From 02091502ddfb4171741556dfda2909ce3572a21e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Brett Blue <84536271+brett0000FF@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2025 15:28:25 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Update java.md with note on dd.trace.config usage

Added note about not relying solely on dd.trace.config for SDK-dependent products.
---
 content/en/tracing/trace_collection/library_config/java.md | 3 ++-
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/content/en/tracing/trace_collection/library_config/java.md b/content/en/tracing/trace_collection/library_config/java.md
index 7ff6d0a85f4..6ef0feabe36 100644
--- a/content/en/tracing/trace_collection/library_config/java.md
+++ b/content/en/tracing/trace_collection/library_config/java.md
@@ -64,7 +64,8 @@ See also [DD_APM_TRACING_ENABLED][21].
 `dd.trace.config`
 : **Environment Variable**: `DD_TRACE_CONFIG`<br>
 **Default**: `null`<br>
-Optional path to a file where configuration properties are provided one per each line. For instance, the file path can be provided as via `-Ddd.trace.config=<FILE_PATH>.properties`, with setting the service name in the file with `dd.service=<SERVICE_NAME>`
+Optional path to a file where configuration properties are provided one per each line. For instance, the file path can be provided as via `-Ddd.trace.config=<FILE_PATH>.properties`, with setting the service name in the file with `dd.service=<SERVICE_NAME>`<br>
+**Note**: Don’t rely on `dd.trace.config` as the only mechanism to enable or disable SDK-dependent products (for example, Profiler and Dynamic Instrumentation). Prefer the corresponding system properties or environment variables (or `application_monitoring.yaml` for Single Step Instrumentation). 
 
 `dd.service.mapping`
 : **Environment Variable**: `DD_SERVICE_MAPPING`<br>