Console

Frontend includes a built-in Browser Console that displays logging events from your website. The console is an essential tool for understanding how your application behaves and debugging issues as they arise.

What is the Console?

The Browser Console captures and displays messages, errors, warnings, and custom log events from your website. It provides real-time visibility into what’s happening behind the scenes in your application.

Automatic Error Logging

Console errors are automatically captured and displayed:

• JavaScript Errors: Runtime errors in your code
• Network Errors: Failed API calls or resource loading issues
• Warning Messages: Browser warnings about deprecated features or potential issues
• Exception Details: Stack traces and error details for debugging

Whenever your website encounters an error, it will automatically appear in the console without any setup required.

Custom Console Logs

Beyond automatic error logging, you can add custom console log events to track specific functionality in your website.

Adding Console Logs with AI

Instruct Frontend AI to add console logging for specific features:

• “Add console log events to track when users click the submit button”
• “Log console messages when the API call completes”
• “Add console logs to debug the authentication flow”
• “Log form validation errors to the console”

The AI will insert appropriate console.log(), console.error(), or console.warn() statements in your code.

What to Log

Console logs are helpful for tracking:

• User Actions: Button clicks, form submissions, navigation events
• Data Flow: API responses, state changes, data transformations
• Function Execution: When specific functions run and their parameters
• Conditional Logic: Which code paths are executed
• Variable Values: The state of variables at specific points in execution
• Timing Information: How long operations take to complete

Using the Console

Opening and Closing

Toggle the console window on and off using the console icon button in the Frontend interface:

• Click the console icon to open the console window
• Click again to close it and reclaim screen space
• The console remains active even when closed, capturing all events

Reading Console Output

Console messages include:

• Timestamp: When the event occurred
• Message Type: Log, error, warning, or info
• Message Content: The logged information or error details
• Source Location: Which file and line number generated the message

Filtering Messages

The console may include options to filter messages by type:

• Show only errors
• Show only warnings
• Show all messages
• Clear the console to start fresh

Common Use Cases

Debugging Issues

When something isn’t working as expected:

1. Open the console to check for errors
2. Look for error messages that explain what went wrong
3. Use the stack trace to identify where the issue occurred
4. Add custom logs to track the flow of execution

Tracking User Interactions

Monitor how users interact with your site:

// Example console logs for tracking
console.log('User clicked login button');
console.log('Form submitted with email:', email);
console.log('API response received:', response);

Monitoring API Calls

Debug API integrations by logging requests and responses:

console.log('Fetching user data...');
console.log('API Response:', data);
console.error('API Error:', error);

Validating Data

Verify that data is in the expected format:

console.log('Form data:', formData);
console.log('Validation result:', isValid);
console.warn('Missing required field:', fieldName);

Console Methods

Different console methods serve different purposes:

• console.log(): General information and debugging messages
• console.error(): Error messages with red highlighting
• console.warn(): Warning messages with yellow highlighting
• console.info(): Informational messages
• console.debug(): Detailed debugging information

Using the appropriate method helps organize and prioritize console output.

Best Practices

To make the most of the console:

• Use descriptive messages: Make logs easy to understand
• Include context: Log relevant variable values and state
• Remove debug logs: Clean up temporary debugging logs before deploying
• Use appropriate methods: Use .error() for errors, .warn() for warnings
• Don’t log sensitive data: Avoid logging passwords, tokens, or personal information
• Group related logs: Add logs at key points in related functionality

Debugging Workflow

Effective debugging with the console:

1. Identify the problem: Reproduce the issue you’re investigating
2. Open the console: Check for automatic error messages
3. Add custom logs: Instruct AI to add logging where needed
4. Test again: Reproduce the issue and watch the console output
5. Analyze the logs: Follow the sequence of events to find the root cause
6. Fix the issue: Make corrections based on your findings
7. Verify the fix: Ensure errors no longer appear and logs show correct behavior

Console vs. Other Debugging Tools

The console complements other Frontend debugging tools:

• Console: Real-time logging and error tracking
• Code Editor: View and modify source code
• Live Preview: See visual results of changes
• Version History: Roll back to previous working states

Together, these tools provide a complete debugging and development environment.

The Browser Console is your window into your application’s runtime behavior. Use it regularly to understand what’s happening in your code, catch errors early, and build more reliable websites.