Systematic error handling in Bubble uses the An unhandled error occurs event, a custom ErrorLog data type that captures error details including user, page, and error message, and an admin dashboard for monitoring error trends. This tutorial covers catching workflow errors, logging them with full context, and building an error monitoring dashboard.
Overview: Handling Error Reporting in Bubble
This tutorial shows how to build a systematic error handling and reporting system in your Bubble app. Instead of errors failing silently, you will catch them, log detailed context, and monitor trends from an admin dashboard.
Prerequisites
- A Bubble app with existing workflows
- Basic understanding of Workflows and Data Types
- An admin page or role
- Familiarity with the Workflow tab event types
Step-by-step guide
Create the ErrorLog data type
Create the ErrorLog data type
Go to the Data tab and create ErrorLog: error_code (text), error_message (text), page (text), user (User), workflow_name (text), severity (text: Info, Warning, Error, Critical), timestamp (date), is_resolved (yes/no default no), resolution_notes (text). This captures all context needed to diagnose and fix issues.
Expected result: An ErrorLog data type stores structured error information.
Set up the global error handler
Set up the global error handler
On each page, go to the Workflow tab and add the event An unhandled error occurs. Create a workflow: Create a new ErrorLog with error_code = Current workflow error's code, error_message = Current workflow error's message, page = Current Page URL, user = Current User, severity = Error, timestamp = Current date/time. Optionally show the user a friendly message using an Alert element. Repeat this on every page or use a Reusable Element that includes the error handler.
Pro tip: Create a Reusable Element containing the error handler workflow and place it on every page. This ensures consistent error capture across your entire app.
Expected result: Unhandled errors are caught and logged with full context instead of failing silently.
Add explicit error handling in critical workflows
Add explicit error handling in critical workflows
For important workflows like payment processing or data creation, wrap actions in try/catch patterns. Use the action's Only when condition to check prerequisites before executing. After API Connector calls, check if the result is empty or contains an error. If an error is detected, create an ErrorLog with severity = Critical and the specific error details. Show the user a helpful message instead of a generic error.
Expected result: Critical workflows have explicit error handling that logs issues and informs users.
Build the error monitoring dashboard
Build the error monitoring dashboard
Create an admin page called error-dashboard. Add summary cards at the top: total errors today, errors this week, unresolved count, and critical errors count. Add a Repeating Group showing ErrorLogs sorted by timestamp descending with filters for severity, date range, and resolution status. In each cell display severity badge, error message, page, user email, and timestamp. Add a detail popup with full error context and resolution notes. For comprehensive error monitoring with alerting, RapidDev can help build advanced observability systems.
Expected result: An admin dashboard shows error trends and details with filtering and resolution tracking.
Set up critical error alerts
Set up critical error alerts
In your error handler workflow, add a condition: Only when severity = Critical. If met, send an email to the admin with error details. For Slack integration, use the API Connector to post to a Slack webhook URL with the error message. This ensures critical issues are addressed immediately rather than discovered later on the dashboard.
Expected result: Critical errors trigger immediate notifications to the admin team.
Complete working example
1ERROR REPORTING WORKFLOW SUMMARY2=================================34DATA TYPE: ErrorLog5 error_code, error_message, page, user, workflow_name,6 severity (Info/Warning/Error/Critical), timestamp,7 is_resolved, resolution_notes89GLOBAL ERROR HANDLER (per page or reusable element):10 Event: An unhandled error occurs11 1. Create ErrorLog with all context12 2. Show user-friendly alert13 3. If Critical: send admin notification1415EXPLICIT HANDLING (critical workflows):16 - Check prerequisites before actions17 - Verify API responses are not empty18 - Log specific errors with Critical severity19 - Show helpful user messages2021DASHBOARD:22 - Summary: today's errors, unresolved, critical count23 - Filterable list sorted by timestamp24 - Detail popup with resolution tracking25 - Email/Slack alerts for critical errorsCommon mistakes when collecting error reports in Bubble
Why it's a problem: Not adding error handlers to every page
How to avoid: Use a Reusable Element with the error handler and place it on every page for consistent coverage.
Why it's a problem: Showing raw error messages to users
How to avoid: Log the technical details to ErrorLog but show users a friendly message like Something went wrong. Please try again.
Why it's a problem: Not filtering error logs by severity
How to avoid: Use severity levels and filter the dashboard to show Critical and Error items first.
Best practices
- Use a Reusable Element for the error handler to ensure coverage on every page
- Log full context: error code, message, page URL, user, and timestamp
- Show user-friendly messages while logging technical details separately
- Set up immediate alerts for Critical severity errors
- Review the error dashboard daily and resolve issues promptly
- Use severity levels to prioritize which errors to fix first
- Track resolution status to ensure all errors are addressed
Still stuck?
Copy one of these prompts to get a personalized, step-by-step explanation.
I need a systematic error handling system in my Bubble.io app that catches errors, logs them with context, shows friendly messages to users, and alerts admins for critical issues. Can you design the data model and workflows?
Build an error reporting system for my app. Catch unhandled errors on every page, log them with user, page, and error details, build an admin dashboard to monitor errors, and send email alerts for critical issues.
Frequently asked questions
Does the error handler catch all errors?
The An unhandled error occurs event catches most workflow errors. It does not catch display errors or element rendering issues. For API errors, you need explicit handling.
Will error logging consume workload units?
Yes, each ErrorLog creation costs workload units. For high-traffic apps, consider logging only Warning and above, or batching error reports.
Can I integrate with external error tracking like Sentry?
Yes. Use the API Connector to send error data to Sentry, Bugsnag, or any error tracking service with a REST API.
How do I mark errors as resolved?
Add an is_resolved toggle and resolution_notes textarea to the error detail popup. When an admin fixes the issue, they update these fields.
How long should I keep error logs?
Keep recent logs (30-90 days) in the active table. Archive older logs to reduce database size, or delete resolved errors after 30 days.
Can RapidDev help with app monitoring?
Yes. RapidDev can build comprehensive monitoring systems with error tracking, performance metrics, user behavior analytics, and automated alerting.
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