Error Logging

Capture and persist SSJS errors to Data Extensions for debugging, monitoring, and alerting — with reusable logging patterns.

SFMC’s native error handling is minimal and hard to inspect. The most reliable way to debug production issues is to log errors yourself to a Data Extension.

Setting Up an Error Log DE

Create a DE with these columns:

Column	Type	Length	Notes
LogId	Text	36	Primary key, set to GUID()
Timestamp	Date	—	When the error occurred
Page	Text	255	CloudPage name or script identifier
ErrorMessage	Text	500	Short error message
ErrorStack	Text	4000	Full stack trace
RequestData	Text	4000	Query string, POST body snapshot
SubscriberKey	Text	254	If available
Severity	Text	20	"error", "warning", "info"

---

Basic Error Logger

function logError(page, message, stack, requestData, subKey) {
    try {
        Platform.Function.InsertData(
            "ErrorLog",
            ["LogId", "Timestamp", "Page", "ErrorMessage", "ErrorStack", "RequestData", "SubscriberKey", "Severity"],
            [
                Platform.Function.GUID(),
                Platform.Function.Now(),
                page || "unknown",
                (message || "").substring(0, 500),
                (stack || "").substring(0, 4000),
                (requestData || "").substring(0, 4000),
                subKey || "",
                "error"
            ]
        );
    } catch(e) {
        // Silently fail — don't error while logging an error
    }
}

---

Page-Level Error Wrapper

Wrap your entire CloudPage in a try/catch:

<script runat="server">
var PAGE_NAME = "checkout-form";
var requestSnapshot = "method=" + Platform.Request.Method
    + " qs=" + Platform.Request.GetResolvedURL();

try {
    Platform.Load("core", "1.1.5");
    var rawBody = Platform.Request.GetPostData();
    requestSnapshot += " body=" + (rawBody || "").substring(0, 200);

    // === Main page logic here ===

    var email = Platform.Request.GetFormField("email");
    if (!Platform.Function.IsEmailAddress(email)) {
        throw new Error("Invalid email: " + email);
    }

    // ... rest of logic ...

} catch(e) {
    logError(PAGE_NAME, e.message, e.stack, requestSnapshot, "");

    Platform.Response.SetResponseCode(500, "Internal Server Error");
    Platform.Response.SetContentType("application/json");
    Write(Stringify({ error: "An error occurred. Please try again." }));
}

function logError(page, message, stack, requestData, subKey) {
    try {
        Platform.Function.InsertData(
            "ErrorLog",
            ["LogId", "Timestamp", "Page", "ErrorMessage", "ErrorStack", "RequestData", "SubscriberKey", "Severity"],
            [Platform.Function.GUID(), Platform.Function.Now(), page,
             (message || "").substring(0, 500), (stack || "").substring(0, 4000),
             (requestData || "").substring(0, 4000), subKey || "", "error"]
        );
    } catch(e) {}
}
</script>

---

Severity Levels

Use different severity levels for different types of events:

function log(page, severity, message, data) {
    try {
        Platform.Function.InsertData(
            "AppLog",
            ["LogId", "Timestamp", "Page", "Severity", "Message", "Data"],
            [Platform.Function.GUID(), Platform.Function.Now(), page, severity,
             (message || "").substring(0, 500), Stringify(data || {}).substring(0, 2000)]
        );
    } catch(e) {}
}

log("orders", "info", "Order received", { orderId: "123", total: 99.99 });
log("checkout", "warning", "Duplicate submission detected", { email: email });
log("payment", "error", "Payment gateway timeout", { gateway: "stripe", elapsed: elapsed });

---

Automation Studio Logging

For automations, add structured step logging:

var JOB_ID = Platform.Function.GUID();
var SCRIPT_NAME = "nightly-sync";

function logStep(step, status, message, count) {
    Platform.Function.InsertData(
        "AutomationLog",
        ["JobId", "Script", "Step", "Status", "Message", "RowCount", "Timestamp"],
        [JOB_ID, SCRIPT_NAME, step, status, message || "", count || 0, Platform.Function.Now()]
    );
}

logStep("start", "running", "Script started", 0);
// ... process rows ...
logStep("retrieve", "ok", "Rows retrieved", rows.length);
// ... process each row ...
logStep("complete", "ok", "All rows processed", processedCount);

---

HTTP Error Logging

Log failed API calls with full context:

function callApi(url, method, payload, token) {
    var req = new Script.Util.HttpRequest(url);
    req.method = method || "GET";
    req.setHeader("Authorization", "Bearer " + token);
    if (payload) {
        req.contentType = "application/json";
        req.postData = Stringify(payload);
    }

    var resp;
    try {
        resp = req.send();
    } catch(e) {
        logError("api-call", "HTTP request failed: " + url, e.message, "", "");
        throw e;
    }

    if (resp.statusCode >= 400) {
        log("api-call", "error",
            "HTTP " + resp.statusCode + " from " + url,
            { url: url, status: resp.statusCode, body: String(resp.content).substring(0, 500) }
        );
    }

    return resp;
}

---

Monitoring with Email Alerts

For critical automation failures, send an alert email:

} catch(e) {
    logError(SCRIPT_NAME, e.message, e.stack, "", "");

    // Alert the ops team
    try {
        Platform.Load("core", "1.1.5");
        var ts = TriggeredSend.Init("AutomationError_TSD");
        ts.Send({
            EmailAddress: "ops@yourbrand.com",
            SubscriberKey: "ops-alert",
            Attributes: {
                ScriptName: SCRIPT_NAME,
                ErrorMessage: e.message,
                Timestamp: Platform.Function.Now()
            }
        });
    } catch(alertErr) {
        // Fail silently if alert itself fails
    }
}

See Also

See Also

• Debugging
• Error Handling
• TriggeredSend