home / skills / rshankras / claude-code-apple-skills / error-monitoring

error-monitoring skill

/skills/generators/error-monitoring

This skill generates production-ready error monitoring infrastructure with swappable providers for crash reporting and production error tracking.

npx playbooks add skill rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills --skill error-monitoring

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

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SKILL.md
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---
name: error-monitoring
description: Generates protocol-based error/crash monitoring with swappable providers (Sentry, Crashlytics). Use when user wants to add crash reporting, error tracking, or production monitoring.
allowed-tools: [Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Bash, AskUserQuestion]
---

# Error Monitoring Generator

Generates a production-ready error monitoring infrastructure with protocol-based architecture for easy provider swapping.

## When This Skill Activates

- User asks to "add crash reporting" or "error monitoring"
- User mentions "Sentry", "Crashlytics", or "crash analytics"
- User wants to "track errors in production"
- User asks about "debugging production issues"

## Pre-Generation Checks (CRITICAL)

### 1. Project Context Detection

Before generating, ALWAYS check:

```bash
# Check for existing crash reporting
rg -l "Sentry|Crashlytics|CrashReporter" --type swift

# Check Package.swift for existing SDKs
cat Package.swift | grep -i "sentry\|firebase\|crashlytics"

# Check for existing error handling patterns
rg "captureError|recordError|logError" --type swift | head -5
```

### 2. Conflict Detection

If existing crash reporting found:
- Ask: Replace, wrap existing, or create parallel system?

## Configuration Questions

Ask user via AskUserQuestion:

1. **Initial provider?**
   - Sentry (recommended for indie devs)
   - Firebase Crashlytics (if already using Firebase)
   - None (set up infrastructure only)

2. **Include breadcrumbs?**
   - Yes (track navigation, user actions)
   - No (errors only)

3. **Include user context?**
   - Yes (anonymized user ID, app state)
   - No (minimal data collection)

## Generation Process

### Step 1: Create Core Files

**Always generate:**
```
Sources/ErrorMonitoring/
├── ErrorMonitoringService.swift     # Protocol
├── ErrorContext.swift               # Breadcrumbs, user info
└── NoOpErrorMonitoring.swift        # Testing/privacy
```

**Based on provider selection:**
```
Sources/ErrorMonitoring/Providers/
├── SentryErrorMonitoring.swift      # If Sentry selected
└── CrashlyticsErrorMonitoring.swift # If Crashlytics selected
```

### Step 2: Read Templates

Read templates from this skill:
- `templates/ErrorMonitoringService.swift`
- `templates/ErrorContext.swift`
- `templates/NoOpErrorMonitoring.swift`
- `templates/SentryErrorMonitoring.swift` (if selected)
- `templates/CrashlyticsErrorMonitoring.swift` (if selected)

### Step 3: Customize for Project

Adapt templates to match:
- Project naming conventions
- Existing error types
- Bundle identifier for Sentry DSN

### Step 4: Integration

**In App.swift:**
```swift
import SwiftUI

@main
struct MyApp: App {
    init() {
        // Configure error monitoring
        ErrorMonitoring.shared.configure()
    }

    var body: some Scene {
        WindowGroup {
            ContentView()
                .environment(\.errorMonitoring, ErrorMonitoring.shared.service)
        }
    }
}
```

**Capturing errors:**
```swift
do {
    try await riskyOperation()
} catch {
    ErrorMonitoring.shared.service.captureError(error)
}
```

**Adding breadcrumbs:**
```swift
ErrorMonitoring.shared.service.addBreadcrumb(
    Breadcrumb(category: "navigation", message: "Opened settings")
)
```

## Provider Setup

### Sentry

1. **Create account** at [sentry.io](https://sentry.io)
2. **Create project** for iOS/macOS
3. **Get DSN** from Project Settings > Client Keys
4. **Add to Package.swift:**
```swift
.package(url: "https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-cocoa", from: "8.0.0")
```

### Firebase Crashlytics

1. **Add Firebase** to your project via [console.firebase.google.com](https://console.firebase.google.com)
2. **Download** GoogleService-Info.plist
3. **Add Firebase SDK** via SPM or CocoaPods
4. **Enable Crashlytics** in Firebase console

## Generated Code Patterns

### Protocol (Stable Interface)
```swift
protocol ErrorMonitoringService: Sendable {
    func configure()
    func captureError(_ error: Error, context: ErrorContext?)
    func captureMessage(_ message: String, level: ErrorLevel)
    func addBreadcrumb(_ breadcrumb: Breadcrumb)
    func setUser(_ user: MonitoringUser?)
    func reset()
}
```

### Swapping Providers
```swift
// In ErrorMonitoring.swift
final class ErrorMonitoring {
    static let shared = ErrorMonitoring()

    // Change this ONE line to swap providers:
    let service: ErrorMonitoringService = SentryErrorMonitoring()
    // let service: ErrorMonitoringService = CrashlyticsErrorMonitoring()
    // let service: ErrorMonitoringService = NoOpErrorMonitoring()
}
```

### Breadcrumb Tracking
```swift
// Automatic navigation breadcrumbs
struct ContentView: View {
    @Environment(\.errorMonitoring) var errorMonitoring

    var body: some View {
        Button("Open Details") {
            errorMonitoring.addBreadcrumb(
                Breadcrumb(category: "ui", message: "Tapped details button")
            )
            showDetails = true
        }
    }
}
```

