What is the Event Log?
The Event Log is a built-in inspector in the Cuez Automator that shows you what is happening - and what went wrong - during automation execution. As automations grow in complexity, it becomes harder to track what fired, why something did not happen, or how long each action took. The Event Log gives you a clear, real-time view of all of this in one place.
The redesigned Event Log contains four tabs, each giving you a different perspective on your automations:
Events - what fired and in what order
Traces - a timeline showing how long each action took
Variables - the current values of all variables
Devices - the current state of all connected devices
When to use it?
Open the Event Log whenever you need to understand why an automation did not fire as expected, identify which action is slow, or check the current state of a device or variable during a live show.
How to open the Event Log
You can find the Event Log on the left sidebar via the 'bell' icon. Open the Event Log in the Automator and select the tab you want to inspect.
The four tabs
Events
The 'Events' tab shows a log of every action that fired, in the order it was triggered. Each entry shows information about the action and, where possible, links it to the device it was sent to. Use this tab to confirm that a trigger fired, that the right device was targeted, and that the expected sequence of actions took place.
Traces
The 'Traces' tab shows a timeline of all the subsequent actions that were triggered from a single cue — including functions fired, conditions evaluated, and how long each individual action took from start to finish. This is the most useful tab for diagnosing slow or misfiring automations. If a command is arriving late on a device, the Traces tab will show you exactly where the delay is — whether it is a network issue, a long condition check, or a slow device response.
Tip: If an automation is not firing when expected, check the Traces tab first. Look for any action that takes significantly longer than the others — this is usually where the bottleneck is.
Variables
The 'Variables' tab shows the current value of all Automator variables, updated in real time as the show runs. Use this tab to quickly verify that a variable holds the value you expect before a cue fires, or to troubleshoot automations that depend on variable conditions.
Devices
The 'Devices' tab shows the current state of all connected devices at a glance. For each device, you can see the history of functions called and the values that were passed. This includes not just hardware devices but also Macros, Variables, and Rundown events. Use this tab to verify that a device received the right command with the right values, or to check whether a device is in the expected state before a cue fires.
How to read trace data to diagnose automations
When an automation misfires or fires late, follow these steps in the Event Log:
Open the 'Events' tab and confirm the trigger fired at the right time and targeted the correct device.
Switch to the 'Traces' tab and find the trigger in question. Look at the timeline to see the order in which actions executed and how long each one took.
If one action is taking significantly longer than expected, check whether it is a network delay (the command left the Automator on time but the device responded slowly) or an Automator-side delay (a condition check or step delay is adding time before the command is sent).
Use the 'Devices' tab to confirm the device received the correct function with the correct values.
Use the 'Variables' tab to verify that any variables used in conditions held the expected values at the time of the cue.
Note: For timing diagnostics at the network level, also see the Interaction latency panel in Project settings, which shows the Net and Total/Delay breakdown for each executed action.
Tip: Once you have reproduced the issue, you can export the events directly from the Event Log as a JSON file or CSV — useful for sharing with a colleague or sending to Cuez support.
Performance mode
If you are working with large or complex rundowns and notice sluggishness or high CPU usage on the machine running the Automator, enabling 'Performance mode' can help. Performance mode reduces the frequency of UI updates in the Automator, reducing visual overhead without affecting how automations are executed or how quickly commands are sent to your devices.
For full details on enabling Performance mode and the Interaction latency diagnostics panel, see How can I use Performance mode in the Automator?
💡 Tracing and event logging (redesigned inspector with Events, Traces, Devices, and Variables tabs) is available from Automator Stable v1.30.0 (14 July 2026) onwards.