To follow one request across orders-api and catalog-api on Light Cloud, give it a request ID, forward it in an x-request-id header, and include it in each service’s JSON log entries. The same ID in both Logs tabs lets you connect the events for a successful order or investigate a failed one.
What this workflow does—and what it does not
This tutorial applies to the Bean There microservices project and Light Cloud’s Logs tab. Each API keeps an incoming request ID or creates one, returns it in its response header, and records it in logs. When orders-api calls catalog-api, it forwards the same ID so the two services’ records can be searched together.
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This is a way to correlate log entries for the example request. It is not evidence that the setup replaces a full distributed tracing system, and the tutorial does not describe propagation through asynchronous messages.
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Prerequisites and source code
Start with the Bean There project from Parts 1–5. You need Git and a terminal with curl; in PowerShell 7 on Windows, use curl.exe. The code is in the tutorial-microservices repository at its part-6 tag: tutorial-microservices, part-6.
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Both APIs change in this installment, so redeploy orders-api and catalog-api before testing. The tutorial’s curl examples use placeholder deployment hostnames; replace them with the endpoint for your own deployment.
Establish a request ID at the service boundary
The example middleware in each service checks for x-request-id. If the header is present, the service keeps that value; if it is absent, the service creates a UUID. Each API adds the resulting ID to its response header, so a caller can obtain it from the response or from the first log entry.
For a production request that arrives without an ID, the first service should create it. Do not let a browser choose the ID. This keeps creation at the service boundary while allowing downstream services to use the same correlation value.
Forward the same ID between services
When orders-api calls catalog-api, it sends the ID in the downstream request’s x-request-id header. The catalog service retains that received ID instead of generating a new one. This continuity is what makes entries from the two APIs searchable as parts of one request.
Write structured log records
Each service writes one JSON object per line. Include the request ID, service name, severity, and message; the tutorial’s example fields are requestId, service, severity, and message. Light Cloud’s Logs tab reads severity to set the entry level and support its level filter.
The Python example in orders-api serializes the object, prints it, and flushes output. The JavaScript example in catalog-api serializes an object to the console. Keeping the fields consistent across the services makes it easier to recognize related entries, while the service and message fields explain what each entry records.
Follow a successful order in the Logs tabs
- Submit an order to the deployed
orders-apiusing the tutorial’s curl request, with your own deployment endpoint in place of the placeholder hostname. - Obtain the request ID from the response header or the first
orders-apilog entry. - Open the Light Cloud Logs tab for
orders-apiand search for that exact ID. - Open the Logs tab for
catalog-apiand search for the same ID.
The example’s related entries include messages such as “placing order,” “order placed,” and “reserved stock.” Their timestamps and shared request ID show the request’s path through the two services; the messages distinguish each service’s part in it.
Find and follow a failed request
The tutorial’s failure case submits an order for a product that does not exist. The API returns 404 Product not found. The example records a warning, and Light Cloud marks HTTP request logs with 4xx status codes as WARNING.
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- In the Logs tab for
orders-api, select the warnings-and-above filter to narrow the entries. - Open the warning entry for the failed request and note its request ID.
- Search for that same ID in the
catalog-apiLogs tab to inspect the related service entries.
The filter helps surface a warning, but the request ID is the link between the services. Searching the exact ID in both tabs lets you move from the failed order to the catalog-side record without relying on the message text alone.
Quick Recap
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