Monitoring and logging in Supabase - Step-by-Step Execution

Process Flow - Monitoring and logging

Start Supabase Project

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Enable Monitoring Tools

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Collect Metrics & Logs

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Store Data in Dashboard

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Analyze Metrics & Logs

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Set Alerts if Issues Detected

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Respond to Alerts & Fix Issues

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Repeat Monitoring Cycle

This flow shows how Supabase monitoring collects data, stores it, analyzes it, and alerts you to keep your project healthy.

Execution Sample

Supabase

supabase logs --project-ref your-project-ref --since 1h
supabase metrics --project-ref your-project-ref

These commands fetch logs from the last hour and show performance metrics for your Supabase project.

Process Table

Step	Command	Action	Output/Result
1	supabase logs --project-ref your-project-ref --since 1h	Fetch logs from last 1 hour	List of recent logs with timestamps and event details
2	supabase metrics --project-ref your-project-ref	Retrieve performance metrics	Metrics like CPU usage, DB connections, query times
3	Analyze logs and metrics	Check for errors or slow queries	Identify any warnings or errors in logs
4	Set alert rules (via dashboard)	Configure alerts for thresholds	Alerts trigger on high CPU or error spikes
5	Receive alert notification	Alert sent to email or webhook	Notification received for immediate action
6	Fix issue based on alert	Apply fix or scale resources	System performance improves
7	Continue monitoring	Repeat data collection and analysis	Ongoing health tracking
8	Exit	Stop monitoring session	Monitoring paused or stopped

💡 Monitoring session ends when user stops or pauses monitoring

Status Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 2	After Step 3	After Step 4	After Step 5	After Step 6	Final
Logs	empty	logs from last 1h	logs unchanged	logs filtered for errors	logs unchanged	logs unchanged	logs unchanged	logs unchanged
Metrics	empty	empty	metrics retrieved	metrics unchanged	metrics unchanged	metrics unchanged	metrics unchanged	metrics unchanged
Alerts	none	none	none	alert rules set	alert triggered	alert resolved	alert cleared	none

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why do we fetch logs and metrics separately instead of together?

Logs and metrics are different data types; logs show events, metrics show performance numbers. Step 1 fetches logs, step 2 fetches metrics separately for clear analysis.

What happens if no alert rules are set?

Without alert rules (step 4), no notifications will be sent even if issues occur, so problems might go unnoticed as shown in step 5.

Why do we keep monitoring after fixing an issue?

Continuous monitoring (step 7) ensures the fix worked and detects new issues early, maintaining system health over time.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what output do we get after running 'supabase logs --project-ref your-project-ref --since 1h'?

A Alert notification sent to email

B List of recent logs with timestamps and event details

C Metrics like CPU usage and query times

D Alert rules configuration screen

💡 Hint

Check Step 1 output column in the execution_table

At which step do alert notifications get sent according to the execution table?

A Step 5

B Step 3

C Step 2

D Step 7

💡 Hint

Look for 'Alert sent to email or webhook' in the Action column

If alert rules are not set, what will be the state of Alerts after Step 5 in variable_tracker?

A alert triggered

B alert cleared

C none

D alert resolved

💡 Hint

Refer to Alerts row in variable_tracker after Step 5

Concept Snapshot

Monitoring and logging in Supabase:
- Use 'supabase logs' to fetch event logs
- Use 'supabase metrics' to get performance data
- Analyze logs and metrics for issues
- Set alert rules to get notified
- Respond to alerts and fix problems
- Keep monitoring continuously for health

Full Transcript

This visual execution shows how to monitor and log in Supabase. First, you fetch logs from the last hour using the logs command. Then, you get performance metrics separately. You analyze both to find errors or slow queries. Next, you set alert rules to notify you if something goes wrong. When alerts trigger, you receive notifications and fix the issues. Finally, you continue monitoring to keep your project healthy. Variables like logs, metrics, and alerts change step by step as you run commands and respond to alerts.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of monitoring and logging in Supabase?

easy

A. To keep your app healthy and fix problems quickly

B. To increase the app's loading speed

C. To add new features automatically

D. To change the app's user interface

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand monitoring and logging roles

   Monitoring and logging track app behavior and errors to maintain health.

