Observability

Overview

Motia provides an out of the box logging and debugging system that works across different runtime environments. The system offers:

Real-time log streaming in both terminal and Motia Workbench
Multiple log levels with contextual information
Local development debugging tools
Integrated flow monitoring

Log Levels and Usage

Motia supports four standard log levels:

Log Type	Description
info	General information about step execution, flow progress, and successful operations
error	Critical issues, exceptions, failed operations, and system errors
debug	Detailed debugging information and diagnostic data for troubleshooting
warn	Potential issues, edge cases, or situations requiring attention

Example Usage

export const handler: Handlers['StepName'] = async (input, { logger }) => {
  // Basic logging
  logger.info('Starting process')
 
  // Logging with context
  logger.info('Operation completed', {
    operationId: input.id,
    duration: 1500
  })
 
  // Error handling
  try {
    await riskyOperation()
  } catch (error) {
    logger.error('Operation failed', {
      error: error.message,
      stack: error.stack
    })
  }
 
  // Debug logging
  logger.debug('Operation details', {
    rawInput: input,
    timestamp: Date.now()
  })
 
  // Warning logging
  if (input.amount > 1000) {
    logger.warn('Large operation detected', {
      amount: input.amount,
      threshold: 1000
    })
  }
}

Running and Debugging

Start the Dev Server

Navigate to your Motia project root folder
Start the development server:

npm run dev

You can monitor logs in two ways:

Open Motia Workbench, select your flow, and expand the logs container
View logs directly in the terminal where you ran the dev command

Trigger and Monitor Flows

You can trigger flows using either the CLI or an API step:

npx motia emit --topic <topic> --message '{}'

Debug Using Logs

Each log entry automatically includes:

timestamp: When the log was generated
traceId: Unique identifier for the flow execution
flows: Array of flow names this step belongs to
file: Source file generating the log
level: Log level
msg: Log message

Stopping the development server

Press Ctrl + C (or Cmd + C on macOS) in your terminal. That's it!

Best Practices

Structured Logging

// Good - Structured and searchable
logger.info('Payment processed', {
  paymentId: '123',
  amount: 100,
  status: 'success',
})
 
// Avoid - Harder to parse and search
logger.info(`Payment ${paymentId} processed: amount=${amount}`)

Performance Monitoring

export const handler: Handlers['StepName'] = async (input, { logger }) => {
  const startTime = performance.now()
 
  // Process operation
  const result = await processOperation(input)
 
  logger.info('Operation completed', {
    duration: performance.now() - startTime,
    memoryUsage: process.memoryUsage().heapUsed,
  })
}

Debugging Tips

Add detailed context to error logs:

logger.error('Operation failed', {
  error: error.message,
  code: error.code,
  input: JSON.stringify(input),
  stack: error.stack,
})

Use debug logs for detailed troubleshooting:

logger.debug('Operation details', {
  rawInput: input,
  timestamp: Date.now(),
  state: currentState,
})

Remember to stop your development server with Ctrl + C (or Cmd + C on macOS) when you're done debugging.

Need help? See our Community Resources for questions, examples, and discussions.

Observability

On this page