sentry-elixir-sdk

name	sentry-elixir-sdk
description	Full Sentry SDK setup for Elixir. Use when asked to "add Sentry to Elixir", "install sentry for Elixir", or configure error monitoring, tracing, logging, or crons for Elixir, Phoenix, or Plug applications. Supports Phoenix, Plug, LiveView, Oban, and Quantum.
license	Apache-2.0
category	sdk-setup
parent	sentry-sdk-setup
disable-model-invocation	true

All Skills > SDK Setup > Elixir SDK

Sentry Elixir SDK

Opinionated wizard that scans your Elixir project and guides you through complete Sentry setup.

Invoke This Skill When

• User asks to "add Sentry to Elixir" or "set up Sentry" in an Elixir or Phoenix app
• User wants error monitoring, tracing, logging, or crons in Elixir or Phoenix
• User mentions sentry hex package, getsentry/sentry-elixir, or Elixir Sentry SDK
• User wants to monitor exceptions, Plug errors, LiveView errors, or scheduled jobs

Note: SDK versions and APIs below reflect Sentry docs at time of writing (sentry v13.2.0, requires Elixir ~> 1.13). Always verify against docs.sentry.io/platforms/elixir/ before implementing.

---

Phase 1: Detect

Run these commands to understand the project before making any recommendations:

# Check existing Sentry dependency
grep -i sentry mix.exs 2>/dev/null

# Detect Elixir version
cat .tool-versions 2>/dev/null | grep elixir
grep "elixir:" mix.exs 2>/dev/null

# Detect Phoenix or Plug
grep -E '"phoenix"|"plug"' mix.exs 2>/dev/null

# Detect Phoenix LiveView
grep "phoenix_live_view" mix.exs 2>/dev/null

# Detect Oban (job queue / crons)
grep "oban" mix.exs 2>/dev/null

# Detect Quantum (cron scheduler)
grep "quantum" mix.exs 2>/dev/null

# Detect OpenTelemetry usage
grep "opentelemetry" mix.exs 2>/dev/null

# Check for companion frontend
ls assets/ frontend/ web/ client/ 2>/dev/null

What to note:

Signal	Impact
sentry already in mix.exs?	Skip install; go to Phase 2 (configure features)
Phoenix detected?	Add Sentry.PlugCapture, Sentry.PlugContext, optionally Sentry.LiveViewHook
LiveView detected?	Add Sentry.LiveViewHook to the live_view macro in my_app_web.ex
Oban detected?	Recommend Crons + error capture via Oban integration
Quantum detected?	Recommend Crons via Quantum integration
OpenTelemetry already present?	Tracing setup only needs Sentry.OpenTelemetry.* config
Frontend directory found?	Trigger Phase 4 cross-link suggestion

---

Phase 2: Recommend

Based on what you found, present a concrete recommendation. Don't ask open-ended questions — lead with a proposal:

Recommended (core coverage):

• ✅ Error Monitoring — always; captures exceptions and crash reports
• ✅ Logging — Sentry.LoggerHandler forwards crash reports and error logs to Sentry
• ✅ Tracing — if Phoenix, Plug, or Ecto detected (via OpenTelemetry)

Optional (enhanced observability):

• ⚡ Crons — detect silent failures in scheduled jobs (Oban, Quantum, or manual GenServer)
• ⚡ Sentry Logs — forward structured logs to Sentry Logs Protocol (sentry v12.0.0+)

Recommendation logic:

Feature	Recommend when...
Error Monitoring	Always — non-negotiable baseline
Logging	Always — LoggerHandler captures crashes that aren't explicit capture_exception calls
Tracing	Phoenix, Plug, Ecto, or OpenTelemetry imports detected
Crons	Oban, Quantum, or periodic GenServer/Task patterns detected
Sentry Logs	sentry v12.0.0+ in use and structured log search is needed

Propose: "I recommend setting up Error Monitoring + Logging [+ Tracing if Phoenix/Ecto detected]. Want me to also add Crons or Sentry Logs?"

---

Phase 3: Guide

Option 1: Igniter Installer (Recommended)

You need to run this yourself — the Igniter installer requires interactive terminal input that the agent can't handle. Copy-paste into your terminal:

mix igniter.install sentry

Available since sentry v11.0.0. It auto-configures config/config.exs, config/prod.exs, config/runtime.exs, and lib/my_app/application.ex.

Once it finishes, come back and skip to Verification.

If the user skips the Igniter installer, proceed with Option 2 (Manual Setup) below.

