diff --git a/cli/command/telemetry_utils.go b/cli/command/telemetry_utils.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..034fa1f00a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/command/telemetry_utils.go
@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+package command
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/docker/cli/cli/version"
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/attribute"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric"
+)
+
+// BaseMetricAttributes returns an attribute.Set containing attributes to attach to metrics/traces
+func BaseMetricAttributes(cmd *cobra.Command) attribute.Set {
+	attrList := []attribute.KeyValue{
+		attribute.String("command.name", getCommandName(cmd)),
+	}
+	return attribute.NewSet(attrList...)
+}
+
+// InstrumentCobraCommands wraps all cobra commands' RunE funcs to set a command duration metric using otel.
+//
+// Note: this should be the last func to wrap/modify the PersistentRunE/RunE funcs before command execution.
+//
+// can also be used for spans!
+func InstrumentCobraCommands(cmd *cobra.Command, mp metric.MeterProvider) {
+	meter := getDefaultMeter(mp)
+	// If PersistentPreRunE is nil, make it execute PersistentPreRun and return nil by default
+	ogPersistentPreRunE := cmd.PersistentPreRunE
+	if ogPersistentPreRunE == nil {
+		ogPersistentPreRun := cmd.PersistentPreRun
+		//nolint:unparam // necessary because error will always be nil here
+		ogPersistentPreRunE = func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+			ogPersistentPreRun(cmd, args)
+			return nil
+		}
+		cmd.PersistentPreRun = nil
+	}
+
+	// wrap RunE in PersistentPreRunE so that this operation gets executed on all children commands
+	cmd.PersistentPreRunE = func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+		// If RunE is nil, make it execute Run and return nil by default
+		ogRunE := cmd.RunE
+		if ogRunE == nil {
+			ogRun := cmd.Run
+			//nolint:unparam // necessary because error will always be nil here
+			ogRunE = func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+				ogRun(cmd, args)
+				return nil
+			}
+			cmd.Run = nil
+		}
+		cmd.RunE = func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+			// start the timer as the first step of every cobra command
+			stopCobraCmdTimer := startCobraCommandTimer(cmd, meter)
+			cmdErr := ogRunE(cmd, args)
+			stopCobraCmdTimer(cmdErr)
+			return cmdErr
+		}
+
+		return ogPersistentPreRunE(cmd, args)
+	}
+}
+
+func startCobraCommandTimer(cmd *cobra.Command, meter metric.Meter) func(err error) {
+	ctx := cmd.Context()
+	baseAttrs := BaseMetricAttributes(cmd)
+	durationCounter, _ := meter.Float64Counter(
+		"command.time",
+		metric.WithDescription("Measures the duration of the cobra command"),
+		metric.WithUnit("ms"),
+	)
+	start := time.Now()
+
+	return func(err error) {
+		duration := float64(time.Since(start)) / float64(time.Millisecond)
+		cmdStatusAttrs := attributesFromError(err)
+		durationCounter.Add(ctx, duration,
+			metric.WithAttributeSet(baseAttrs),
+			metric.WithAttributeSet(attribute.NewSet(cmdStatusAttrs...)),
+		)
+	}
+}
+
+func attributesFromError(err error) []attribute.KeyValue {
+	attrs := []attribute.KeyValue{}
+	exitCode := 0
+	if err != nil {
+		exitCode = 1
+		if stderr, ok := err.(statusError); ok {
+			// StatusError should only be used for errors, and all errors should
+			// have a non-zero exit status, so only set this here if this value isn't 0
+			if stderr.StatusCode != 0 {
+				exitCode = stderr.StatusCode
+			}
+		}
+		attrs = append(attrs, attribute.String("command.error.type", otelErrorType(err)))
+	}
+	attrs = append(attrs, attribute.String("command.status.code", strconv.Itoa(exitCode)))
+
+	return attrs
+}
+
+// otelErrorType returns an attribute for the error type based on the error category.
+func otelErrorType(err error) string {
+	name := "generic"
+	if errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
+		name = "canceled"
+	}
+	return name
+}
+
+// statusError reports an unsuccessful exit by a command.
+type statusError struct {
+	Status     string
+	StatusCode int
+}
+
+func (e statusError) Error() string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("Status: %s, Code: %d", e.Status, e.StatusCode)
+}
+
+// getCommandName gets the cobra command name in the format
+// `... parentCommandName commandName` by traversing it's parent commands recursively.
+// until the root command is reached.
+//
+// Note: The root command's name is excluded. If cmd is the root cmd, return ""
+func getCommandName(cmd *cobra.Command) string {
+	fullCmdName := getFullCommandName(cmd)
+	i := strings.Index(fullCmdName, " ")
+	if i == -1 {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return fullCmdName[i+1:]
+}
+
+// getFullCommandName gets the full cobra command name in the format
+// `... parentCommandName commandName` by traversing it's parent commands recursively
+// until the root command is reached.
+func getFullCommandName(cmd *cobra.Command) string {
+	if cmd.HasParent() {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%s %s", getFullCommandName(cmd.Parent()), cmd.Name())
+	}
+	return cmd.Name()
+}
+
+// getDefaultMeter gets the default metric.Meter for the application
+// using the given metric.MeterProvider
+func getDefaultMeter(mp metric.MeterProvider) metric.Meter {
+	return mp.Meter(
+		"github.com/docker/cli",
+		metric.WithInstrumentationVersion(version.Version),
+	)
+}
diff --git a/cli/command/telemetry_utils_test.go b/cli/command/telemetry_utils_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b70ed0f69c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/command/telemetry_utils_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+package command
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+	"gotest.tools/v3/assert"
+)
+
+func setupCobraCommands() (*cobra.Command, *cobra.Command, *cobra.Command) {
+	rootCmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use: "root [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARG...]",
+	}
+	childCmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use: "child [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARG...]",
+	}
+	grandchildCmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use: "grandchild [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARG...]",
+	}
+	childCmd.AddCommand(grandchildCmd)
+	rootCmd.AddCommand(childCmd)
+
+	return rootCmd, childCmd, grandchildCmd
+}
+
+func TestGetFullCommandName(t *testing.T) {
+	rootCmd, childCmd, grandchildCmd := setupCobraCommands()
+
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		testName string
+		cmd      *cobra.Command
+		expected string
+	}{
+		{
+			testName: "rootCmd",
+			cmd:      rootCmd,
+			expected: "root",
+		},
+		{
+			testName: "childCmd",
+			cmd:      childCmd,
+			expected: "root child",
+		},
+		{
+			testName: "grandChild",
+			cmd:      grandchildCmd,
+			expected: "root child grandchild",
+		},
+	} {
+		tc := tc
+		t.Run(tc.testName, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+			actual := getFullCommandName(tc.cmd)
+			assert.Equal(t, actual, tc.expected)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGetCommandName(t *testing.T) {
+	rootCmd, childCmd, grandchildCmd := setupCobraCommands()
+
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		testName string
+		cmd      *cobra.Command
+		expected string
+	}{
+		{
+			testName: "rootCmd",
+			cmd:      rootCmd,
+			expected: "",
+		},
+		{
+			testName: "childCmd",
+			cmd:      childCmd,
+			expected: "child",
+		},
+		{
+			testName: "grandchildCmd",
+			cmd:      grandchildCmd,
+			expected: "child grandchild",
+		},
+	} {
+		tc := tc
+		t.Run(tc.testName, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+			actual := getCommandName(tc.cmd)
+			assert.Equal(t, actual, tc.expected)
+		})
+	}
+}