# What is Logs?

> Timestamped records of events a system emits as it runs.

Canonical: https://www.decimal.app/glossary/logs · Last reviewed: 2026-09-23

Logs are lines of text or structured events that applications write as they handle requests: errors, warnings, state changes, and debug details.

## Why it matters

Logs are often the fastest way to confirm what happened to a specific customer at a specific time, but support teams rarely have access or know the right query.

## Best practices

1. Use structured logs. JSON fields make searches reliable.
2. Include account and request IDs. So one customer's events can be found.
3. Give support read access. With sensible redaction for sensitive fields.

## How Decimal helps

Decimal queries log platforms during each investigation and quotes the relevant lines in its findings.

## Related terms

- [Observability](https://www.decimal.app/glossary/observability): How well you can understand a system's internal state from the data it emits.
- [Distributed Tracing](https://www.decimal.app/glossary/distributed-tracing): Following one request across every service it touches, with timing for each hop.
- [Cannot Reproduce](https://www.decimal.app/glossary/cannot-reproduce): The status a ticket gets when engineering can't make the bug happen on their side.

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