All Skills > SDK Setup > Node.js / Bun / Deno SDK

Sentry Node.js / Bun / Deno SDK

Opinionated wizard that scans your project and guides you through complete Sentry setup for server-side JavaScript and TypeScript runtimes: Node.js, Bun, and Deno.

Invoke This Skill When

• User asks to "add Sentry to Node.js", "Bun", or "Deno"
• User wants to install or configure @sentry/node, @sentry/bun, or @sentry/deno
• User wants error monitoring, tracing, logging, profiling, crons, metrics, or AI monitoring for a backend JS/TS app
• User asks about instrument.js, --import ./instrument.mjs, bun --preload, or npm:@sentry/deno
• User wants to monitor Express, Fastify, Koa, Hapi, Connect, Bun.serve(), or Deno.serve()

NestJS? Use sentry-nestjs-sdk instead — it uses @sentry/nestjs with NestJS-native decorators and filters. Next.js? Use sentry-nextjs-sdk instead — it handles the three-runtime architecture (browser, server, edge).

Note: SDK versions below reflect current Sentry docs at time of writing (@sentry/node ≥10.42.0, @sentry/bun ≥10.42.0, @sentry/deno ≥10.42.0). Always verify against docs.sentry.io/platforms/javascript/guides/node/ before implementing.

---

Phase 1: Detect

Run these commands to identify the runtime, framework, and existing Sentry setup:

# Detect runtime
bun --version 2>/dev/null && echo "Bun detected"
deno --version 2>/dev/null && echo "Deno detected"
node --version 2>/dev/null && echo "Node.js detected"

# Detect existing Sentry packages
cat package.json 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"@sentry/'
cat deno.json deno.jsonc 2>/dev/null | grep -i sentry

# Detect Node.js framework
cat package.json 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"express"|"fastify"|"@hapi/hapi"|"koa"|"@nestjs/core"|"connect"'

# Detect Bun-specific frameworks
cat package.json 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"elysia"|"hono"'

# Detect Deno frameworks (deno.json imports)
cat deno.json deno.jsonc 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"oak"|"hono"|"fresh"'

# Detect module system (Node.js)
cat package.json 2>/dev/null | grep '"type"'
ls *.mjs *.cjs 2>/dev/null | head -5

# Detect existing instrument file
ls instrument.js instrument.mjs instrument.ts instrument.cjs 2>/dev/null

# Detect logging libraries
cat package.json 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"winston"|"pino"|"bunyan"'

# Detect cron / scheduling
cat package.json 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"node-cron"|"cron"|"agenda"|"bull"|"bullmq"'

# Detect AI / LLM usage
cat package.json 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"openai"|"@anthropic-ai"|"@langchain"|"@vercel/ai"|"@google/generative-ai"'

# Check for companion frontend
ls frontend/ web/ client/ ui/ 2>/dev/null
cat package.json 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"react"|"vue"|"svelte"|"next"'

What to determine:

Question	Impact
Which runtime? (Node.js / Bun / Deno)	Determines package, init pattern, and preload flag
Node.js: ESM or CJS?	ESM requires --import ./instrument.mjs; CJS uses require("./instrument")
Framework detected?	Determines which error handler to register
@sentry/* already installed?	Skip install, go straight to feature config
instrument.js / instrument.mjs already exists?	Merge into it rather than overwrite
Logging library detected?	Recommend Sentry Logs
Cron / job scheduler detected?	Recommend Crons monitoring
AI library detected?	Recommend AI Monitoring
Companion frontend found?	Trigger Phase 4 cross-link

---

Phase 2: Recommend

Present a concrete recommendation based on what you found. Don't ask open-ended questions — lead with a proposal:

Recommended (core coverage):

• ✅ Error Monitoring — always; captures unhandled exceptions, promise rejections, and framework errors
• ✅ Tracing — automatic HTTP, DB, and queue instrumentation via OpenTelemetry

Optional (enhanced observability):

