Emulator Log Streaming
View real-time emulator logs with filtering by service, level, and text search.
Overview
The Log Streaming viewer displays real-time output from the emulator process, giving you visibility into emulator activity without opening a separate terminal window.
Opening the Log Viewer
Open the log viewer from the emulator panel. Logs stream in as long as the emulator is running and the viewer is open.
Log Display
Each log entry shows:
- Timestamp — when the log was generated
- Service — which emulator service produced the log (Firestore, Auth, Storage, Functions)
- Level — the severity level (debug, info, warning, error)
- Message — the log content
Logs are rendered as selectable text so you can easily copy-paste entries for debugging.
Filtering
By Service
Use the service filter to show logs from a specific emulator service:
- All Services — show everything
- Firestore — Firestore emulator logs only
- Auth — Authentication emulator logs only
- Storage — Storage emulator logs only
- Functions — Cloud Functions emulator logs only
By Log Level
Filter by severity to focus on what matters:
- Debug — verbose diagnostic information
- Info — general operational messages
- Warning — potential issues that may need attention
- Error — failures and errors that require investigation
By Text
Type in the search field to filter logs by text content. The filter matches against the full log message in real time.
Stream Controls
Pause and Resume
Click Pause to temporarily stop the log stream from scrolling. New logs continue to be captured but are not scrolled into view. Click Resume to catch up to the latest logs.
Auto-Scroll
When auto-scroll is enabled (the default), the log viewer stays pinned to the bottom as new entries arrive. Scrolling up automatically pauses auto-scroll. Click the “scroll to bottom” button to re-enable it.
Clear Logs
Click Clear to reset the log view and remove all displayed entries. New logs continue to appear after clearing.
Tips
- Keep the log viewer open during development to catch errors and warnings early
- Filter by “error” level to quickly identify failures during test runs
- Use the text search to find specific request IDs, document paths, or error messages
- Pause the stream when you need to read a specific log entry without it scrolling away