## Verification Checklist

After generation, verify:

- [ ] App compiles without errors
- [ ] Provider SDK added (if applicable)
- [ ] DSN/config set correctly
- [ ] Test error appears in dashboard
- [ ] Breadcrumbs captured correctly
- [ ] User context (if enabled) shows in reports
- [ ] NoOp mode works for debug/testing

## Privacy Considerations

### GDPR Compliance
- Use `NoOpErrorMonitoring` for EU users who opt out
- Don't capture PII in error messages
- Anonymize user IDs

### App Store Guidelines
- Disclose crash reporting in privacy policy
- Use App Tracking Transparency if combining with analytics
- Don't capture unnecessary device identifiers

### Privacy Manifest (iOS 17+)
Add to PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy if using Sentry/Crashlytics:
```xml
<key>NSPrivacyCollectedDataTypes</key>
<array>
    <dict>
        <key>NSPrivacyCollectedDataType</key>
        <string>NSPrivacyCollectedDataTypeCrashData</string>
        <key>NSPrivacyCollectedDataTypeLinked</key>
        <false/>
        <key>NSPrivacyCollectedDataTypeTracking</key>
        <false/>
        <key>NSPrivacyCollectedDataTypePurposes</key>
        <array>
            <string>NSPrivacyCollectedDataTypePurposeAppFunctionality</string>
        </array>
    </dict>
</array>
```

## Common Customizations

### Custom Error Types
```swift
enum AppError: Error {
    case networkFailure(URLError)
    case decodingFailure(DecodingError)
    case authenticationRequired

    var context: ErrorContext {
        ErrorContext(
            tags: ["error_type": String(describing: self)],
            extra: ["recoverable": isRecoverable]
        )
    }
}

// Capture with context
errorMonitoring.captureError(error, context: error.context)
```

### Performance Monitoring
```swift
// Sentry supports performance monitoring
let transaction = SentrySDK.startTransaction(name: "Load Data", operation: "http")
defer { transaction.finish() }

let data = try await fetchData()
```

### Release Tracking
```swift
// Include version info
SentrySDK.start { options in
    options.dsn = "YOUR_DSN"
    options.releaseName = "\(Bundle.main.appVersion)-\(Bundle.main.buildNumber)"
}
```

## Troubleshooting

### Errors Not Appearing in Dashboard

1. **Check DSN** is correct and not expired
2. **Verify** network connectivity
3. **Check** debug mode isn't suppressing uploads
4. **Look** for SDK initialization errors in console

### Symbolication Not Working

1. **Upload dSYMs** to Sentry/Firebase
2. **Enable** "Upload Debug Symbols" build phase
3. **Check** build settings include debug info

### High Volume / Costs

1. **Filter** common/expected errors
2. **Sample** errors (e.g., capture 10%)
3. **Group** similar errors

## Related Skills

- `analytics-setup` - Often combined with error monitoring
- `logging-setup` - Use Logger for debug, error monitoring for production

## References

- [Sentry iOS Documentation](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/)
- [Firebase Crashlytics Documentation](https://firebase.google.com/docs/crashlytics)
- [Apple Privacy Manifest](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/bundleresources/privacy_manifest_files)

Overview

This skill generates a protocol-based error and crash monitoring infrastructure for Swift projects, with swappable providers like Sentry and Firebase Crashlytics. It scaffolds core service protocols, context models, a NoOp implementation for testing/privacy, and provider adapters so teams can add production-ready crash reporting quickly.

How this skill works

The generator inspects the project for existing crash-reporting SDKs and common error-capture patterns before creating files. It produces a stable ErrorMonitoringService protocol, ErrorContext and Breadcrumb types, a NoOp implementation, and provider-specific adapters (Sentry or Crashlytics) that wire into the chosen SDK. It also suggests integration points in App entry and common capture patterns.

When to use it

  • Add crash reporting or error monitoring to an app
  • Swap between Sentry and Crashlytics without refactoring code
  • Track production crashes, breadcrumbs, and user context
  • Set up a privacy-friendly NoOp mode for opted-out users
  • Standardize error capture across a Swift codebase

Best practices

  • Run pre-generation checks to detect existing SDKs and avoid conflicts
  • Prefer the protocol interface (ErrorMonitoringService) throughout app code
  • Anonymize or avoid PII; use NoOp mode for users who opt out
  • Add breadcrumbs at key UI/navigation points and significant background tasks
  • Upload dSYMs and configure release/version info for correct symbolication

Example use cases

  • Enable Sentry for a production release and verify a test error appears in the dashboard
  • Add Crashlytics when a project already uses Firebase and keep the same capture API
  • Provide NoOpErrorMonitoring in debug builds or EU user opt-outs
  • Capture custom AppError cases with structured ErrorContext to aid triage
  • Instrument automatic navigation and manual breadcrumbs to reproduce user flows

FAQ

What if the project already has Sentry or Crashlytics installed?

The generator first detects existing providers and asks whether to replace, wrap, or create a parallel system so you avoid duplicate SDKs or conflicting initialization.

How do I swap providers later?

Change a single line in the ErrorMonitoring singleton to instantiate the desired provider implementation that conforms to ErrorMonitoringService.