Deployment Logs

Logs are essential for debugging deployments and monitoring your application. Slipway provides comprehensive logging at every stage.

Types of Logs

1. Build Logs

Output from Docker image building:

bash

slipway logs myapp --build

Includes:

Dockerfile step execution
npm install output
Asset compilation
Build errors

2. Deploy Logs

Output from the deployment process:

bash

slipway logs myapp --deploy

Includes:

Container start/stop
Health check results
Proxy configuration
Deployment status changes

3. Application Logs

Runtime output from your Sails app:

bash

slipway logs myapp

Includes:

sails.log.* output
HTTP request logs
Error stack traces
Custom logging

Viewing Logs

Current Deployment

bash

# View recent logs
slipway logs myapp

# Stream logs in real-time
slipway logs myapp -t

# Last N lines
slipway logs myapp -n 500

Specific Deployment

bash

# View logs for a specific deployment
slipway logs myapp --deployment=abc123

# Build logs for that deployment
slipway logs myapp --deployment=abc123 --build

All Deployment History

bash

slipway deployments myapp

Output:

ID        STATUS    COMMIT     MESSAGE              DEPLOYED
def456    running   a1b2c3d    Fix payment bug      5 minutes ago
abc123    stopped   e4f5g6h    Add new feature      2 hours ago
xyz789    failed    i7j8k9l    Update deps          1 day ago

Log Output

Application Logs

2024-01-20T14:30:00.123Z [info] Server lifted in `production` environment
2024-01-20T14:30:00.456Z [info] Listening on port 1337
2024-01-20T14:30:01.789Z [debug] GET /api/users (200) - 45ms
2024-01-20T14:30:02.012Z [debug] POST /api/login (200) - 123ms
2024-01-20T14:30:05.345Z [warn] Rate limit approaching for IP 192.168.1.100
2024-01-20T14:30:10.678Z [error] Database connection lost, reconnecting...

Build Logs

Step 1/8 : FROM node:22-alpine
 ---> abc123def456
Step 2/8 : WORKDIR /app
 ---> Using cache
 ---> 789ghi012jkl
Step 3/8 : COPY package*.json ./
 ---> mno345pqr678
Step 4/8 : RUN npm ci
npm WARN deprecated [email protected]: Use newer version
added 234 packages in 15.432s
 ---> stu901vwx234
...
Successfully built xyz567abc890

Deploy Logs

[deploy] Starting deployment abc123
[deploy] Pulling image slipway/myapp:abc123
[deploy] Creating container myapp-abc123
[deploy] Starting container
[health] Checking http://myapp-abc123:1337/health
[health] Attempt 1/3: waiting...
[health] Attempt 2/3: waiting...
[health] Health check passed ✓
[proxy] Updating routes for myapp.example.com
[proxy] Route updated ✓
[deploy] Stopping old container myapp-def456
[deploy] Removing old container
[deploy] Deployment complete in 42s

Filtering Logs

By Log Level

bash

# Errors only
slipway logs myapp --level=error

# Warnings and above
slipway logs myapp --level=warn

# All levels (default)
slipway logs myapp --level=debug

By Time Range

bash

# Last hour
slipway logs myapp --since=1h

# Last 24 hours
slipway logs myapp --since=24h

# Specific time range
slipway logs myapp --since="2024-01-20T10:00:00" --until="2024-01-20T12:00:00"

By Search Term

bash

# Search for specific text
slipway logs myapp --grep="error"

# Case-insensitive search
slipway logs myapp --grep="payment" -i

# Regex search
slipway logs myapp --grep="user_[0-9]+"

Log Formats

Default Format

Human-readable with colors:

bash

slipway logs myapp

JSON Format

Machine-readable for processing:

bash

slipway logs myapp --json

Output:

json

{"timestamp":"2024-01-20T14:30:00.123Z","level":"info","message":"Server lifted"}
{"timestamp":"2024-01-20T14:30:01.789Z","level":"debug","message":"GET /api/users","status":200,"duration":45}

Raw Format

Unprocessed container output:

bash

slipway logs myapp --raw

Log Streaming

Real-Time Streaming

bash

slipway logs myapp -t

Features:

Automatic reconnection
Buffering during network issues
Ctrl+C to stop

Multiple Apps

In multi-app environments, use --app to view logs for a specific app:

bash

# View logs for the API app
slipway logs --app=api

# Stream worker logs
slipway logs --app=worker -t

# In separate terminals for all apps
slipway logs --app=web -t
slipway logs --app=api -t
slipway logs --app=worker -t

If --app is omitted, logs are shown for the default app.

Dashboard Logs

Viewing in Dashboard

Go to your project and select an environment
Click the app name from the Apps list to go to the app detail page
Expand the Logs accordion for live container logs, or click a deployment in the Deployments section for build/deploy logs

Features

Real-time streaming
Full-text search
Log level filtering
Time range selection
Download logs

Browser-tab deployment status

Slipway also reflects deployment state in the browser favicon, so you can keep working in another tab without losing the outcome:

Favicon state	Meaning
Deploying	At least one deployment is queued or active
Success	A deployment completed successfully
Failed	A deployment failed
Cancelled	A deployment was cancelled
Idle	No active or recently completed deployment

Active work always takes precedence over a completed state. Success remains visible for about 10 seconds; failed and cancelled states remain for about 12 seconds. Opening or returning to the relevant Slipway tab acknowledges the terminal state, after which the normal idle icon returns.