2. Step 2: Identify the main goal

   The goal is to detect and fix problems quickly to keep the app running well.

3. Final Answer:

   To keep your app healthy and fix problems quickly -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Monitoring and logging = keep app healthy [OK]

Hint: Monitoring = health check; logging = problem records [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing monitoring with adding features
• Thinking logging changes UI
• Believing monitoring speeds up app

2. Which of the following is the correct command to view logs for a Supabase project with ref abc123 for the last 1 hour?

easy

A. supabase logs --id abc123 --time 1h

B. supabase log --project abc123 --last 1h

C. supabase logs --project-ref abc123 --since 1h

D. supabase logs -p abc123 -t 1hour

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall the correct syntax for logs command

   The correct command uses supabase logs with --project-ref and --since flags.

2. Step 2: Match the options with correct flags

   supabase logs --project-ref abc123 --since 1h matches the correct syntax: supabase logs --project-ref abc123 --since 1h.

3. Final Answer:

   supabase logs --project-ref abc123 --since 1h -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Correct flags = --project-ref and --since [OK]

Hint: Use --project-ref and --since flags with supabase logs [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 'log' instead of 'logs'
• Wrong flag names like --id or --last
• Incorrect time format like '1hour'

3. What will be the output of the command supabase logs --project-ref xyz789 --since 30m?

medium

A. Shows logs from all projects for the last 30 minutes

B. Shows logs from project xyz789 for the last 30 minutes

C. Shows logs from project xyz789 for the last 30 hours

D. Returns an error because --since requires seconds

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the command flags

   The --project-ref xyz789 specifies the project, and --since 30m means last 30 minutes.

2. Step 2: Interpret the output meaning

   The command outputs logs only for project xyz789 from the last 30 minutes.

3. Final Answer:

   Shows logs from project xyz789 for the last 30 minutes -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   --project-ref + --since 30m = last 30 minutes logs [OK]

Hint: Since 30m means last 30 minutes logs [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking it shows logs for all projects
• Confusing 30m with 30 hours
• Assuming --since needs seconds only

4. You ran supabase logs --project-ref myproj --since 2h but got no output. What is the most likely reason?

medium

A. The project ref is incorrect or does not exist

B. The command requires --until flag as well

C. Logs are only available for the last 1 hour

D. The --since flag must be in seconds, not hours

Solution

1. Step 1: Check project ref validity

   If the project ref is wrong or missing, no logs will show.

2. Step 2: Verify command flags and log availability

   The command syntax is correct; logs are available beyond 1 hour; --since accepts hours.

3. Final Answer:

   The project ref is incorrect or does not exist -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   No output usually means wrong project ref [OK]

Hint: Check project ref first if logs show empty [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking --until is mandatory
• Assuming logs only keep 1 hour
• Believing --since needs seconds only

5. You want to set up alerts to notify you when errors appear in your Supabase logs. Which approach is best?

hard

A. Regularly run supabase logs manually and check for errors

B. Restart the Supabase project daily to clear logs

C. Ignore logs and fix errors only when users report them

D. Use a third-party monitoring tool connected to Supabase logs with alert rules

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand alerting needs

   Manual checks are slow and error-prone; ignoring logs delays fixes.

2. Step 2: Choose best practice for alerts

   Using a monitoring tool with alert rules automates error detection and notification.

3. Final Answer:

   Use a third-party monitoring tool connected to Supabase logs with alert rules -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Automated alerts = faster fixes [OK]

Hint: Automate alerts with monitoring tools, not manual checks [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Relying on manual log checks
• Ignoring logs until problems grow
• Restarting project clears logs but not errors