| name | create-evlog-adapter |
| description | Create a new built-in evlog adapter to send wide events to an external observability platform. Use when adding a new drain adapter (e.g., for Datadog, Sentry, Loki, Elasticsearch, etc.) to the evlog package. Covers source code, build config, package exports, tests, and all documentation. |
Create evlog Adapter
Add a new built-in adapter to evlog. Every adapter follows the same architecture and is built on the public toolkit primitives in evlog/toolkit — so a community adapter has the same shape as a built-in one.
PR Title
Recommended format for the pull request title:
feat: add {name} adapter
The exact wording may vary depending on the adapter (e.g., feat: add OTLP adapter, feat: add Axiom drain adapter), but it should always follow the feat: conventional commit prefix.
Touchpoints Checklist
| # | File | Action |
|---|
| 1 | packages/evlog/src/adapters/{name}.ts | Create adapter source (built on defineHttpDrain from ../shared/drain) |
| 2 | packages/evlog/tsdown.config.ts | Add build entry |
| 3 | packages/evlog/package.json | Add exports + typesVersions entries |
| 4 | packages/evlog/test/adapters/{name}.test.ts | Create tests |
| 5 | apps/docs/content/4.adapters/{n}.{name}.md | Create adapter doc page (before custom.md) |
| 6 | apps/docs/content/4.adapters/1.overview.md | Add adapter to overview (links, card, env vars) |
| 7 | skills/review-logging-patterns/SKILL.md | Add adapter row in the Drain Adapters table |
| 8 | Renumber custom.md | Ensure custom.md stays last after the new adapter |
Important: Do NOT consider the task complete until all 8 touchpoints have been addressed.
Naming Conventions
Use these placeholders consistently:
| Placeholder | Example (Datadog) | Usage |
|---|
{name} | datadog | File names, import paths, env var suffix |
{Name} | Datadog | PascalCase in function/interface names |
{NAME} | DATADOG | SCREAMING_CASE in env var prefixes |
Standard option naming (use these exact names):
| Concept | Standard option name |
|---|
| Bearer-style API secret | apiKey |
| Base URL of the ingest API | endpoint |
| Service identifier | serviceName |
| Request timeout (ms) | timeout |
If a service historically used a different name (token, sourceToken, …) keep it as a deprecated alias — see Axiom and Better Stack for the pattern.
Step 1: Adapter Source — built on defineHttpDrain
Create packages/evlog/src/adapters/{name}.ts. Read references/adapter-template.md for the full annotated template.
The contract is now defineHttpDrain<TConfig>({ resolve, encode }). You only ship two pieces of logic:
resolve() — produce a fully-resolved config or null to skip. Use resolveAdapterConfig for the standard precedence (overrides → runtimeConfig.evlog.{name} → runtimeConfig.{name} → NUXT_{NAME}_* → {NAME}_*).
encode(events, config) — produce { url, headers, body } for a batch of events (or null to skip). HTTP transport, retries, timeout, and error logging are handled by defineHttpDrain.
Key rules:
- Single factory. Export one
create{Name}Drain(overrides?: Partial<{Name}Config>). No dual-API factories: if a service has multiple ingest modes (logs vs events), expose them via a mode option (see PostHog).
- No HTTP code in the adapter. Don't call
fetch directly — let defineHttpDrain do it. If your service truly needs custom transport (e.g. binary envelopes), use defineDrain and call httpPost from evlog/toolkit.
- No bespoke config resolution. Always go through
resolveAdapterConfig. If you need to support a deprecated alias (token → apiKey), include both in the ConfigField[] and fall through in resolve().
- Exported converters. If the service needs a specific event shape, export a
to{Name}Event() (or buildPayload()) helper so it can be tested independently.
Step 2: Build Config
Add a build entry in packages/evlog/tsdown.config.ts alongside the existing adapters:
'adapters/{name}': 'src/adapters/{name}.ts',
Place it after the last adapter entry in tsdown.config.ts (follow existing ordering in that file).
Step 3: Package Exports
In packages/evlog/package.json, add two entries:
In exports (after the last adapter, currently ./posthog):
"./{name}": {
"types": "./dist/adapters/{name}.d.mts",
"import": "./dist/adapters/{name}.mjs"
}
In typesVersions["*"] (after the last adapter):
"{name}": [
"./dist/adapters/{name}.d.mts"
]
Step 4: Tests
Create packages/evlog/test/adapters/{name}.test.ts.
Read references/test-template.md for the full annotated template.
Required test categories:
- URL construction (default + custom endpoint)
- Headers (auth, content-type, service-specific)
- Request body format (JSON structure matches service API)
- Skip behavior when
apiKey (or required field) is missing
- Batch operations
- Deprecated alias still works (when applicable)
Step 5: Adapter Documentation Page
Create apps/docs/content/4.adapters/{n}.{name}.md where {n} is the next number before custom.md (custom should always be last).
Use the existing Axiom adapter page (apps/docs/content/4.adapters/2.axiom.md) as a reference for frontmatter structure, tone, and sections. Key sections: intro, quick setup, configuration (env vars table + priority), advanced usage, querying in the target service, troubleshooting, direct API usage, next steps.
Important: multi-framework examples. The Quick Start section must include a ::code-group with tabs for all supported frameworks (Nuxt/Nitro, Hono, Express, Fastify, Elysia, NestJS, Standalone). Do not only show Nitro examples. See any existing adapter page for the pattern.
Step 6: Update Adapters Overview Page
Edit apps/docs/content/4.adapters/1.overview.md to add the new adapter in three places (follow the pattern of existing adapters):
- Frontmatter
links array — add a link entry with icon and path
::card-group section — add a card block before the Custom card
- Zero-Config Setup
.env example — add the adapter's env vars
Step 7: Update skills/review-logging-patterns/SKILL.md
In skills/review-logging-patterns/SKILL.md (the public skill distributed to users), find the Drain Adapters table and add a new row:
| {Name} | `evlog/{name}` | `{NAME}_API_KEY`, `{NAME}_DATASET` (or equivalent) |
Follow the pattern of the existing rows (Axiom, OTLP, PostHog, Sentry, Better Stack).
Step 8: Renumber custom.md
If the new adapter's number conflicts with custom.md, renumber custom.md to be the last entry. For example, if the new adapter is 5.{name}.md, rename 5.custom.md to 6.custom.md.
Verification
After completing all steps, run:
cd packages/evlog
pnpm run lint
pnpm run typecheck
pnpm run test
pnpm run build