CtrlK
BlogDocsLog inGet started
Tessl Logo

bc-skills/implementing-telemetry

Custom telemetry with Feature Telemetry and Session.LogMessage for BC

Pending
Quality

Pending

Does it follow best practices?

Impact

Pending

No eval scenarios have been run

SecuritybySnyk

Pending

The risk profile of this skill

Overview
Eval results
Files

SKILL.md

name:
implementing-telemetry
description:
Logs custom events to Application Insights using Feature Telemetry or Session.LogMessage, tracks feature adoption with LogUptake, and queries telemetry data with KQL. Use when instrumenting BC extensions, debugging production issues, monitoring API integrations, or tracking feature usage.
license:
MIT
metadata:
{"version":"1.0.0"}

Skill: AL Telemetry Implementation

Validation Gates

  1. After Step 3: Telemetry Logger registered (check OnRegisterTelemetryLogger fires)
  2. After Step 5: Events appear in Application Insights within 5 minutes
  3. Final: KQL query returns your custom eventIds with correct dimensions

Key Concept

EventId prefix: Platform adds AL automatically → Code: APP-0001 → App Insights: ALAPP-0001

Procedure

Step 1: Configure Application Insights

In app.json:

{
  "applicationInsightsConnectionString": "InstrumentationKey=xxx;IngestionEndpoint=https://xxx.applicationinsights.azure.com/;..."
}

Get connection string from: Azure Portal → Application Insights → Overview → Connection String

Step 2: Choose Telemetry Method

MethodWhen to Use
Feature Telemetry (Recommended)Standard logging with auto dimensions, uptake tracking
Session.LogMessageDirect control, no duplicates, simple scenarios

Step 3: Create Telemetry Logger (Required for Feature Telemetry)

CRITICAL: Exactly ONE per publisher!

codeunit <ID> "<PREFIX> Telemetry Logger" implements "Telemetry Logger"
{
    Access = Internal;

    procedure LogMessage(
        EventId: Text;
        Message: Text;
        Verbosity: Verbosity;
        DataClassification: DataClassification;
        TelemetryScope: TelemetryScope;
        CustomDimensions: Dictionary of [Text, Text])
    begin
        Session.LogMessage(EventId, Message, Verbosity, DataClassification,
            TelemetryScope, CustomDimensions);
    end;

    [EventSubscriber(ObjectType::Codeunit, Codeunit::"Telemetry Loggers",
        'OnRegisterTelemetryLogger', '', true, true)]
    local procedure OnRegisterTelemetryLogger(var Sender: Codeunit "Telemetry Loggers")
    var
        TelemetryLogger: Codeunit "<PREFIX> Telemetry Logger";
    begin
        Sender.Register(TelemetryLogger);
    end;
}

Step 4: Define EventId Convention

Format: <PREFIX>-<NNNN> (with hyphen to distinguish from BC standard)

Organization by Range:

RangeAreaConvention
00xxArea 1 (e.g., API to System A)Even = success, Odd = error
01xxArea 2 (e.g., API to System B)Even = success, Odd = error
02xxAuthenticationEven = success, Odd = error
09xxFallback/GenericFor unmapped operations

Example Registry:

EventIdOperationResult
APP-0001SendOrderSuccess
APP-0002SendOrderError
APP-0003SendLineSuccess
APP-0004SendLineError

Step 5: Implement Logging

Using Feature Telemetry (Recommended)

var
    FeatureTelemetry: Codeunit "Feature Telemetry";
    CustomDimensions: Dictionary of [Text, Text];
begin
    // Replace <Record> and field names with your source record
    CustomDimensions.Add('<KeyFieldName>', <Record>."<KeyField>");
    CustomDimensions.Add('<RelatedFieldName>', <Record>."<RelatedField>");

    FeatureTelemetry.LogUsage('<PREFIX>-0001', '<FeatureName>', '<OperationDescription>', CustomDimensions);

    FeatureTelemetry.LogError('<PREFIX>-0002', '<FeatureName>', '<OperationDescription>',
        GetLastErrorText(), GetLastErrorCallStack(), CustomDimensions);

    FeatureTelemetry.LogUptake('<PREFIX>-0010', '<FeatureName>',
        Enum::"Feature Uptake Status"::Used);
end;

Using Session.LogMessage (Direct)

var
    CustomDimensions: Dictionary of [Text, Text];
begin
    // Replace <Record> and field names with your source record
    CustomDimensions.Add('<KeyFieldName>', <Record>."<KeyField>");
    CustomDimensions.Add('Operation', '<OperationName>');

    Session.LogMessage('<PREFIX>-0001', '<LogMessage>', Verbosity::Normal,
        DataClassification::SystemMetadata, TelemetryScope::ExtensionPublisher, CustomDimensions);
end;

Step 6: Hybrid Logging (Telemetry + Local Table)

For API integrations, use both:

  1. Telemetry: Synthetic data for monitoring/alerts
  2. Local Table: Complete JSON for debugging

See BC-Telemetry-Guide.md Section 14 for complete implementation.

Step 7: Query in Application Insights

Basic KQL Query:

traces
| where timestamp > ago(24h)
| where customDimensions.eventId startswith "AL<PREFIX>-"
| project
    timestamp,
    eventId = tostring(customDimensions.eventId),
    message,
    customDimensions
| order by timestamp desc

Note: Remember the AL prefix rule from Key Concept when searching in App Insights.

Important Notes

DataClassification: ALWAYS use SystemMetadata - other values won't be sent!

TelemetryScope: ExtensionPublisher = only your App Insights | All = yours AND customer's

Multi-App: ONE Telemetry Logger per publisher. Distinguish apps via alCallerAppName dimension.

Job Queue and Scheduled Task Telemetry

Job Queue entries trigger Scheduled Tasks at platform level. Key event IDs:

  • Job Queue (AL): AL0000E24 (Enqueued), AL0000E25 (Started), AL0000E26 (Success), AL0000HE7 (Failure)
  • Scheduled Task (LC): LC0040-LC0045, LC0057 (Created → Failed → Timeout)

Correlate via alScheduledTaskId dimension in AL0000E24.

See references/job-queue-telemetry.md for complete event tables and KQL queries.

Troubleshooting

IssueFix
Events not appearingCheck applicationInsightsConnectionString in app.json
Wrong eventId in App InsightsRemember: platform adds AL prefix automatically
DataClassification errorMUST use SystemMetadata - other values won't send
Duplicate eventsFeature Telemetry creates 2 by design - de-duplicate in KQL

Feedback loop: Fix configuration → Re-deploy → Wait 5 minutes → Re-check in App Insights.

References

See references/ folder for:

  • kql-queries.md - Common KQL queries
  • job-queue-telemetry.md - Job Queue and Scheduled Task monitoring

External Documentation

BC Telemetry:

  • Microsoft: Telemetry Overview
  • Microsoft: Telemetry Event IDs
  • Microsoft: Feature Telemetry
  • Microsoft: Custom Telemetry Events
  • Microsoft: Task Scheduler
  • BCTech Samples & KQL Queries

KQL Learning:

  • MustLearnKQL - 21-part KQL tutorial series (Sentinel-focused but KQL syntax is universal)

SKILL.md

tile.json