diff --git a/modules/nextflow/src/main/groovy/nextflow/util/SimpleHttpClient.groovy b/modules/nextflow/src/main/groovy/nextflow/util/SimpleHttpClient.groovy
index 07ac305fa6..00124f1392 100644
--- a/modules/nextflow/src/main/groovy/nextflow/util/SimpleHttpClient.groovy
+++ b/modules/nextflow/src/main/groovy/nextflow/util/SimpleHttpClient.groovy
@@ -122,6 +122,7 @@ class SimpleHttpClient {
             con.setRequestMethod(method)
             con.setRequestProperty("Content-Type", contentType)
             con.setRequestProperty("User-Agent", userAgent)
+            con.setRequestProperty("Traceparent", TraceUtils.nextTrace())
             // set charset
             if( charset )
                 con.setRequestProperty("charset", "utf-8")
diff --git a/modules/nf-commons/src/main/nextflow/util/TraceUtils.groovy b/modules/nf-commons/src/main/nextflow/util/TraceUtils.groovy
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..000a2ac1f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/nf-commons/src/main/nextflow/util/TraceUtils.groovy
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2013-2024, Seqera Labs
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ *
+ */
+
+package nextflow.util
+
+import groovy.transform.CompileStatic
+
+/**
+ *
+ * @author Paolo Di Tommaso <paolo.ditommaso@gmail.com>
+ */
+@CompileStatic
+class TraceUtils {
+
+    static String nextTrace() {
+        final traceId = UUID.randomUUID().toString().replace("-", "").substring(0, 32)
+        final spanId = UUID.randomUUID().toString().replace("-", "").substring(0, 16)
+        return String.format("00-%s-%s-01", traceId, spanId)
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/modules/nf-commons/src/test/nextflow/util/TraceUtilsTest.groovy b/modules/nf-commons/src/test/nextflow/util/TraceUtilsTest.groovy
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6614d2c992
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/nf-commons/src/test/nextflow/util/TraceUtilsTest.groovy
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2013-2024, Seqera Labs
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ *
+ */
+
+package nextflow.util
+
+import spock.lang.Specification
+
+/**
+ *
+ * @author Paolo Di Tommaso <paolo.ditommaso@gmail.com>
+ */
+class TraceUtilsTest extends Specification {
+
+    def 'should create a traceparent string' () {
+        when:
+        def trace = TraceUtils.nextTrace()
+        then:
+        trace =~ /00-[a-f0-9]{32}-[a-f0-9]{16}-01/
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/plugins/nf-wave/src/main/io/seqera/wave/plugin/WaveClient.groovy b/plugins/nf-wave/src/main/io/seqera/wave/plugin/WaveClient.groovy
index 89cbb3fe4d..5295a54b9e 100644
--- a/plugins/nf-wave/src/main/io/seqera/wave/plugin/WaveClient.groovy
+++ b/plugins/nf-wave/src/main/io/seqera/wave/plugin/WaveClient.groovy
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ import nextflow.processor.TaskRun
 import nextflow.script.bundle.ResourcesBundle
 import nextflow.util.SysHelper
 import nextflow.util.Threads
+import nextflow.util.TraceUtils
 import org.slf4j.Logger
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory
 /**
@@ -290,12 +291,13 @@ class WaveClient {
         request.towerAccessToken = accessToken
         request.towerRefreshToken = refreshToken
 
+        final trace = TraceUtils.nextTrace()
         final body = JsonOutput.toJson(request)
         final uri = URI.create("${endpoint}/v1alpha2/container")
         log.debug "Wave request: $uri; attempt=$attempt - request: $request"
         final req = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
                 .uri(uri)
-                .headers('Content-Type','application/json')
+                .headers('Content-Type','application/json', 'Traceparent', trace)
                 .POST(HttpRequest.BodyPublishers.ofString(body))
                 .build()