Rollbar Python SDK

Warnings

• breaking Support for Python 3.6 was removed in Rollbar Python SDK v1.3.0. Installations on Python 3.6 will fail or encounter issues.
  Fix: Upgrade your Python environment to version 3.7 or higher. Rollbar Python SDK v1.3.0 supports Python 3.7 to 3.13.
• gotcha The `rollbar.init()` call must occur before any `rollbar.report_*` functions are called. Incorrect or missing `access_token` or `environment` parameters will prevent reports from being sent.
  Fix: Ensure `rollbar.init()` is called once at the start of your application's lifecycle with correct `access_token` and `environment` values.
• gotcha Rollbar uses background threads to send reports asynchronously. If your application exits immediately after an error, reports may not be sent. For command-line scripts or short-lived processes, `rollbar.wait()` might be necessary before exit.
  Fix: For applications that terminate quickly, call `rollbar.wait()` to ensure all buffered items are sent before the process exits. For web applications, this is typically handled by the framework integration.
• gotcha Reports with very large payloads (e.g., huge local variables or deep call stacks) may be truncated due to size limits. The SDK has internal shortening logic (improved in v1.1.0-alpha).
  Fix: Review the data being sent to Rollbar. If truncation is an issue, consider adjusting configuration options like `locals_max_size` or implementing custom payload transforms (v1.2.0+) to filter sensitive or excessively large data.
• gotcha For popular web frameworks (Django, Flask, FastAPI, Pyramid), it's highly recommended to use the dedicated Rollbar integrations (e.g., middleware) rather than just `rollbar.init()`. These integrations handle context, request data, and proper error capturing within the framework's lifecycle.
  Fix: Consult the Rollbar documentation for your specific web framework and implement the recommended integration (e.g., `rollbar.contrib.django.middleware.RollbarMiddleware`).

Install

• pip install rollbar Install stable version

Imports

• init

  import rollbar
  rollbar.init(...)

  Initializes the Rollbar SDK with configuration.
• report_exc_info

  import rollbar
  rollbar.report_exc_info()

  Reports the current exception info to Rollbar.
• report_message

  import rollbar
  rollbar.report_message('Hello Rollbar!')

  Reports a simple message to Rollbar.
• RollbarHandler

  from rollbar.logger import RollbarHandler

  Logging handler for integrating with Python's standard logging module.

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to initialize the Rollbar SDK and report both an exception and a simple message. Remember to replace 'YOUR_ROLLBAR_ACCESS_TOKEN' with your actual token, preferably via an environment variable. For background thread reports to complete on exit, consider `rollbar.wait()` if the application terminates quickly.

import rollbar
import os

# Configure Rollbar
rollbar.init(
    access_token=os.environ.get('ROLLBAR_ACCESS_TOKEN', 'YOUR_ROLLBAR_ACCESS_TOKEN'),
    environment='development',
    root=os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
)

def main():
    try:
        raise ValueError("This is a test error from Rollbar Python SDK!")
    except Exception:
        rollbar.report_exc_info()
        print("Error reported to Rollbar.")

    rollbar.report_message("Application started successfully.", level='info')
    print("Message reported to Rollbar.")

    # In a real application, ensure background threads have time to send data
    # before exiting. For simple scripts, you might need rollbar.wait().
    # rollbar.wait()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()