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Logging to Console

Overview

Console logging is a fundamental debugging and monitoring technique that allows you to write custom messages directly to the console output during workflow and service execution. This provides immediate visibility into application flow, variable states, and error conditions, making it an essential tool for development and troubleshooting.

What You Will Learn

  • How to implement logging functions to display output in the Console view
  • How to access and open the Console view in Martini Designer
  • How to use Console view toolbar controls for filtering and managing log display
  • How to use Console view context menu options including AI-powered log analysis
  • How to read and interpret console log output effectively
  • Best practices for managing console sessions and analyzing logs

When To Use This

Console logging is most useful during development, where immediate feedback helps you understand how your application behaves as it runs.

  • Real-time Debugging: Observe how your code executes and identify logic errors
  • Data Inspection: Inspect variable values and track data transformations
  • Flow Verification: Confirm that your workflow follows the expected execution path

Prerequisites

Getting Started With Logging To Console

Before you can view and monitor logs in the console, you need to add logging functions to your workflows and services. Follow these step-by-step instructions to implement logging and start seeing output in the Console view.

  1. Choose the right logger function for your need from the Available Logger Functions
  2. Add a logger function node or step to your workflow or service (see Logging in Workflows and Services for details)
  3. Run the workflow or service
  4. View your log output in the Console view (see Viewing Console Output)

Example Console Output:

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29/01/26 12:38:15.551 INFO [Martini] Processing user request for ID: 12345
29/01/26 12:38:16.123 DEBUG [Martini] Database query executed in 45ms  
29/01/26 12:38:16.890 WARN [Martini] Rate limit approaching for user: 12345

Viewing Console Output

The Console view provides real-time monitoring of your application logs within Martini Designer, giving you immediate visibility into your logging functions as they execute.

Console View Overview

The Console view is an essential tool for monitoring application logs in real-time during development and testing. Unlike static log files, it streams log messages directly as they occur, providing instant feedback on your application's behavior.

Key Features:

  • Real-time Log Streaming: See log messages immediately as your workflows and services execute
  • Automatic Display: Opens automatically during startup
  • Historical Access: View logs from earlier sessions without manual refresh
  • Integrated Experience: Seamlessly integrated into Martini Designer for efficient debugging

Accessing the Console View

The Console view should appear at the bottom of Martini Designer by default. If it’s not visible, you can open it as follows:

  1. Go to the Martini Designer Menu Bar
  2. Click View
  3. Select Console

Expected result: The Console view appears at the bottom panel of your Martini Designer interface, ready to display log output from your applications.

Console Quick Access

Use the Toggle Bottom Panel button in the bottom-right corner of Martini Designer to instantly show or hide the console and other bottom panel views. You can also assign a keyboard shortcut for even faster access via the Keyboard Shortcuts settings.

Console View Toolbar

The Console view toolbar provides essential controls for filtering, managing, and controlling your log stream display.

Control Description Use Case
Log Type Dropdown Filter log messages by severity level Switch between All, Errors, Warnings, or Info to focus on specific message types
Running Programs Dropdown Select which program's logs to view Choose between Martini Runtime logs, specific workflow logs, or service logs currently executing
Clear Console Button Removes all current log messages from view Clean the display for focused debugging of new executions
Clear All Debug Sessions Button Closes Console views for terminated instances Clean up multiple console sessions after testing different programs

Console View Context Menu

Right-click anywhere within the Console view canvas to access additional log management and analysis options through the context menu.

Menu Item Description
Copy Copies the selected log entry to the clipboard for sharing or reporting
Select All Selects all visible log entries in the current log session
Collapse All Collapses any expanded log entries to reduce visual clutter
Clear Console Removes all log messages from the current log session
Ask AI Sends selected console lines to an AI agent for contextual analysis (responses appear in the AI Chat view)

Console Logging Best Practices

Optimize your console viewing experience and log management for effective debugging and monitoring.

Console View Management Best Practices

Organize and filter console output effectively for focused debugging sessions.

Console View Organization:

  • Use Log Type Dropdown to filter by severity level during focused debugging sessions
  • Select specific Log Session to isolate logs from the component you're debugging
  • Use Clear Console between test runs to avoid confusion with previous executions
  • Keep Console View visible during development for immediate feedback

Console Log Analysis Best Practices

Analyze console output effectively to identify issues and understand application behavior.

Reading and Interpreting Console Output:

  • Review timestamps to understand execution order and performance timing
  • Use log levels (ERROR, WARN, INFO, DEBUG) to prioritize which messages need attention
  • Identify repeated messages that may indicate loops, retries, or unstable states
  • Correlate console logs with workflow/service execution to track application flow

AI Assistance

For complex or unclear log sequences, you can use Ask AI for assistance. See Console View Context Menu to learn how to trigger it.

Troubleshooting Logger Function Issues

Problem Detection Cause Fix
Debug messages not appearing Expected debug logs don't show in console Debug level disabled for logger Enable debug logging in Log Level Configuration

Helpful Resources