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Step logging — Automation Foundations

Day 20 · ~11 min●

A 3-step script ran for 8 seconds and produced no output. Did step 1 work? Did step 2 hang? Did everything succeed silently? Without logs, you can't tell.

python

print("step 1: fetching messages...")
result = toolset.execute_action(Action.GMAIL_FETCH_EMAILS, {"max_results": 5})
messages = result.get("messages", [])
print(f"step 1: got {len(messages)} messages")

print("step 2: filtering urgent...")
urgent = [m for m in messages if "urgent" in m.get("subject", "").lower()]
print(f"step 2: {len(urgent)} urgent")

print("step 3: sending alerts...")
for m in urgent:
    toolset.execute_action(Action.SLACK_SEND_MESSAGE, {"channel": "#general", "text": f"Urgent: {m.get('subject','')}"})
print(f"step 3: sent {len(urgent)} alerts")

Just print lines? Not a logging library?

For week 2, plain print is fine. The pattern: a before print stating intent, an after print confirming the result. Not a logging library — those introduce levels (info/warn/error) and rotation, which Auto Intermediate covers. Today's takeaway: every step boundary needs some output.

Even when nothing's broken? Doesn't it just clutter the output?

That's the trade-off. Logs you don't need until you do. The ratio you want: any time a learner asks you "why did my script do X?", the log already tells them. That's what the print lines pay for.

Step logging — print before, print after

The pattern

python

print("step N: <what's about to happen>")
# ... do the work ...
print(f"step N: <result, with relevant numbers>")

Two prints per step:

Before: states intent. Useful when the step hangs — tells you which step is hung.
After: states result. Useful for the post-mortem when the script finished but produced wrong output.

Don't write only the after-print. The before-print is what lets you see where a hang lives.

What to include

Step number — easy to refer to in error messages
Action verb — "fetching", "filtering", "sending"
Relevant counts — got 5 messages, 0 matched, sent 3 alerts
Identifiers when useful — created event abc-123

Don't print:

Whole API responses (huge, illegible)
Email bodies, message bodies, file contents (privacy + clutter)
Stack traces from exceptions (raise instead — the framework handles it)

The 2am test

Imagine waking up at 2am, your script ran a scheduled job overnight, and something's wrong. Read your logs:

step 1: fetching messages...
step 1: got 5 messages
step 2: filtering urgent...
step 2: 1 urgent
step 3: sending alerts...

No "step 3: sent 1 alerts" line. So step 3 started but didn't finish. Hung mid-loop, or the network broke. You know exactly where to look.

Now imagine the same script with no prints:

(silent)

Good luck.

Day 20 · ~11 min●

A 3-step script ran for 8 seconds and produced no output. Did step 1 work? Did step 2 hang? Did everything succeed silently? Without logs, you can't tell.

python

print("step 1: fetching messages...")
result = toolset.execute_action(Action.GMAIL_FETCH_EMAILS, {"max_results": 5})
messages = result.get("messages", [])
print(f"step 1: got {len(messages)} messages")

print("step 2: filtering urgent...")
urgent = [m for m in messages if "urgent" in m.get("subject", "").lower()]
print(f"step 2: {len(urgent)} urgent")

print("step 3: sending alerts...")
for m in urgent:
    toolset.execute_action(Action.SLACK_SEND_MESSAGE, {"channel": "#general", "text": f"Urgent: {m.get('subject','')}"})
print(f"step 3: sent {len(urgent)} alerts")

Just print lines? Not a logging library?

Even when nothing's broken? Doesn't it just clutter the output?

That's the trade-off. Logs you don't need until you do. The ratio you want: any time a learner asks you "why did my script do X?", the log already tells them. That's what the print lines pay for.

Step logging — print before, print after

The pattern

python

print("step N: <what's about to happen>")
# ... do the work ...
print(f"step N: <result, with relevant numbers>")

Two prints per step:

Before: states intent. Useful when the step hangs — tells you which step is hung.
After: states result. Useful for the post-mortem when the script finished but produced wrong output.

Don't write only the after-print. The before-print is what lets you see where a hang lives.

What to include

Step number — easy to refer to in error messages
Action verb — "fetching", "filtering", "sending"
Relevant counts — got 5 messages, 0 matched, sent 3 alerts
Identifiers when useful — created event abc-123

Don't print:

Whole API responses (huge, illegible)
Email bodies, message bodies, file contents (privacy + clutter)
Stack traces from exceptions (raise instead — the framework handles it)

The 2am test

Imagine waking up at 2am, your script ran a scheduled job overnight, and something's wrong. Read your logs:

step 1: fetching messages...
step 1: got 5 messages
step 2: filtering urgent...
step 2: 1 urgent
step 3: sending alerts...

No "step 3: sent 1 alerts" line. So step 3 started but didn't finish. Hung mid-loop, or the network broke. You know exactly where to look.

Now imagine the same script with no prints:

(silent)

Good luck.

Step logging — print before, print after

The pattern

What to include

The 2am test

Step logging — print before, print after

The pattern

What to include

The 2am test

Step logging — print before, print after

The pattern

What to include

The 2am test

Sign up to practice

Step logging — print before, print after

The pattern

What to include

The 2am test

Sign up to practice