Datagrok Logging & Notification API

SkillCommunication

Guide for logging errors, warnings, and info messages in Datagrok packages

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the Datagrok Logging & Notification API skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by datagrok-ai/public in .claude/skills/datagrok-logging/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Help the user choose and implement the correct logging/notification approach in Datagrok packages.

Usage

/datagrok-logging

User-Facing Notifications (Balloons)

Toast notifications shown to the user. Primary methods for communicating from package code.

import * as grok from 'datagrok-api/grok';

// Green balloon — success or informational
grok.shell.info('Operation completed');

// Red balloon — error
grok.shell.error('Something went wrong');

// Yellow balloon — warning
grok.shell.warning('Check your settings');

All three accept string | HTMLElement and an optional BalloonOptions:

interface BalloonOptions {
  oneTimeKey?: string;   // Show only once per key (prevents repeated identical messages)
  copyText?: string;     // Text copied to clipboard on click
  autoHide?: boolean;    // Auto-hide after timeout (default: true)
  timeout?: number;      // Timeout in seconds (default: 5)
}

grok.shell.error('Failed to connect', { timeout: 10 });
grok.shell.info('Copied!', { oneTimeKey: 'copy-hint', autoHide: true });

Server-Side Logging (DG.Logger)

For audit trails, usage tracking, and debug logging recorded on the Datagrok server. These do NOT show UI notifications.

import * as DG from 'datagrok-api/dg';

// Create a logger (optionally with default params attached to every entry)
const logger = DG.Logger.create({ params: { source: 'MyPackage' } });

// Log levels
logger.debug('Detailed diagnostic info', { step: 'init' });
logger.info('Normal operation', { action: 'loaded' });
logger.warning('Potential issue', { config: 'missing' });
logger.error('Something failed', { context: 'upload' }, stackTrace);
logger.audit('User did something', { item: 'report' });
logger.usage('Feature used', { feature: 'export' });

PackageLogger

Automatically tags log entries with the package name:

const logger = new DG.PackageLogger(_package);
logger.error('Connection failed');  // tagged with package name

LOG_LEVEL enum

DG.LOG_LEVEL.DEBUG   // 'debug'
DG.LOG_LEVEL.INFO    // 'info'
DG.LOG_LEVEL.WARNING // 'warning'
DG.LOG_LEVEL.ERROR   // 'error'
DG.LOG_LEVEL.AUDIT   // 'audit'
DG.LOG_LEVEL.USAGE   // 'usage'

Progress Indicator with Logging

For long-running operations with status updates shown in the task bar:

const pi = DG.TaskBarProgressIndicator.create('Processing...', { cancelable: true });
pi.update(50, 'Half done');
pi.log('Step 1 finished');   // Append to progress log
pi.close();

Log Event Stream

Subscribe to all log events in real time:

grok.events.onLog.subscribe((msg) => {
  console.log(`[${msg.level}] ${msg.message}`, msg.params);
});

When to Use What

ScenarioMethod
Tell the user something succeededgrok.shell.info()
Show a user-facing errorgrok.shell.error()
Show a user-facing warninggrok.shell.warning()
Log for debugging (server-side)logger.debug() / logger.info()
Record errors for diagnosticslogger.error(message, params, stackTrace)
Track feature usagelogger.usage()
Audit user actionslogger.audit()
Show progress for long opsDG.TaskBarProgressIndicator
Internal dev logging (not recorded)console.log() / console.warn()

Rules

  • Never use console.log for production logging — use DG.Logger for server-side or grok.shell.* for user-facing.
  • console.warn / console.error are acceptable for development diagnostics but won't be recorded on the server.
  • Prefer grok.shell.warning() over grok.shell.error() for non-critical issues (e.g., missing optional config).
  • Use grok.shell.error() for failures that block the user's workflow.
  • Use oneTimeKey when a notification could fire repeatedly (e.g., in a loop or event handler).

Signals

GitHub stars
72
Forks
32
Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
datagrok-logging
Source
github.com/datagrok-ai/public