Configuring Sails Logging

Log Levels

In config/log.js:

javascript

module.exports.log = {
  // Level: 'silly', 'verbose', 'info', 'debug', 'warn', 'error', 'silent'
  level: process.env.LOG_LEVEL || 'info'
}

Structured Logging

For better log parsing:

javascript

// Use structured logging
sails.log.info('User created', { userId: user.id, email: user.email })

// Instead of
sails.log.info(`User created: ${user.id}`)

Request Logging

In config/http.js:

javascript

module.exports.http = {
  middleware: {
    requestLogger: function (req, res, next) {
      const start = Date.now()

      res.on('finish', () => {
        sails.log.debug({
          method: req.method,
          url: req.url,
          status: res.statusCode,
          duration: Date.now() - start
        })
      })

      next()
    },

    order: [
      'requestLogger',
      'cookieParser',
      'session',
      'bodyParser',
      'compress',
      'router',
      'www'
    ]
  }
}

Log Retention

Default Retention

Log Type	Retention
Application logs	7 days
Build logs	30 days
Deploy logs	30 days

Configuring Retention

In Dashboard → Settings → Logs:

Application logs: 1-30 days
Build logs: 1-90 days
Deployment logs: 1-90 days

Exporting Logs

Download via CLI

bash

# Export to file
slipway logs myapp --since=24h > logs.txt

# Export as JSON
slipway logs myapp --since=24h --json > logs.json

Download via Dashboard

Go to Logs tab
Set filters
Click Export
Choose format (TXT, JSON, CSV)

Troubleshooting with Logs

Deployment Failed

bash

# Check build logs first
slipway logs myapp --deployment=abc123 --build

# Then deploy logs
slipway logs myapp --deployment=abc123 --deploy

Common build errors:

npm ERR! - Dependency issues
COPY failed - Missing files
ENOMEM - Out of memory

Application Crashing

bash

# Stream logs to see crash
slipway logs myapp -t

# Check recent errors
slipway logs myapp --level=error --since=1h

Common runtime errors:

Database connection failures
Missing environment variables
Port conflicts

Performance Issues

bash

# Look for slow requests
slipway logs myapp --grep="duration.*[0-9]{4,}ms"

# Check for warnings
slipway logs myapp --level=warn --since=24h

Integrations

Sending to External Services

Configure log forwarding in Dashboard → Settings → Integrations:

Supported services:

Datadog
Logtail
Papertrail
Custom webhook

Example: Datadog

bash

slipway integrations:add myapp datadog \
  --api-key=your-datadog-api-key \
  --site=datadoghq.com

Example: Custom Webhook

bash

slipway integrations:add myapp webhook \
  --url=https://your-server.com/logs \
  --headers='{"Authorization": "Bearer token"}'

Best Practices

1. Use Appropriate Log Levels

javascript

// Production
sails.log.info('Important event')
sails.log.warn('Potential issue')
sails.log.error('Error occurred', { error: err })

// Development
sails.log.debug('Debug info')
sails.log.verbose('Verbose details')

2. Include Context

javascript

// Good
sails.log.error('Payment failed', {
  userId: user.id,
  orderId: order.id,
  error: err.message
})

// Bad
sails.log.error('Payment failed')

3. Don't Log Sensitive Data

javascript

// Bad
sails.log.info('User login', { password: user.password })

// Good
sails.log.info('User login', { userId: user.id, email: user.email })

4. Set LOG_LEVEL per Environment

bash

# Production
slipway env:set myapp LOG_LEVEL=info --env=production

# Staging
slipway env:set myapp LOG_LEVEL=debug --env=staging

What's Next?

Learn about Rollbacks when issues occur
Configure Auto-Deploy for CI/CD
Set up Helm for live debugging

Deployment Logs ​

Types of Logs ​

1. Build Logs ​

2. Deploy Logs ​

3. Application Logs ​

Viewing Logs ​

Current Deployment ​

Specific Deployment ​

All Deployment History ​

Log Output ​

Application Logs ​

Build Logs ​

Deploy Logs ​

Filtering Logs ​

By Log Level ​

By Time Range ​

By Search Term ​

Log Formats ​

Default Format ​

JSON Format ​

Raw Format ​

Log Streaming ​

Real-Time Streaming ​

Multiple Apps ​

Dashboard Logs ​

Viewing in Dashboard ​

Features ​

Browser-tab deployment status ​

Configuring Sails Logging ​

Log Levels ​

Structured Logging ​

Request Logging ​

Log Retention ​

Default Retention ​

Configuring Retention ​

Exporting Logs ​

Download via CLI ​

Download via Dashboard ​

Troubleshooting with Logs ​

Deployment Failed ​

Application Crashing ​

Performance Issues ​

Integrations ​

Sending to External Services ​

Example: Datadog ​

Example: Custom Webhook ​

Best Practices ​

1. Use Appropriate Log Levels ​

2. Include Context ​

3. Don't Log Sensitive Data ​

4. Set LOG_LEVEL per Environment ​

What's Next? ​

Deployment Logs

Types of Logs

1. Build Logs

2. Deploy Logs

3. Application Logs

Viewing Logs

Current Deployment

Specific Deployment

All Deployment History

Log Output

Application Logs

Build Logs

Deploy Logs

Filtering Logs

By Log Level

By Time Range

By Search Term

Log Formats

Default Format

JSON Format

Raw Format

Log Streaming

Real-Time Streaming

Multiple Apps

Dashboard Logs

Viewing in Dashboard

Features

Browser-tab deployment status

Configuring Sails Logging

Log Levels

Structured Logging

Request Logging

Log Retention

Default Retention

Configuring Retention

Exporting Logs

Download via CLI

Download via Dashboard

Troubleshooting with Logs

Deployment Failed

Application Crashing

Performance Issues

Integrations

Sending to External Services

Example: Datadog

Example: Custom Webhook

Best Practices

1. Use Appropriate Log Levels

2. Include Context

3. Don't Log Sensitive Data

4. Set LOG_LEVEL per Environment

What's Next?