vectordotdev / vectordotdev/vector

Add log error codes and map to documentation

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domain: external docs domain: observability have: nice meta: idea needs: approval
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

Overview

After using Vector and encountering a few errors I think it would be beneficial to map known errors to codes / specific documentation takes. For example:

ERROR vector::topology: Configuration error: Source "in": data_dir option required, but not given here or globally

It'd be nice if we could add something like:

ERROR vector::topology: Configuration error: Source "in": data_dir option required, but not given here or globally. See https://docs.vector.dev/errors/abcd1234

Or something similar. This page would talk about the error and how to resolve it.

Ideas

One idea would be to parse this from the code itself and autogenerate the error pages as a result. I'm unsure how easy this would be, but it seems like https://github.com/timberio/vector/issues/543 makes this easier / possible.

Shaping

Before we begin work we should audit all of the messages and create a checkbox task list for each one. This includes updating the error message as well as the associated documentation page. I'd also like to agree on how this will work exactly, especially if we are able to auto-generate pages for the error messages.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reviewing issue #543 and auditing the project's existing error messages, as requested in the shaping notes. Define and agree on the error-code and documentation approach before implementation. Done means the messages have an agreed mapping, a checkbox task list, updated error output, and corresponding documentation pages.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
documentation, observability
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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