Getting started

Watchdog is a single container plus PostgreSQL. It catches errors, tracks performance and records sessions from your apps.

1. Run it

The quickest route is Railway. To run it yourself:

bash

docker compose --profile app up -d

Set at least DATABASE_URL and WATCHDOG_SECRET_KEY (generate one with openssl rand -hex 32). See Configuration for everything else.

2. Create the owner

Open the app. Enter the setup token (SETUP_TOKEN, or the value printed in the server log on first start) and create the owner account. You then add two-step verification. See Authentication.

3. Create a project and copy the DSN

Under Projects, create a project. Its settings page shows the DSN your SDK needs.

4. Install an SDK

bash

npm install @watchdog-sdk/browser

import { init } from '@watchdog-sdk/browser';

init({ dsn: 'https://<key>@your-watchdog.example.com/<project-id>', release: '1.0.0' });

For Node use @watchdog-sdk/node; for React error boundaries use @watchdog-sdk/react; for mobile apps use @watchdog-sdk/react-native; for Python use watchdog-sdk.

What next

Tracing and metrics: see how long things take
Session replay: watch what users did before an error
Alerts: get told when something breaks
Team, invites and roles: bring your colleagues in

Getting started ​

1. Run it ​

2. Create the owner ​

3. Create a project and copy the DSN ​

4. Install an SDK ​

What next ​