Sentry Best Practices

Sentry Best Practices

Capture exceptions, add context, trace performance, and log with Sentry.

Prerequisites

Complete these setup recipes first:

• Sentry Setup

Capturing Exceptions

Capture errors that are handled but still worth tracking.

import * as Sentry from "@sentry/nextjs";

try {
  await riskyOperation();
} catch (err) {
  Sentry.captureException(err);
}

Adding Context

setUser persists for the session. Attach tags (indexed, filterable) and extra (arbitrary detail) per exception.

import * as Sentry from "@sentry/nextjs";

Sentry.setUser({ id: session.user.id, email: session.user.email });

Sentry.captureException(err, {
  tags: { feature: "checkout", plan: "pro" },
  extra: { orderId: "order_123", items: cart.items },
});

Clear the user on sign out.

Sentry.setUser(null);

Performance Tracing

Wrap meaningful operations in startSpan. The sync form receives the span for attributes.

import * as Sentry from "@sentry/nextjs";

const users = await Sentry.startSpan(
  { op: "http.client", name: "GET /api/users" },
  async () => (await fetch("/api/users")).json(),
);

Sentry.startSpan({ op: "ui.click", name: "Submit Button Click" }, (span) => {
  span.setAttribute("form", "checkout");
  processSubmit();
});

Breadcrumbs

Console logs, fetches, and UI clicks are captured automatically. Add manual breadcrumbs for custom events.

import * as Sentry from "@sentry/nextjs";

Sentry.addBreadcrumb({
  category: "auth",
  message: "User signed in",
  level: "info",
});

Sentry Logger

Structured logs surface in the Logs tab.

import * as Sentry from "@sentry/nextjs";

const { logger } = Sentry;

logger.info("Payment processed", { orderId: "123", amount: 99.99 });
logger.warn("Rate limit approaching", { current: 90, max: 100 });
logger.error("Payment failed", { orderId: "123", reason: "declined" });

References

• Sentry Next.js SDK
• Custom Instrumentation