Debug Logs: what the plugin is actually doing

When a test is not behaving (a conversion that never records, a variation that never shows), the debug log tells you what AB Split Test decided and why, visit by visit.

Turning it on

  1. Go to AB Split Test > Settings, open Developer and find Debug Logging.
  2. Tick Enable logging and save.
  3. Reproduce the problem on the front end.
  4. Go to AB Split Test > Logs to read what happened.
The AB Split Test Debug Logs screen, showing Clear Logs, Copy to Clipboard and Refresh buttons above a dark log panel tracing a visit, a goal, a conversion, a warning about an unpublished conversion page and an error about an external conversion URL.

Reading it

Each line is timestamped and names the test by its ID. A healthy visit looks like a short story: the config loads, a variation is assigned, the visit is recorded, then later a goal or a conversion comes in.

  • visit check result shows whether this was a new visitor and which variation they were given.
  • Log event: eid:… is an event on its way to the database: the test, the variation, the type (visit, goal, conversion), the page and the device size.
  • OBS: add… shows the running totals being incremented.
  • [warning] and [error] lines are the ones to read first. They call out the usual culprits: a conversion page that is not published, a conversion URL on a domain you have not tracked, a test with no eligible variations.

The three buttons do what they say. Copy to Clipboard is the quickest way to send us something useful if you open a support ticket. Paste the log rather than describing it.

Housekeeping

  • The log is a .log file in wp-content/uploads/abst/logs/ with a long random name, in a folder that blocks direct access on Apache and LiteSpeed servers. Read, copy or clear it from AB Split Test > Logs. It is trimmed to the most recent 500 lines automatically, so it cannot grow without limit. An old abst_log.txt file in your uploads folder is moved into the private log and deleted when you update.
  • Turn logging off again when you are done. It writes on every tracked visit, which is work your server does not need to do once the problem is solved, particularly on a high traffic site.
  • Clearing the logs also clears the MCP audit log, if you have been using the MCP integration.

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