• ⚡ Logging — structured logs via Sentry.logger.*; recommend when winston/pino/bunyan or log search is needed
• ⚡ Profiling — continuous CPU profiling (Node.js only; not available on Bun or Deno)
• ⚡ AI Monitoring — OpenAI, Anthropic, LangChain, Vercel AI SDK; recommend when AI/LLM calls detected
• ⚡ Crons — detect missed or failed scheduled jobs; recommend when node-cron, Bull, or Agenda is detected
• ⚡ Metrics — custom counters, gauges, distributions; recommend when custom KPIs needed

Recommendation logic:

Feature	Recommend when...
Error Monitoring	Always — non-negotiable baseline
Tracing	Always for server apps — HTTP spans + DB spans are high-value
Logging	App uses winston, pino, bunyan, or needs log-to-trace correlation
Profiling	Node.js only — performance-critical service; native addon compatible
AI Monitoring	App calls OpenAI, Anthropic, LangChain, Vercel AI, or Google GenAI
Crons	App uses node-cron, Bull, BullMQ, Agenda, or any scheduled task pattern
Metrics	App needs custom counters, gauges, or histograms

Propose: "I recommend setting up Error Monitoring + Tracing. Want me to also add Logging or Profiling?"

---

Phase 3: Guide

Runtime: Node.js

Option 1: Wizard (Recommended for Node.js)

You need to run this yourself — the wizard opens a browser for login and requires interactive input that the agent can't handle. Copy-paste into your terminal:

npx @sentry/wizard@latest -i node

It handles login, org/project selection, SDK installation, instrument.js creation, and package.json script updates.

Once it finishes, come back and skip to Verification.

If the user skips the wizard, proceed with Option 2 (Manual Setup) below.

---

Option 2: Manual Setup — Node.js

Install

npm install @sentry/node --save
# or
yarn add @sentry/node
# or
pnpm add @sentry/node

Create the Instrument File

CommonJS (instrument.js):

// instrument.js — must be loaded before all other modules
const Sentry = require("@sentry/node");

Sentry.init({
  dsn: process.env.SENTRY_DSN ?? "___DSN___",

  sendDefaultPii: true,

  // 100% in dev, lower in production
  tracesSampleRate: process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" ? 1.0 : 0.1,

  // Capture local variable values in stack frames
  includeLocalVariables: true,

  enableLogs: true,
});

ESM (instrument.mjs):

// instrument.mjs — loaded via --import flag before any other module
import * as Sentry from "@sentry/node";

Sentry.init({
  dsn: process.env.SENTRY_DSN ?? "___DSN___",

  sendDefaultPii: true,
  tracesSampleRate: process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" ? 1.0 : 0.1,
  includeLocalVariables: true,
  enableLogs: true,
});

Start Your App with Sentry Loaded First

CommonJS — add require("./instrument") as the very first line of your entry file:

// app.js
require("./instrument"); // must be first

const express = require("express");
// ... rest of your app

ESM — use the --import flag so Sentry loads before all other modules (Node.js 18.19.0+ required):

node --import ./instrument.mjs app.mjs

Add to package.json scripts:

{
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node --import ./instrument.mjs server.mjs",
    "dev": "node --import ./instrument.mjs --watch server.mjs"
  }
}

Or via environment variable (useful for wrapping existing start commands):

NODE_OPTIONS="--import ./instrument.mjs" npm start

Framework Error Handlers

Register the Sentry error handler after all routes so it can capture framework errors:

Express:

const express = require("express");
const Sentry = require("@sentry/node");

const app = express();

// ... your routes

// Add AFTER all routes — captures 5xx errors by default
Sentry.setupExpressErrorHandler(app);

// Optional: capture 4xx errors too
// Sentry.setupExpressErrorHandler(app, {
//   shouldHandleError(error) { return error.status >= 400; },
// });

app.listen(3000);

Fastify:

const Fastify = require("fastify");
const Sentry = require("@sentry/node");

const fastify = Fastify();

// Add BEFORE routes (unlike Express!)
Sentry.setupFastifyErrorHandler(fastify);

// ... your routes

await fastify.listen({ port: 3000 });

Koa:

const Koa = require("koa");
const Sentry = require("@sentry/node");

const app = new Koa();

// Add as FIRST middleware (catches errors thrown by later middleware)
Sentry.setupKoaErrorHandler(app);

// ... your other middleware and routes

app.listen(3000);