---

Option 2: Manual Setup

Install

Add to mix.exs dependencies:

# mix.exs
defp deps do
  [
    {:sentry, "~> 13.0"},
    {:finch, "~> 0.21"}
    # Add jason if using Elixir < 1.18:
    # {:jason, "~> 1.4"},
  ]
end

mix deps.get

Configure

# config/config.exs
config :sentry,
  dsn: System.get_env("SENTRY_DSN"),
  environment_name: config_env(),
  enable_source_code_context: true,
  root_source_code_paths: [File.cwd!()],
  in_app_otp_apps: [:my_app]

For runtime configuration (recommended for DSN and release):

# config/runtime.exs
import Config

config :sentry,
  dsn: System.fetch_env!("SENTRY_DSN"),
  release: System.get_env("SENTRY_RELEASE", "my-app@#{Application.spec(:my_app, :vsn)}")

Quick Start — Recommended Init Config

This config enables the most features with sensible defaults:

# config/config.exs
config :sentry,
  dsn: System.get_env("SENTRY_DSN"),
  environment_name: config_env(),
  enable_source_code_context: true,
  root_source_code_paths: [File.cwd!()],
  in_app_otp_apps: [:my_app],
  # Logger handler config — captures crash reports
  logger: [
    {:handler, :sentry_handler, Sentry.LoggerHandler, %{
      config: %{
        metadata: [:request_id],
        capture_log_messages: true,
        level: :error
      }
    }}
  ]

Activate Logger Handler

Add Logger.add_handlers/1 in Application.start/2:

# lib/my_app/application.ex
def start(_type, _args) do
  Logger.add_handlers(:my_app)   # activates the :sentry_handler configured above

  children = [
    MyAppWeb.Endpoint
    # ... other children
  ]

  Supervisor.start_link(children, strategy: :one_for_one)
end

Phoenix Integration

lib/my_app_web/endpoint.ex

defmodule MyAppWeb.Endpoint do
  use Sentry.PlugCapture          # Add ABOVE use Phoenix.Endpoint (Cowboy adapter only)
  use Phoenix.Endpoint, otp_app: :my_app

  # ...

  plug Plug.Parsers,
    parsers: [:urlencoded, :multipart, :json],
    pass: ["*/*"],
    json_decoder: Phoenix.json_library()

  plug Sentry.PlugContext          # Add BELOW Plug.Parsers
  # ...
end

Note: Sentry.PlugCapture is only needed for the Cowboy adapter. Phoenix 1.7+ defaults to Bandit, where PlugCapture is harmless but unnecessary. Sentry.PlugContext is always recommended — it enriches events with HTTP request data.

LiveView errors — lib/my_app_web.ex

def live_view do
  quote do
    use Phoenix.LiveView

    on_mount Sentry.LiveViewHook   # captures errors in mount/handle_event/handle_info
  end
end

Plain Plug Application

defmodule MyApp.Router do
  use Plug.Router
  use Sentry.PlugCapture          # Cowboy only

  plug Plug.Parsers, parsers: [:urlencoded, :multipart]
  plug Sentry.PlugContext
  # ...
end

For Each Agreed Feature

Walk through features one at a time. Load the reference file for each, follow its steps, and verify before moving to the next:

Feature	Reference file	Load when...
Error Monitoring	${SKILL_ROOT}/references/error-monitoring.md	Always (baseline)
Tracing	${SKILL_ROOT}/references/tracing.md	Phoenix / Ecto / OpenTelemetry detected
Logging	${SKILL_ROOT}/references/logging.md	LoggerHandler or Sentry Logs setup
Crons	${SKILL_ROOT}/references/crons.md	Oban, Quantum, or periodic jobs detected

For each feature: Read ${SKILL_ROOT}/references/<feature>.md, follow steps exactly, verify it works.

