Magento 2 is a powerful ecommerce platform, but like any complex system, it can encounter errors. If left unchecked, these Magento errors can silently affect store performance, hurt sales, or cause full outages — all without you knowing. This guide shows you how to enable Magento 2 logging, display errors during development, and introduces a powerful solution: real-time admin email alerts.

Don’t just log errors — stay ahead of them. Add the Magento 2 Error Notification Extension to get instant alerts and keep your store running smoothly.

Why You Should Monitor Magento 2 Errors Proactively

Proactive monitoring of Magento 2 errors is essential for maintaining a high-performing, secure, and reliable ecommerce store. Here are the key reasons to implement proactive error monitoring:

Impact of Silent Failures on Sales and Performance

Silent failures, characterized by the absence of visible warnings or error messages, can severely impact a store’s performance and sales. These elusive issues include critical problems such as product changes not saving without any indication in the admin panel or logs, and backend issues going unnoticed until reported by customers or staff, leading to significant, unaddressed disruptions.

Why they matter:

Missed Sales: Products may not appear on the site, hurting inventory visibility and sales.
Performance Issues: Unchecked errors and large log files can slow down your store by up to 20%.
Poor Customer Experience: Customers may face missing products, failed checkouts, or broken pages — leading to lost trust and revenue.
Higher Downtime Risk: If left unresolved, silent failures can lead to full outages or system crashes that stop sales entirely.

Magento’s Default Error Logging (and Its Limits)

Magento 2 includes a built-in logging system that helps developers and merchants understand and debug store behavior.

Magento Log File Location:
Logs are stored in the /var/log/ directory:

system.log: General system messages and errors
exception.log: Uncaught exceptions in the application
debug.log: Detailed debug info (only in developer mode)

Developer vs. Production Mode:

Developer mode: Verbose logging with detailed error messages, helpful for debugging.

Production mode: Minimal error detail is shown to users, and only basic errors are logged to protect performance and security.

Limitations of Magento Logging:

No Alerts: Magento doesn’t notify you when errors occur — logs must be checked manually.
Manual Review: Searching large log files can be slow and tedious.
Delayed Discovery: Issues can go unnoticed for long periods unless logs are actively monitored.
No Log Rotation: Magento doesn’t rotate logs by default, so files can grow indefinitely unless managed manually or by server tools — potentially impacting performance.

How to Enable Error Logging in Magento 2

Proper logging is crucial for diagnosing and resolving issues in Magento. Whether you’re troubleshooting problems in development or monitoring a live store, enabling logging helps you track system behavior, exceptions, and debug information.

Enabling Exception and System Logs in Magento 2 via Admin

To enable system.log and exception.log through the Magento Admin Panel:

Log in to your Magento Admin Panel.
Navigate to Stores > Configuration > Advanced > Developer > Debug.
Set Log to File to Yes.
Save the configuration.
If needed, flush the cache to apply changes.

Important Information:

In Magento 2.4.x and above, error logs are generated by default and stored in var/log/debug.log. For versions 2.3.x and below, you must enable logging in Magento manually as described above.

Also, if you need to display errors in Magento 2 directly on the frontend for debugging, make sure you’re in developer mode. Magento hides most errors in production to protect security

How to Enable Debug Log in Magento 2 via CLI

Using the CLI is the most reliable way to enable logging in Magento 2, especially in production environments or automated deployment pipelines.

For Magento 2.3.1 and above:

bin/magento setup:config:set --enable-debug-logging=true
bin/magento cache:flush

For older versions:

php bin/magento config:set dev/debug/debug_logging 1
php bin/magento cache:flush

These commands enable Magento 2 debug logging (debug.log) and flush the cache to apply the settings. This complements the system.log and exception.log, providing deeper insights for developers.

Where is the Magento 2 Log Location

After enabling logging, log files are stored in the Magento root directory under: /var/log/

How to View Logs in Magento 2:

Via FTP/SSH: Connect to your server and navigate to /var/log/. Open or download the relevant log files.
Via Command Line:

tail -f /path/to/magento2/var/log/system.log
cat /path/to/magento2/var/log/exception.log

This lets you view real-time log updates or inspect past issues.

Interpreting Common Log Entries

Magento 2 uses different log files to help you understand what’s going wrong or how the system is behaving. Here’s what each one does:

exception.log
This file shows serious errors that stop Magento from working properly — like something crashing behind the scenes. You’ll see the time it happened, the type of error, where in the code it happened, and what went wrong.
system.log
This file tracks a wider range of issues — not just crashes. It includes warnings, notices, and general errors. Each entry tells you when it happened, how serious it is (like WARNING or CRITICAL), and what the problem was.
debug.log
This is mainly for developers. It shows detailed info like which database queries were run, what events Magento triggered, and the values of certain variables. It helps track exactly what Magento was doing at a certain time.

Example Log Entry:

[2025-05-22 10:15:30] main.CRITICAL: Exception: Unable to save product in /var/www/html/vendor/magento/module-catalog/Model/ProductRepository.php:123

Timestamp: [2025-05-22 10:15:30]
Log Level: main.CRITICAL
Description: Exception: Unable to save product
File & Line: /var/www/html/vendor/magento/module-catalog/Model/ProductRepository.php:123

To summarize:

Use the Admin Panel to enable logging in Magento 2 if you’re on version 2.3.x or in developer mode.
Use CLI commands for scripting, automation, and production environments.
Regularly monitor /var/log/ for system.log, exception.log, and
debug.log to catch issues early.
Combine log review with stack trace analysis to pinpoint root causes efficiently.

By taking the time to Magento enable logging correctly, you gain powerful visibility into your system’s inner workings—essential for maintaining a healthy, high-performing store.

How to Get Automatic Admin Email Notifications in Magento 2

Enabling logging in Magento 2 is just the start. But manually checking Magento system.log, exception.log, or debug.log can be tedious — and risky if critical issues go unnoticed. That’s where the Magento 2 Admin Email Notifications Extension comes in — a powerful tool that turns passive logs into actionable alerts.

Here’s what the default Magento logging is missing — and how the extension solves it:

Feature	Magento Logging	With Email Notifications Extension
Email alerts	❌ None	✅ Real-time notifications
View logs in admin	❌ FTP/SSH required	✅ Admin panel log viewe
Custom filtering	❌ Not supported	✅ By type, date, file, message
Notification frequency	❌ None	✅ Every 30 mins, hour, or day
Multiple email recipients	❌ No	✅ Yes
Log cleanup	❌ Manual	✅ Auto-deletion rules

This extension complements your existing log setup — whether you Magento 2 enable logging via the Admin Panel or CLI. It helps solve the biggest limitation of Magento’s native logging: lack of real-time visibility and alerts.

Combined with native logs (system.log, exception.log, and debug.log), this extension turns Magento error reporting into an intelligent, proactive system that:

Detects and notifies you of problems as they happen
Provides immediate access to logs within the admin panel
Prevents silent failures that could impact sales or customer experience

“An essential extension for Magento stores. It keeps me up-to-date on every issue, and the filtering and scheduling features are incredibly helpful for organizing my workflow. Highly recommend this extension!”
— Tyrell Levy, Plumrocket customer

Don’t Let Critical Errors Go Unnoticed!

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