Get Started with Argus in 5 Minutes

By the end of this guide you’ll have Argus installed in your application, connected to your project via a DSN, and capturing real errors that appear live in your dashboard. The whole process takes about five minutes.

Create an account

Go to the Argus dashboard and sign up with your email, Google, or GitHub account.If you register with email, Argus sends a one-time passcode (OTP) to your inbox. Enter the code to verify your address and land on your new dashboard.

Create a project

From the Projects Console, click New Project. Give your project a name and select the platform that matches your application — Browser, Node.js, or React.After Argus creates the project, your DSN appears on screen. Copy it now — you’ll paste it into your init() call in the next step.

Your DSN follows the format https://PUBLIC_KEY@your-domain.com/PROJECT_ID. The public key authenticates your SDK with the ingest endpoint; the project ID routes events to the right project. You can find your DSN again at any time under Project Settings → DSN.

Install the SDK

Install the package that matches the platform you selected.Browser

npm install @argusdev/sdk-browser

yarn add @argusdev/sdk-browser

pnpm add @argusdev/sdk-browser

Node.js

npm install @argusdev/sdk-node

yarn add @argusdev/sdk-node

pnpm add @argusdev/sdk-node

React

npm install @argusdev/sdk-react

yarn add @argusdev/sdk-react

pnpm add @argusdev/sdk-react

Initialize Argus

Call init() once, as early as possible in your application’s entry point, with the DSN you copied in Step 2. From that point on, Argus automatically captures all uncaught exceptions and unhandled promise rejections — no additional code required.Browser — add this before any other application code in your entry file:

import { init } from '@argusdev/sdk-browser';

init({
  dsn: 'https://PUBLIC_KEY@your-domain.com/PROJECT_ID',
  environment: 'production', // optional
  release: '1.0.0',          // optional — tie errors to a deploy
});

Argus hooks into window.onerror and unhandledrejection. It chains any handler you already have in place — nothing gets replaced.

Node.js — initialize at the very top of your server entry file:

import { init, captureException, argusErrorHandler } from '@argusdev/sdk-node';

init({
  dsn: 'https://PUBLIC_KEY@your-domain.com/PROJECT_ID',
  environment: 'production',
  release: '1.0.0',
});

// Express apps: mount after all routes, before your own error handler
app.use(argusErrorHandler());

Argus listens for uncaughtException (captures then exits with code 1, preserving Node’s expected crash behaviour) and unhandledRejection (captures without exiting).

React — initialize once and wrap your component tree with <ArgusErrorBoundary>:

import { init, ArgusErrorBoundary } from '@argusdev/sdk-react';

init({
  dsn: 'https://PUBLIC_KEY@your-domain.com/PROJECT_ID',
  environment: 'production',
  release: '1.0.0',
});

export function App() {
  return (
    <ArgusErrorBoundary fallback={<p>Something went wrong.</p>}>
      <YourApp />
    </ArgusErrorBoundary>
  );
}

React render-cycle crashes don’t reach window.onerror in production builds. <ArgusErrorBoundary> uses componentDidCatch — the only reliable hook for render errors — and attaches the crashing component name as a tag on the captured event.

You can also capture errors manually anywhere in your code:

import { captureException } from '@argusdev/sdk-react'; // or sdk-browser / sdk-node

try {
  riskyOperation();
} catch (err) {
  captureException(err);
}

Verify in the dashboard

Trigger an error in your application — throw an exception, reject a promise, or let a component crash — then open the Argus dashboard and navigate to Issues.Your first error should appear within a few seconds. Click into it to see the full stack trace, environment, release, and request context Argus captured automatically.

Not seeing your event? Double-check that you pasted the full DSN (including the https:// prefix and the project ID path segment). Check your browser’s Network tab or Node console for any 401 or 400 responses from the ingest endpoint.

Next Steps

Now that you’re capturing errors, explore what Argus can do:

Browser SDK reference — manual capture, release tagging, and cross-origin script handling
Node.js SDK reference — Express middleware, environment variables, and uncaught exception behaviour
React SDK reference — <ArgusErrorBoundary> props, nested boundaries, and fallback UI patterns
Alert rules — get notified by email or webhook the moment a new issue opens

​Next Steps

Next Steps