Debugging Magento can be brutal. You're digging through logs, adding var_dumps, refreshing cache, and still not sure what's breaking. We got tired of this, so we built our own debug module with extensive logging.
The Problem with Standard Magento Logging
Magento's built-in logging is... minimal. You get system.log and exception.log, but they don't give you the context you need. What was the customer doing? What data was in the quote? Which plugin fired? You end up adding logger calls everywhere and then forgetting to remove them.
What Our Debug Module Does
We built a module that logs everything you actually need to know when something breaks:
Request context (URL, method, headers, POST data)
Customer session state (logged in, customer group, quote ID)
Cart/quote data (items, totals, addresses, payment method)
Plugin execution timeline (which plugins ran, in what order, with what data)
Observer events triggered
API calls (GraphQL queries, REST endpoints)
All of this gets written to structured logs with timestamps, stack traces, and correlation IDs so you can follow a single request through the entire system.
Privacy-Safe Logging
We automatically redact sensitive data—credit card numbers, passwords, API keys, personally identifiable information. The logs are helpful but won't get you in trouble with GDPR or PCI compliance.
Real-World Example: Checkout Breaks on Address Change
Customer reports: "Checkout crashes when I change my shipping address." Without the debug module, you'd be guessing. With it, we saw:
Customer changed address via AJAX
Third-party shipping plugin ran
Shipping API returned null (rate not available for new address)
Our plugin tried to calculate totals with no shipping method
Exception thrown
Fix: Add null check before calculating totals. Five minutes instead of five hours.
Why This Matters
Magento is complex. Custom modules, third-party extensions, plugins, observers—they all interact in ways that aren't always obvious. Good logging is the difference between "I think this might be the issue" and "I know exactly what broke and why."
If you're building Magento modules, invest in debugging infrastructure. Your future self will thank you.