Hapi (async — must await):

const Hapi = require("@hapi/hapi");
const Sentry = require("@sentry/node");

const server = Hapi.server({ port: 3000 });

// ... your routes

// Must await — Hapi registration is async
await Sentry.setupHapiErrorHandler(server);

await server.start();

Connect:

const connect = require("connect");
const Sentry = require("@sentry/node");

const app = connect();

// Add BEFORE routes (like Fastify and Koa)
Sentry.setupConnectErrorHandler(app);

// ... your middleware and routes

require("http").createServer(app).listen(3000);

NestJS — has its own dedicated skill with full coverage:

Use the sentry-nestjs-sdk skill instead. NestJS uses a separate package (@sentry/nestjs) with NestJS-native constructs: SentryModule.forRoot(), SentryGlobalFilter, @SentryTraced, @SentryCron decorators, and GraphQL/Microservices support. Load that skill for complete NestJS setup.

Vanilla Node.js http module — wrap request handler manually:

const http = require("http");
const Sentry = require("@sentry/node");

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
  Sentry.withIsolationScope(() => {
    try {
      // your handler
      res.end("OK");
    } catch (err) {
      Sentry.captureException(err);
      res.writeHead(500);
      res.end("Internal Server Error");
    }
  });
});

server.listen(3000);

Framework error handler summary:

Framework	Function	Placement	Async?
Express	setupExpressErrorHandler(app)	After all routes	No
Fastify	setupFastifyErrorHandler(fastify)	Before routes	No
Koa	setupKoaErrorHandler(app)	First middleware	No
Hapi	setupHapiErrorHandler(server)	Before server.start()	Yes
Connect	setupConnectErrorHandler(app)	Before routes	No
NestJS	→ Use sentry-nestjs-sdk	Dedicated skill	—

---

Runtime: Bun

No wizard available for Bun. Manual setup only.

Install

bun add @sentry/bun

Create instrument.ts (or instrument.js)

// instrument.ts
import * as Sentry from "@sentry/bun";

Sentry.init({
  dsn: process.env.SENTRY_DSN ?? "___DSN___",

  sendDefaultPii: true,
  tracesSampleRate: process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" ? 1.0 : 0.1,
  enableLogs: true,
});

Start Your App with --preload

bun --preload ./instrument.ts server.ts

Add to package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "start": "bun --preload ./instrument.ts server.ts",
    "dev": "bun --watch --preload ./instrument.ts server.ts"
  }
}

Bun.serve() — Auto-Instrumentation

@sentry/bun automatically instruments Bun.serve() via JavaScript Proxy. No extra setup is required — just initialize with --preload and your Bun.serve() calls are traced:

// server.ts
const server = Bun.serve({
  port: 3000,
  fetch(req) {
    return new Response("Hello from Bun!");
  },
});

Framework Error Handlers on Bun

Bun can run Express, Fastify, Hono, and Elysia. Use the same @sentry/bun import and the @sentry/node error handler functions (re-exported by @sentry/bun):

import * as Sentry from "@sentry/bun";
import express from "express";

const app = express();
// ... routes
Sentry.setupExpressErrorHandler(app);
app.listen(3000);

Bun Feature Support

Feature	Bun Support	Notes
Error Monitoring	✅ Full	Same API as Node
Tracing	✅ Via @sentry/node OTel	Most auto-instrumentations work
Logging	✅ Full	enableLogs: true + Sentry.logger.*
Profiling	❌ Not available	@sentry/profiling-node uses native addons incompatible with Bun
Metrics	✅ Full	Sentry.metrics.*
Crons	✅ Full	Sentry.withMonitor()
AI Monitoring	✅ Full	OpenAI, Anthropic integrations work

---

Runtime: Deno

No wizard available for Deno. Manual setup only. Requires Deno 2.0+. Deno 1.x is not supported. Use npm: specifier. The deno.land/x/sentry registry is deprecated.

