diff --git a/exporter/opentelemetry-exporter-otlp/src/opentelemetry/exporter/otlp/version/__init__.py b/exporter/opentelemetry-exporter-otlp/src/opentelemetry/exporter/otlp/version/__init__.py
index 6e653a1c7ce..6eb17afe6ae 100644
--- a/exporter/opentelemetry-exporter-otlp/src/opentelemetry/exporter/otlp/version/__init__.py
+++ b/exporter/opentelemetry-exporter-otlp/src/opentelemetry/exporter/otlp/version/__init__.py
@@ -1,4 +1,40 @@
 # Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
+"""Version of the ``opentelemetry-exporter-otlp`` distribution.
+
+``opentelemetry-exporter-otlp`` defines no exporter of its own. Installing it
+installs ``opentelemetry-exporter-otlp-proto-grpc`` and
+``opentelemetry-exporter-otlp-proto-http``, both pinned to the same version,
+which is what this module records. Import an exporter class from one of those
+two distributions rather than from here. ``OTLPSpanExporter`` comes from
+``trace_exporter``, ``OTLPMetricExporter`` from ``metric_exporter`` and
+``OTLPLogExporter`` from ``_log_exporter``, and each of those three modules
+exists under both ``opentelemetry.exporter.otlp.proto.grpc`` and
+``opentelemetry.exporter.otlp.proto.http``. The package you import from
+decides whether telemetry is sent over gRPC or over HTTP.
+
+This distribution registers an entry point named ``otlp`` in each of the
+``opentelemetry_traces_exporter``, ``opentelemetry_metrics_exporter`` and
+``opentelemetry_logs_exporter`` groups, all three pointing at the gRPC
+exporters. The SDK's environment-variable configuration does not load those
+entry points. Reading ``OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTER=otlp``, it first rewrites the
+name ``otlp`` to either ``otlp_proto_grpc`` or ``otlp_proto_http`` and then
+loads the entry point of that rewritten name, which the gRPC and HTTP
+distributions register. The choice comes from
+``OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_PROTOCOL``, or from ``OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL``
+when the signal-specific variable is unset or empty. The value is read with
+surrounding whitespace removed: ``http/protobuf`` gives HTTP, ``grpc`` gives
+gRPC, and any other non-empty value raises ``RuntimeError``. Both variables
+unset or empty gives gRPC, so an unfilled placeholder is read as no setting at
+all rather than as an error. ``OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER`` and
+``OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER`` work the same way, against
+``OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_PROTOCOL`` and
+``OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_PROTOCOL``.
+
+Depend on the single distribution you need once that choice is settled, since
+depending on this one installs both.
+"""
+
 __version__ = "1.46.0.dev"
+"""The installed version of ``opentelemetry-exporter-otlp``, as a :pep:`440` string."""