Structured Error Logging

EdenFS Structured Error Logging

EdenFS records daemon-side failures as structured rows in the edenfs_errors

table (Hive + Scuba) via the ErrorLogger. Unlike XLOG(ERR, ...) — which only

writes to the local log file — structured logging gives every error queryable

columns (component, error code/name, mount point, inode, stack trace, …) so we

can aggregate failures across the fleet, alert on them, and debug them after the

fact.

Logging *correctly* matters: the two most common mistakes — a **wrong stack

trace and a mislabeled component** — make the data actively misleading rather

than just incomplete. The rules below prevent both. (If you'd XLOG(ERR, ...) an

unexpected failure, consider a structured error too.)

Key files

| Component | Location |

|-----------|----------|

| Logger entry point | eden/fs/telemetry/ErrorLogger.h (log(), isEnabled()) |

| Builder + factories | eden/fs/telemetry/EdenErrorInfo.h, EdenErrorInfoBuilder.h |

| Exception wrapper | eden/fs/telemetry/ErrorArg.h |

| Field → column mapping | eden/fs/telemetry/DaemonError.h (populate()) |

| Component enum | eden/fs/telemetry/EdenComponent.h |

| Access from a handler | serverState_->getErrorLogger() |

The basic shape

try {
  doSomethingThatMayThrow();
} catch (const std::exception& ex) {
  serverState_->getErrorLogger().log(
      EdenErrorInfo::backingStore(ex)        // 1. pick the component, pass the error
          .withMountPoint(mountPath.asString())  // 2. chain optional context
          .withErrorType("blob_import_failed")); // 3. a stable, queryable subtype
}

log() consumes the builder — you never call create() yourself.

Rule 1 (most important): stack-trace provenance

How the trace is captured

EdenFS hooks the C++ throw path so that **every throw records a backtrace into a

thread-local slot**. Two properties of that slot decide correctness:

• It is per-thread — only the thread that threw has the backtrace.
• It holds only the most recent throw on that thread, and reading it (when

log() runs) consumes it.

ErrorArg(const std::exception&) opts into reading that slot. So the trace

attached to your error matches your exception **only if the most recent throw on

this thread was the one you're logging, and nothing has thrown since.**

Where the trace is valid: an inline catch on the throwing thread

The one valid case — pass ex directly:

try {
  importBlob(id);                      // throws here, on this thread
} catch (const std::exception& ex) {
  // nothing else throws between the catch and the log
  logger.log(EdenErrorInfo::backingStore(ex).withErrorType("blob_import"));
}

Watch the "nothing thrown since" part: any throw between the catch and the

log() — even one thrown-and-caught internally by a helper, a folly::tryTo, a

map/fmt op — overwrites the slot, so do the log() before such work.

Where ex's trace is wrong → use fromExceptionWithoutTrace

In all these cases the slot holds a *different* throw (or none), so passing ex

attaches a confidently wrong trace (worse than none) — use

ErrorArg::fromExceptionWithoutTrace(ex):

• Boxed — folly::Try / exception_wrapper, or .thenError / .thenTry /

with_exception.

• Cross-thread — the continuation runs on a different thread than the throw.
• Rethrown/reconstructed — newEdenError(ex), std::rethrow_exception (a new

throw overwrites the slot).

• Deferred — logged after other work that may have thrown.

// Visiting a boxed exception (here a folly::exception_wrapper) away from its
// throw site — strip the mismatched trace:
ew.with_exception([&](const std::exception& e) {
  logger.log(EdenErrorInfo::objectStore(ErrorArg::fromExceptionWithoutTrace(e))
                 .withErrorType("checkout_update_error"));
});

Rule 2: pick the component that matches where the failure happened

The component column is how errors are bucketed. EdenErrorInfo has one factory

per component — see EdenErrorInfo.h for the factories/signatures and

EdenComponent.h for the component list.

The non-obvious part is *which* to pick: use the factory for the subsystem where

the failure actually originated, which is not always the subsystem whose code

you're editing. E.g. an inode *load* failure surfaces in InodeMap, but the data

came from the object store, so it's objectStore(...), not overlay(...). Ask

"where did the thing that failed live?", not "what file am I editing?".

Rule 3: errorType is a stable, queryable subtype

withErrorType("...") distinguishes failure modes within a component so you can

filter/alert on them. Use descriptive, stable lower_snake_case strings (e.g.

blob_import_failed). Treat them like enum values — don't reword an existing one

casually; dashboards and alerts key off them.

Builder context methods

Chain whatever .with*() context is useful (mount point, inode, file path, …);

all are optional and return the builder — see EdenErrorInfoBuilder.h. One thing

not visible from the signatures: .withErrorCode() / .withErrorName() are

auto-filled from std::system_error, so you don't set them yourself.

Rule 4: log genuine faults, not expected errors

Skip errors that are normal control flow (e.g. a FUSE/NFS ENOENT on a missing

path) — logging them buries the real failures. Where an errno is available,

filter on it.

Gating

Behavior is controlled by config flags (see EdenConfig.h); log() no-ops when

disabled, so just call it from the catch:

• telemetry:enable-error-logging — master on/off.
• telemetry:error-scribe-category — Scribe category for the legacy path.
• telemetry:enable-stack-trace-upload — upload captured stack traces to Manifold.
• telemetry:enable-xplatlogger-errors — route errors via XplatLogger to the

Logger (Hive).

Testing

Components that take an injectable ErrorLogger&/ErrorLogger* (e.g.

SaplingBackingStore, FuseChannel, TestMount) are unit-testable directly:

inject a capturing logger and assert on what was logged.

• Use eden/fs/telemetry/test/CapturingScribeLogger.h to capture emitted events.
• TestMount accepts an injectable ErrorLogger.
• For an end-to-end smoke test, the debugLogError Thrift endpoint throws and

logs a test error: eden debug thrift debugLogError.