Error Management Magic: Introducing the Sentry Plugin for Payload

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Sentry Plugin: Error Management within Payload
Sentry Plugin: Error Management within Payload
This integration brings Sentry's real-time error tracking, alerting, and performance monitoring features directly into your Payload project. We want to empower your developers to diagnose and resolve issues with unmatched efficiency. 
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yarn add @payloadcms/plugin-sentry
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// OR
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npm i @payloadcms/plugin-sentry

What is error tracking and why does it matter?

Error tracking is the process of meticulously collecting and analyzing errors that occur within your application. With a strong error tracking solution, you open the door to a plethora of benefits that will elevate the overall quality of your project.

A good error tracking solution will allow you to...

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Ultimately, error tracking serves as a key component in driving the overall quality of your software. By addressing issues promptly, improving reliability, and optimizing the development process, you can deliver a product that takes software development to new heights.

Sentry: The Error Monitoring Powerhouse

Sentry is a leading, feature-rich, open-source platform for error and performance monitoring. With minimal setup, you can start capturing valuable data from your application and access it through Sentry's comprehensive and easy to use dashboard.

Here is a glance at their awesome features:

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And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Sentry's features empowers you to manage errors with extreme efficiency, saving time and resources while delivering a top user experience.

Step-by-Step Plugin Integration Guide

Let’s walkthrough the setup process for the Sentry-Payload plugin:

1. Installing the Plugin

Navigate to your Payload app then install the plugin using Yarn or NPM:

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yarn add @payloadcms/plugin-sentry
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// OR
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npm i @payloadcms/plugin-sentry
2. Creating a Sentry Account:

If you don't have a Sentry account already, it's time to create one. Head over to Sentry and create an account. The registration process is straightforward and will only take a few minutes.

3. Locating Your DSN:

The DSN (Data Source Name) is a unique identifier that connects your application to Sentry. After creating your Sentry account, you can find your project's DSN in the project settings or configuration section.

In the sentry dashboard navigate to settings > DSN to find your DSN
4. Add DSN to your Payload Config file

By this step, you should have the plugin installed and your DSN identifier ready. Navigate to your payload.config() file and add the plugin along with your DSN:

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const config = buildConfig({
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plugins: [
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sentry({
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dsn: 'your-dsn-string-here',
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}),
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]
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});
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5. Configure additional options (not required)

These options allow you to fine-tune the Sentry integration to your specific needs:

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Sentry allows a variety of options to be passed into the Sentry.init() function, see the full list of options here.

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Accepts options that let you decide what data should be included in the event sent to Sentry, checkout the options here.

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By default, Sentry.errorHandler will capture only errors with a status code of 500 or higher. To capture additional error codes, pass the values as numbers in an array.

Pass any of these options to the plugin like so:

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const config = buildConfig({
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plugins: [
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sentry({
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dsn: 'your-dsn-string-here',
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options: {
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init: {
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debug: true,
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environment: 'development',
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tracesSampleRate: 1.0,
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},
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requestHandler: {
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serverName: false,
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user: ["email"],
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},
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captureErrors: [400, 403, 404],
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}
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}),
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]
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});
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Take it for a spin

Once you have the plugin installed and configured, Sentry will be ready to start capturing errors for you. So let’s take this plugin for a test drive by intentionally triggering an error:

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Example error in the Sentry dashboard

Wrap Up

A robust error tracking solution is crucial to delivering a reliable and performant application. Sentry provides developers with the ultimate toolbox, comprehensive error and performance monitoring, custom dashboards, real-time notifications and much more. 

This plugin aims to make integrating Sentry into your Payload project a breeze. With 3 lines of code, you can instantly improve your error handling workflow. Give it a go and as always, reach out to us if you have any questions or feedback! Happy tracking 👋