Install via deno.json (Recommended)

{
  "imports": {
    "@sentry/deno": "npm:@sentry/deno@10.42.0"
  }
}

Or import directly with the npm: specifier:

import * as Sentry from "npm:@sentry/deno";

Initialize — Add to Entry File

// main.ts — Sentry.init() must be called before any other code
import * as Sentry from "@sentry/deno";

Sentry.init({
  dsn: Deno.env.get("SENTRY_DSN") ?? "___DSN___",

  sendDefaultPii: true,
  tracesSampleRate: Deno.env.get("DENO_ENV") === "development" ? 1.0 : 0.1,
  enableLogs: true,
});

// Your application code follows
Deno.serve({ port: 8000 }, (req) => {
  return new Response("Hello from Deno!");
});

Unlike Node.js and Bun, Deno does not have a --preload or --import flag. Sentry must be the first import in your entry file.

Required Deno Permissions

The SDK requires network access to reach your Sentry ingest domain:

deno run \
  --allow-net=o<ORG_ID>.ingest.sentry.io \
  --allow-read=./src \
  --allow-env=SENTRY_DSN,SENTRY_RELEASE \
  main.ts

For development, --allow-all works but is not recommended for production.

Deno Cron Integration

Deno provides native cron scheduling. Use denoCronIntegration for automatic monitoring:

import * as Sentry from "@sentry/deno";
import { denoCronIntegration } from "@sentry/deno";

Sentry.init({
  dsn: Deno.env.get("SENTRY_DSN") ?? "___DSN___",
  integrations: [denoCronIntegration()],
});

// Cron is automatically monitored
Deno.cron("daily-cleanup", "0 0 * * *", () => {
  // cleanup logic
});

Deno Feature Support

Feature	Deno Support	Notes
Error Monitoring	✅ Full	Unhandled exceptions + captureException
Tracing	✅ Custom OTel	Automatic spans for Deno.serve() and fetch
Logging	✅ Full	enableLogs: true + Sentry.logger.*
Profiling	❌ Not available	No profiling addon for Deno
Metrics	✅ Full	Sentry.metrics.*
Crons	✅ Full	denoCronIntegration() + Sentry.withMonitor()
AI Monitoring	✅ Partial	Vercel AI SDK integration works; OpenAI/Anthropic via npm:

---

For Each Agreed Feature

Load the corresponding reference file and follow its steps:

Feature	Reference file	Load when...
Error Monitoring	references/error-monitoring.md	Always (baseline) — captures, scopes, enrichment, beforeSend
Tracing	references/tracing.md	OTel auto-instrumentation, custom spans, distributed tracing, sampling
Logging	references/logging.md	Structured logs, Sentry.logger.*, log-to-trace correlation
Profiling	references/profiling.md	Node.js only — CPU profiling, Bun/Deno gaps documented
Metrics	references/metrics.md	Custom counters, gauges, distributions
Crons	references/crons.md	Scheduled job monitoring, node-cron, Bull, Agenda, Deno.cron
AI Monitoring	Load sentry-setup-ai-monitoring skill	OpenAI, Anthropic, LangChain, Vercel AI, Google GenAI

For each feature: read the reference file, follow its steps exactly, and verify before moving on.

---

Verification

After setup, verify Sentry is receiving events:

// Add temporarily to your entry file or a test route, then remove
import * as Sentry from "@sentry/node"; // or @sentry/bun / @sentry/deno

Sentry.captureException(new Error("Sentry test error — delete me"));

Or trigger an unhandled exception:

// In a route handler or startup — will be captured automatically
throw new Error("Sentry test error — delete me");

Then check your Sentry Issues dashboard — the error should appear within ~30 seconds.

Verification checklist:

Check	How
Error captured	Throw in a handler, verify in Sentry Issues
Tracing working	Check Performance tab — should show HTTP spans
includeLocalVariables working	Stack frame in Sentry should show variable values
Source maps working	Stack trace shows readable file names, not minified

---

Config Reference

Sentry.init() Core Options

Option	Type	Default	Notes
dsn	string	—	Required. Also from SENTRY_DSN env var
tracesSampleRate	number	—	0–1; required to enable tracing
sendDefaultPii	boolean	false	Include IP, request headers, user info
includeLocalVariables	boolean	false	Add local variable values to stack frames (Node.js)
enableLogs	boolean	false	Enable Sentry Logs product (v9.41.0+)
environment	string	"production"	Also from SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT env var
release	string	—	Also from SENTRY_RELEASE env var
debug	boolean	false	Log SDK activity to console
enabled	boolean	true	Set false in tests to disable sending
sampleRate	number	1.0	Fraction of error events to send (0–1)
shutdownTimeout	number	2000	Milliseconds to flush events before process exit

