Production Logging with Redux

Unlocking the Power of Redux Logging

As developers, we strive to build maintainable and debuggable applications. One of the key strengths of Redux is its ability to provide valuable insights into code errors, race conditions, network errors, and other sources of bugs. By logging actions and state during an app’s execution, developers can easily understand and fix issues.

The Challenges of Production Logging

While logging is a standard practice in local development, it can be more complex in production environments. Developers need to collect and upload Redux data efficiently without compromising application performance. This data must also be stored and made easily searchable for debugging purposes.

Introducing LogRocket

LogRocket is a production Redux logging tool that addresses these challenges. With its highly-optimized JavaScript SDK and Redux middleware, LogRocket can scale to support apps with millions of users. In addition to recording Redux data, LogRocket captures network requests, console logs, JavaScript errors, and full DOM video.

Setting Up LogRocket

Getting started with LogRocket is straightforward:

1. Install LogRocket via npm: npm i --save logrocket
2. Create a free account at https://app.logrocket.com and note your application ID
3. Initialize LogRocket in your app: LogRocket.init('app/id')
4. Add the Redux middleware

Viewing Logs from User Sessions

LogRocket groups logs from each user session into a “session,” accessible with a unique URL. You can obtain a session link by calling LogRocket.getSessionURL() with a callback. This link allows you to view the logs for a specific session, including Redux actions, network requests, and DOM video.

Maximizing Debuggability with Redux

To get the most out of Redux logging, consider the following best practices:

• Keep most state in Redux to ensure that logs are maximally useful when debugging issues
• Use data fetching libraries that leverage Redux, such as apollo-client or redux-query
• Dispatch explicit actions when querying and receiving data from the network
• Use Redux to handle sources of non-determinism, such as websockets or local storage
• Leverage other console APIs, such as console.time() or console.count(), to add rich data to your logs

Conclusion

Redux logging is a powerful tool for building maintainable and debuggable applications. By using LogRocket and following best practices, developers can unlock the full potential of Redux and ensure that their applications are running smoothly and efficiently.