Where Do I Find Payment Gateway Debug Logs in WooCommerce?
Where WooCommerce Payment Logs Live
WooCommerce provides a centralized logging system that any plugin can write to, viewable under WooCommerce → Status → Logs as a simple list of dated log files, one per source. A payment gateway plugin using this system will show up there, but by default most gateways log sparingly (perhaps just errors) to avoid recording excessive detail in normal operation — a specific debug-mode setting, usually in the gateway's own configuration tab, needs to be enabled to get full request/response detail.
Things Worth Knowing
- Debug logging can record sensitive data in some configurations (though reputable gateways redact full card numbers even in debug mode), so it's worth turning it off again once the specific issue being investigated is resolved.
- Log files can grow large quickly on a busy store with debug mode left on, so this is meant as a temporary diagnostic tool, not a permanent setting.
- Not every gateway writes to this shared system — some maintain their own separate log location, or rely entirely on the gateway's own dashboard for transaction detail instead.
- Server-level PHP error logs are a separate, complementary source worth checking if the issue looks like it might be a PHP error rather than a gateway-specific logging gap.
Using Logs for Troubleshooting
- Enable debug logging in the specific gateway's own settings tab.
- Reproduce the issue (a test transaction, or wait for the specific scenario to recur) while debug logging is active.
- Check WooCommerce → Status → Logs for the relevant dated log file and review the detailed request/response entries.
- Turn debug logging back off once the issue is diagnosed, to avoid unnecessary log growth and any residual sensitive-data exposure risk.
Need help interpreting gateway debug logs for a specific issue? See WooCommerce fixes.