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Question 85 of 100
API Performance & Load
Advanced
Q85: How Do You Analyze API Logs for Debugging?
🪵Core Concept
How Do You Analyze API Logs for Debugging?
Key Takeaways & Architecture Summary
- ✓Trace transaction paths across microservices using Correlation IDs.
- ✓Examine log aggregation dashboards like Splunk, Datadog, or ELK.
- ✓Isolate HTTP request payloads, error codes, and database query logs.
Direct Answer Summary
Analyzing API logs involves using aggregation platforms (Splunk, ELK, Datadog) to isolate transaction paths. By searching for a unique Correlation ID injected in the headers, you can trace requests as they navigate multiple microservices and databases, identifying the exact origin of failures.
⚠️ Senior Engineering Warning (Red Flag)
Never log sensitive credentials, passwords, or customer credit card details in your application logs. Doing so violates security compliance rules (PCI-DSS, GDPR).
💡 STAR Architectural Explanation & Pro Tip
Structured logging (primarily in JSON format) allows queries to search, filter, and alert on specific error fields, accelerating bug discovery and recovery times.
RestAssuredTest.java
Rest-Assured + Java// Splunk search query: Isolate API error logs
index=api_logs sourcetype=next_app status>=500 OR error_code="DB_TIMEOUT"