---

Configuration Reference

Key Config Options

Option	Type	Default	Purpose
:dsn	string | nil	nil	SDK disabled if nil; env: SENTRY_DSN
:environment_name	atom | string	"production"	e.g., :prod; env: SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT
:release	string | nil	nil	e.g., "my-app@1.0.0"; env: SENTRY_RELEASE
:sample_rate	float	1.0	Error event sample rate (0.0–1.0)
:enable_source_code_context	boolean	false	Include source lines around errors
:root_source_code_paths	[path]	[]	Required when source context is enabled
:in_app_otp_apps	[atom]	[]	OTP apps whose modules are "in-app" in stacktraces
:before_send	(event -> event | nil) | {m, f}	nil	Hook to mutate or drop error events
:after_send_event	(event, result -> any) | {m, f}	nil	Hook called after event is sent
:filter	module	Sentry.DefaultEventFilter	Module implementing Sentry.EventFilter
:max_breadcrumbs	integer	100	Max breadcrumbs per process
:max_stacktrace_arg_length	integer	10000	Max length (in graphemes) of each inspected function argument in stacktrace vars (v13.2.0+)
:dedup_events	boolean	true	Deduplicate identical events within ~30 seconds
:tags	map	%{}	Global tags sent with every event
:traces_sample_rate	float | nil	nil	Non-nil enables tracing (requires OTel setup)
:traces_sampler	fn | {m, f} | nil	nil	Custom per-transaction sampling
:enable_logs	boolean	false	Enable Sentry Logs Protocol (v12.0.0+)
:scrubber	keyword	[]	Scrubber config (v13.1.1+); keys: :conn_private_allow_list (list of atoms kept from Plug.Conn.private)
:test_mode	boolean	false	Capture events in-memory for testing

Default PII Guidance

Most Sentry SDKs expose a send-default-PII option. As of sentry v12, the Elixir SDK does not expose a send_default_pii config option in its documented option list or current config schema, so do not add a non-existent option. For richer user context, use Sentry.PlugContext and explicitly set allowed fields with Sentry.Context.set_user_context/1, then scrub with :before_send if needed. If a future Elixir SDK release adds send_default_pii, recommend setting it.

Automatic PII Scrubbing: As of v13.1.0, stacktrace frame variables and FunctionClauseError/Phoenix.ActionClauseError arguments are automatically scrubbed for sensitive data using the same scrubber rules as HTTP request data. Use :scrubber config to customize which Plug.Conn.private keys are retained.

Environment Variables

Variable	Maps to	Purpose
SENTRY_DSN	:dsn	Data Source Name
SENTRY_RELEASE	:release	App version (e.g., my-app@1.0.0)
SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT	:environment_name	Deployment environment

---

Verification

Test that Sentry is receiving events:

# Send a test event from your project
MIX_ENV=dev mix sentry.send_test_event

Or add a temporary call in a controller action:

# Temporary test — remove after confirming
def index(conn, _params) do
  Sentry.capture_message("Sentry Elixir SDK test event")
  text(conn, "sent")
end

Check the Sentry dashboard within a few seconds. If nothing appears:

1. Set config :sentry, log_level: :debug for verbose SDK output
2. Verify SENTRY_DSN is set and the project exists
3. Confirm :environment_name is not set to a value Sentry filters in your alert rules

---

Phase 4: Cross-Link

After completing Elixir setup, check for a companion frontend missing Sentry coverage:

ls assets/ frontend/ web/ client/ ui/ 2>/dev/null
cat assets/package.json frontend/package.json 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"react"|"svelte"|"vue"|"next"'

If a frontend directory exists without Sentry configured, suggest the matching skill:

Frontend detected	Suggest skill
React / Next.js	sentry-react-sdk or sentry-nextjs-sdk
Svelte / SvelteKit	sentry-svelte-sdk
Vue	See docs.sentry.io/platforms/javascript/guides/vue/
Other JS/TS	sentry-browser-sdk

Connecting Phoenix backend and JavaScript frontend with linked Sentry projects enables distributed tracing — stack traces that span the browser, Phoenix HTTP server, and downstream services in a single trace view.

---

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Events not appearing	Verify SENTRY_DSN is set; run mix sentry.send_test_event; set log_level: :debug
Missing stack traces on captured exceptions	Pass stacktrace: __STACKTRACE__ in the rescue block: Sentry.capture_exception(e, stacktrace: __STACKTRACE__)
PlugCapture not working on Bandit	Sentry.PlugCapture is Cowboy-only; with Bandit errors surface via LoggerHandler
Source code context missing in production	Run mix sentry.package_source_code before building your OTP release
Context not appearing on async events	Sentry.Context.* is process-scoped; pass values explicitly or propagate Logger metadata across processes
Oban integration not reporting crons	Requires Oban v2.17.6+ or Oban Pro; cron jobs must have "cron" => true in job meta
Duplicate events from Cowboy/Bandit crashes	Set excluded_domains: [:cowboy, :bandit] in LoggerHandler config (both excluded by default as of v13.1.0)
finch not starting	Ensure {:finch, "~> 0.21"} is in deps; Finch is the default HTTP client since v12.0.0
JSON encoding error	Add {:jason, "~> 1.4"} and set json_library: Jason for Elixir < 1.18