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Atmos auto-detects GitHub Actions debug logging

· 3 min read
Erik Osterman
Erik Osterman
Founder @ Cloud Posse

GitHub Actions has a built-in "Re-run with debug logging" button: when a workflow fails, you click it and the next run launches with runner and step debug logging turned on. Atmos now auto-detects that signal — when you re-run with debug logging, Atmos switches its own log level to Debug for the run. No need to remember to also set ATMOS_LOGS_LEVEL=Debug in your workflow YAML.

What Changed​

When all of the following are true, Atmos sets its log level to Debug for the current run and announces the change at startup:

  • ci.enabled: true in your atmos.yaml.
  • Atmos detects it is running in a CI provider that exposes a "debug mode" signal (today: GitHub Actions).
  • That provider reports debug mode is active for the current run. For GitHub Actions, that means either ACTIONS_RUNNER_DEBUG=true or ACTIONS_STEP_DEBUG=true is set — which is exactly what the "Re-run with debug logging" button does for you.

When the auto-detect fires, you'll see a single Info line in the logs so it's obvious why the output got louder:

INFO CI provider debug mode detected — using Debug log level for this run provider=github-actions from=Info

Why This Matters​

When something goes wrong in a workflow, debugging Atmos is usually just as important as debugging the workflow around it. The "Re-run with debug logging" button is meant to be one switch that makes everything in the run verbose — but a tool that ignores it forces you back into a per-tool dance: set this env var, add that flag, edit the workflow YAML, re-trigger the job. Atmos now picks up the signal on its own so the button does what you'd expect.

The auto-detected level intentionally outranks --logs-level and ATMOS_LOGS_LEVEL. The CI-side debug signal is set at the repo or workflow level by the runner itself, so a per-invocation --logs-level Warning in your workflow YAML no longer hides debug information when you're actively debugging the run.

How to Use It​

You don't have to do anything in Atmos. Make sure ci.enabled: true is set in your atmos.yaml, and then use the existing GitHub Actions debug controls:

  • Per-run: GitHub's "Re-run with debug logging" button (the primary path).
  • Always-on: set ACTIONS_STEP_DEBUG=true as a repository or organization variable to enable step debug logging for every workflow run.

See GitHub's docs on enabling debug logging for the full list of options.

If you don't have ci.enabled: true, or you're running outside of GitHub Actions, the auto-detect is a no-op — your configured log level applies as before.

Get Involved​

Have feedback or want to suggest improvements? Open an issue on GitHub or drop into the Cloud Posse Slack community and let us know.