Checking Logs

When something goes wrong, logs are usually the first and best place to look.

Where to Start

Start from where you notice the issue:

If the app loads but something breaks when you click or submit, check the browser console and network tab
If the app doesn’t start at all, start with the build or deploy logs
If data isn’t showing up, check the server logs and database logs
If network requests fail, check the Docker logs, or look for CORS/network issues

Once you’ve narrowed it down, follow the relevant section below.

Client-side Logs

Domain Locker includes a built-in debug panel, which you can access /advanced/error-logs.

Beyond that, you can access recent logs and errors in the browser console. To view, open the Developer Tools (usually F12 or right-click → Inspect → Console tab). This will show JavaScript errors, uncaught exceptions, and network request failures.

Server-side Logs

If you’re running the app locally or via Docker, logs will appear in the terminal window. These include API errors, backend crashes, database failures, and more.

If you're using Docker Compose:

docker compose logs -f

Add web, api, or the service name to scope logs:

docker compose logs -f web

You can also view just the last 100 lines, useful when things get noisy:

docker compose logs --tail=100 web

Look out for:

Stack traces
Connection failures
DB-related errors (auth, RLS, etc)

Build-time Logs

A) GitHub Actions

If you're building your own Docker image with GitHub Actions, check the Actions tab on GitHub. Any failed builds will show up clearly. Pay attention to:

Missing files
Failing tests
Env var errors
Invalid Dockerfile steps

B) Vercel / Netlify

If you're deploying to a host like Vercel, check the Deployments tab in your dashboard. You’ll see real-time build logs with clear error messages if anything goes wrong.

Runtime Logs (Docker)

Once deployed, logs continue to stream via Docker. You can always reattach to logs with:

docker compose logs -f

Or check specific services (e.g., api, db, web).

To restart containers cleanly (and refresh logs):

docker compose down && docker compose up -d

Tip: Don’t let logs grow endlessly — pipe them into a logging tool like logrotate or forward to a service like Loki or Papertrail if you're running this in production.

Database Logs (Postgres)

If you’re self-hosting Postgres, logs are stored by default in /var/log/postgresql/. You’ll see connection attempts, failed queries, permissions issues, and constraint violations.

sudo tail -f /var/log/postgresql/postgresql-<version>-main.log

Also handy to see current activity and any hanging queries, with:

psql -d your_db -c "SELECT * FROM pg_stat_activity;"

Network Logs & Troubleshooting

Network Tab (in Browser DevTools)

This shows all client-side HTTP requests. You can inspect failed requests and view headers, responses, and status codes.

Use this to:

Check if API endpoints are reachable
Confirm that responses look as expected
Catch any CORS or 403 Forbidden issues

Docker Networking

If containers can’t talk to each other (e.g. API can’t reach Postgres), inspect Docker network settings:

docker network ls
docker network inspect <network-name>

And confirm services are on the same bridge.