Graceful Shutdown

Flush buffered events before process exit — important for short-lived scripts and serverless:

process.on("SIGTERM", async () => {
  await Sentry.close(2000); // flush with 2s timeout
  process.exit(0);
});

Environment Variables

Variable	Purpose	Runtime
SENTRY_DSN	DSN (alternative to hardcoding in init())	All
SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT	Deployment environment	All
SENTRY_RELEASE	Release version string (auto-detected from git)	All
SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN	Source map upload token	Build time
SENTRY_ORG	Org slug for source map upload	Build time
SENTRY_PROJECT	Project slug for source map upload	Build time
NODE_OPTIONS	Set --import ./instrument.mjs for ESM	Node.js

Source Maps (Node.js)

Readable stack traces in production require source map upload. Use @sentry/cli or the webpack/esbuild/rollup plugins:

npm install @sentry/cli --save-dev

# Create a Sentry auth token at sentry.io/settings/auth-tokens/
# Set in .env.sentry-build-plugin (gitignore this file):
SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN=sntrys_eyJ...

Add upload step to your build:

{
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc && sentry-cli sourcemaps inject ./dist && sentry-cli sourcemaps upload ./dist"
  }
}

---

Phase 4: Cross-Link

After completing backend setup, check for companion services:

# Frontend companion
ls frontend/ web/ client/ ui/ 2>/dev/null
cat package.json 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"react"|"vue"|"svelte"|"next"'

# Other backend services
ls ../go.mod ../requirements.txt ../Gemfile 2>/dev/null

If a frontend, framework-specific SDK, or other backend is found, suggest the matching skill:

Dedicated JavaScript framework skills (prefer these over generic node-sdk):

Detected	Prefer skill	Why
NestJS (@nestjs/core in package.json)	sentry-nestjs-sdk	Uses @sentry/nestjs with NestJS-native decorators, filters, and GraphQL support
Next.js (next in package.json)	sentry-nextjs-sdk	Three-runtime architecture (browser, server, edge), withSentryConfig, source map upload

Frontend companions:

Detected	Suggest
React app (react in package.json)	sentry-react-sdk
Svelte/SvelteKit	sentry-svelte-sdk

Other backend companions:

Detected	Suggest
Go backend (go.mod)	sentry-go-sdk
Python backend (requirements.txt, pyproject.toml)	sentry-python-sdk
Ruby backend (Gemfile)	sentry-ruby-sdk

Connecting frontend and backend with the same DSN or linked projects enables distributed tracing — stack traces that span your browser, API server, and database in a single trace view.

---

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Solution
Events not appearing	instrument.js loaded too late	Ensure it's the first require() / loaded via --import or --preload
Tracing spans missing	tracesSampleRate not set	Add tracesSampleRate: 1.0 to Sentry.init()
ESM instrumentation not working	Missing --import flag	Run with node --import ./instrument.mjs; import "./instrument.mjs" inside app is not sufficient
@sentry/profiling-node install fails on Bun	Native addon incompatible	Profiling is not supported on Bun — remove @sentry/profiling-node
Deno: events not sent	Missing --allow-net permission	Run with --allow-net=o<ORG_ID>.ingest.sentry.io
Deno: deno.land/x/sentry not working	Deprecated and frozen at v8.55.0	Switch to npm:@sentry/deno specifier
includeLocalVariables not showing values	Integration not activated or minified code	Ensure includeLocalVariables: true in init; check source maps
NestJS: errors not captured	Wrong SDK or missing filter	Use sentry-nestjs-sdk — NestJS needs @sentry/nestjs, not @sentry/node
Hapi: setupHapiErrorHandler timing issue	Not awaited	Must await Sentry.setupHapiErrorHandler(server) before server.start()
Shutdown: events lost	Process exits before flush	Add await Sentry.close(2000) in SIGTERM/SIGINT handler
Stack traces show minified code	Source maps not uploaded	Configure @sentry/cli source map upload in build step