+
+        Assert.Equal([1, 1], measurements);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void RecordMiss_PublishesToMissesCounter()
+    {
+        var metrics = new CacheMetrics(new InMemoryCacheStore(new FakePersistenceProvider(), TimeProvider.System));
+
+        using var listener = new MeterListener();
+        var measurements = new List<long>();
+        listener.InstrumentPublished = (instrument, l) =>
+        {
+            if (ReferenceEquals(instrument.Meter, metrics.Meter) && instrument.Name == "riftcache.cache.misses")
+            {
+                l.EnableMeasurementEvents(instrument);
+            }
+        };
+        listener.SetMeasurementEventCallback<long>((_, measurement, _, _) => measurements.Add(measurement));
+        listener.Start();
+
+        metrics.RecordMiss();
+
+        Assert.Equal([1], measurements);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task EntriesGauge_ReportsLiveStoreCount()
+    {
+        var store = new InMemoryCacheStore(new FakePersistenceProvider(), TimeProvider.System);
+        await store.SetAsync("a", [1], null, null);
+        await store.SetAsync("b", [2], null, null);
+        var metrics = new CacheMetrics(store);
+
+        using var listener = new MeterListener();
+        var measurements = new List<int>();
+        listener.InstrumentPublished = (instrument, l) =>
+        {
+            if (ReferenceEquals(instrument.Meter, metrics.Meter) && instrument.Name == "riftcache.cache.entries")
+            {
+                l.EnableMeasurementEvents(instrument);
+            }
+        };
+        listener.SetMeasurementEventCallback<int>((_, measurement, _, _) => measurements.Add(measurement));
+        listener.Start();
+        listener.RecordObservableInstruments();
+
+        Assert.Equal([2], measurements);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/RiftCache.Tests/Caching/MeteredCacheStoreTests.cs b/tests/RiftCache.Tests/Caching/MeteredCacheStoreTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..17f1413
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/RiftCache.Tests/Caching/MeteredCacheStoreTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+using System.Diagnostics.Metrics;
+using RiftCache.Caching;
+using RiftCache.Providers.Persistence;
+using RiftCache.Tests.TestSupport;
+
+namespace RiftCache.Tests.Caching;
+
+public class MeteredCacheStoreTests
+{
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task GetAsync_ValueFound_ReturnsItAndRecordsHit()
+    {
+        var inner = new FakeCacheStore { NextGetResult = [1, 2, 3] };
+        var metrics = new CacheMetrics(new InMemoryCacheStore(new FakePersistenceProvider(), TimeProvider.System));
+        var store = new MeteredCacheStore(inner, metrics);
+
+        using var listener = new MeterListener();
+        var hits = new List<long>();
+        listener.InstrumentPublished = (instrument, l) =>
+        {
+            if (ReferenceEquals(instrument.Meter, metrics.Meter) && instrument.Name == "riftcache.cache.hits")
+            {
+                l.EnableMeasurementEvents(instrument);
+            }
+        };
+        listener.SetMeasurementEventCallback<long>((_, measurement, _, _) => hits.Add(measurement));
+        listener.Start();
+
+        var result = await store.GetAsync("key");
+
+        Assert.Equal(new byte[] { 1, 2, 3 }, result);
+        Assert.Equal([1], hits);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task GetAsync_ValueMissing_ReturnsNullAndRecordsMiss()
+    {
+        var inner = new FakeCacheStore { NextGetResult = null };
+        var metrics = new CacheMetrics(new InMemoryCacheStore(new FakePersistenceProvider(), TimeProvider.System));
+        var store = new MeteredCacheStore(inner, metrics);
+
+        using var listener = new MeterListener();
+        var misses = new List<long>();
+        listener.InstrumentPublished = (instrument, l) =>
+        {
+            if (ReferenceEquals(instrument.Meter, metrics.Meter) && instrument.Name == "riftcache.cache.misses")
+            {
+                l.EnableMeasurementEvents(instrument);
+            }
+        };
+        listener.SetMeasurementEventCallback<long>((_, measurement, _, _) => misses.Add(measurement));
+        listener.Start();
+
+        var result = await store.GetAsync("key");
+
+        Assert.Null(result);
+        Assert.Equal([1], misses);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task SetAsync_DelegatesToInner()
+    {
+        var store = CreateStore(out var inner);
+
+        await store.SetAsync("key", [1], null, null);
+
+        Assert.Equal(1, inner.SetCallCount);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task RefreshAsync_DelegatesToInnerAndReturnsItsResult()
+    {
+        var store = CreateStore(out var inner);
+        inner.NextRefreshResult = false;
+
+        Assert.False(await store.RefreshAsync("key"));
+        Assert.Equal(1, inner.RefreshCallCount);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task RemoveAsync_DelegatesToInnerAndReturnsItsResult()
+    {
+        var store = CreateStore(out var inner);
+        inner.NextRemoveResult = false;
+
+        Assert.False(await store.RemoveAsync("key"));
+        Assert.Equal(1, inner.RemoveCallCount);
+    }
+
+    private static MeteredCacheStore CreateStore(out FakeCacheStore inner)
+    {
+        inner = new FakeCacheStore();
+        var metrics = new CacheMetrics(new InMemoryCacheStore(new FakePersistenceProvider(), TimeProvider.System));
+        return new MeteredCacheStore(inner, metrics);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/RiftCache.Tests/TestSupport/FakeCacheStore.cs b/tests/RiftCache.Tests/TestSupport/FakeCacheStore.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..39a4f56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/RiftCache.Tests/TestSupport/FakeCacheStore.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+using RiftCache.Caching;
+
+namespace RiftCache.Tests.TestSupport;
+
+internal sealed class FakeCacheStore : ICacheStore
+{
+    public byte[]? NextGetResult { get; set; }
+
+    public bool NextRefreshResult { get; set; } = true;
+
+    public bool NextRemoveResult { get; set; } = true;
+
+    public int SetCallCount { get; private set; }
+
+    public int RefreshCallCount { get; private set; }
+
+    public int RemoveCallCount { get; private set; }
+
+    public Task<byte[]?> GetAsync(string key, CancellationToken token = default) =>
+        Task.FromResult(NextGetResult);
+
+    public Task SetAsync(string key, byte[] value, DateTimeOffset? absoluteExpiration, TimeSpan? slidingExpiration, CancellationToken token = default)
+    {
+        SetCallCount++;
+        return Task.CompletedTask;
+    }
+
+    public Task<bool> RefreshAsync(string key, CancellationToken token = default)
+    {
+        RefreshCallCount++;
+        return Task.FromResult(NextRefreshResult);
+    }
+
+    public Task<bool> RemoveAsync(string key, CancellationToken token = default)
+    {
+        RemoveCallCount++;
+        return Task.FromResult(NextRemoveResult);
+    }
+}