Sentry Frontend Implementation in 30 Minutes

gen-ai-writen

Summary

After implementing Sentry across multiple React applications at Kisko, I’ve developed a streamlined approach that achieves comprehensive error tracking in just 30 minutes. This guide provides a structured methodology focusing on high-impact features first, while deferring less critical aspects for later implementation.

Feature Comparison: Backend vs Frontend

Feature	Backend (Rails)	Frontend (React)	Setup Time	Notes
Error Boundaries	N/A	✅ Component Errors	5m	Catches render/lifecycle errors
Global Handler	✅ Middleware	✅ Window.onerror	5m	Catches unhandled exceptions
Network Errors	✅ Rack Middleware	✅ Axios/RQ Handler	10m	API/fetch errors with context
Promise Rejections	N/A	✅ Unhandled Catch	5m	Async errors and failed promises
Stacktraces	✅ Native	✅ Source Maps	5m	Requires build configuration
Git SHA Tracking	✅ Single Version	✅ Multiple Versions	5m	Frontend can have multiple active versions
User Context	✅ Controller-based	✅ Auth Flow	5m	Same data, different collection point
GitHub Integration	✅ Direct	✅ Direct	5m	Identical functionality

The 30-Minute Approach

The key insight is that frontend error tracking requires a multi-layered approach, unlike backend implementations that often use a single middleware. Our approach implements four critical capture mechanisms:

1. Error Boundaries (5m) - For component tree errors
2. Global Handlers (5m) - For runtime JS errors
3. Network Error Capture (10m) - For API failures
4. Promise Rejection Handling (5m) - For unhandled promises

The remaining time is spent on context enrichment and version tracking for effective debugging.

Why This Matters

Frontend error tracking is fundamentally different from backend tracking due to:

• Multiple execution environments (browser versions)
• Unpredictable network conditions
• Client-side state management complexity
• Asynchronous operations outside component lifecycles

This approach ensures errors are caught regardless of where they occur in the application lifecycle.

Implementation Core Principles

1. Layered Defense - No single error handler is sufficient
2. Minimal Context - Capture just enough data for debugging
3. Privacy First - Avoid PII and unnecessary user data
4. Version Tracking - Always correlate errors with exact code state

Next Steps

The complete guide includes implementation examples, configuration templates, and step-by-step instructions for each component of the system.

Link to GitHub repository coming soon

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Created with assistance from Claude, based on my work implementing Sentry across Kisko Labs and previous projects.