How to set up observability logging on Vercel

Navigate to vercel.com and sign in to your account. Select your project from the dashboard or click View Project next to the project you want to configure. Once in the project view, click on the Settings tab in the top navigation menu.

In the project settings, scroll down to find the Functions section. Click on Functions in the left sidebar. Toggle on Enable Function Logs to start collecting serverless function execution logs. Set the log retention period according to your needs (options range from 1 day to 30 days depending on your plan).

Add logging statements to your application code using console.log(), console.error(), or console.warn(). For more structured logging, install a logging library like Winston:

npm install winston

Then implement structured logging in your functions:

import winston from 'winston';

const logger = winston.createLogger({
  level: 'info',
  format: winston.format.json(),
  transports: [new winston.transports.Console()]
});

export default function handler(req, res) {
  logger.info('API request received', { method: req.method, url: req.url });
  // Your function logic
}

Navigate to the Storage tab in your Vercel dashboard and click Create Database. Select Edge Config and create a new config store. Add logging configuration variables like LOG_LEVEL and DEBUG_MODE. Connect this Edge Config to your project by going to Settings > Environment Variables and adding EDGE_CONFIG with your Edge Config URL.

In your project settings, navigate to Analytics in the left sidebar. Toggle on Web Analytics to track page views, user sessions, and performance metrics. Also enable Speed Insights to monitor Core Web Vitals and performance data. Install the Vercel Analytics package in your project:

npm install @vercel/analytics

Add the Analytics component to your app:

import { Analytics } from '@vercel/analytics/react';

export default function App() {
  return (
    

      {/* Your app content */}
      
    
  );
}

Go to Settings > Integrations and browse available observability integrations. Click Add next to tools like Datadog, New Relic, or Sentry. Follow the integration setup wizard to connect your accounts and configure log forwarding. Add the required environment variables and API keys as prompted during the integration process.

For Enterprise plans, navigate to Settings > Log Drains. Click Add Log Drain and enter your log destination endpoint (supports HTTP endpoints, Datadog, and other services). Configure the log format (JSON recommended) and select which types of logs to forward (build logs, function logs, static logs). Test the connection and save the configuration.

View real-time logs by going to your project dashboard and clicking on the Functions tab. Select any deployment to see function execution logs and errors. Access the Analytics dashboard to view performance metrics, user behavior, and Core Web Vitals. Use the search and filtering options to find specific log entries or time periods.