Task 38: No Compact One Line Error Summary Exists for High Volume Monitoring

[grantfox-oss]

While deep, heavily formatted diagnostic reports are amazing for isolating complex bugs, they are far too verbose for high level monitoring. If a developer is running a massive test suite or watching a real time stream of hundreds of transactions, printing a 50 line diagnostic report for every single transaction will completely flood the terminal buffer and make the stream illegible. The core engine currently lacks a succinct, one liner abstraction for its error types.

Issues/what to fix

Every single HostError and DiagnosticReport variant must implement or update their summary() method/field. This is an architectural requirement for "Tier 1" display modes.

The implementation must distill the complex error down into an ultra concise, maximum 80 character string. For example, instead of outputting the entire resource matrix, the updated summary() for a budget error must simply output: [BUDGET] CPU Exceeded (105%). Instead of a massive stack trace for a contract panic, it must output: [CONTRACT] Panicked at C...A12: 'Insufficient Funds'. This requires careful string manipulation and truncation logic to ensure the critical context is preserved without ever exceeding the character limits.

Note: HostError already has a summary() method, but it needs to be rewritten to adhere to this new 80 character limit.

Files to create / modify

Modify: crates/core/src/decode/host_error.rs
Modify: crates/core/src/types/report.rs
Modify: crates/core/src/decode/contract_error.rs
Modify: crates/core/src/decode/mod.rs

Expected result

Developers running high throughput automation scripts will be able to utilize Grat's brief or summary modes to monitor thousands of transactions in real time. The succinct, tightly aligned one liners will make scanning for anomalies as easy as reading a standard web server access log.

Contributor telegram group

https://t.me/+sII7WPhll2liMGNk

[Lspnjr1]

Hi! I’d like to work on this issue.

I have reviewed the issue description and understand the requirements. I plan to implement the requested changes while following the project’s coding standards and contribution guidelines. I’ll make sure the solution is well-tested and keep the implementation clean and maintainable.

If this issue isn’t already assigned, I’d appreciate the opportunity to work on it. Thank you!

[Lspnjr1]

Hi! I’d like to work on this issue.

I have reviewed the issue description and understand the requirements. I plan to implement the requested changes while following the project’s coding standards and contribution guidelines. I’ll make sure the solution is well-tested and keep the implementation clean and maintainable.

If this issue isn’t already assigned, I’d appreciate the opportunity to work on it. Thank you!

[nazteeemba]

please assign me to this issue

[OpensrcLord]

Hello @maintainer, I understand the expected outcome and would love to work on this. I'll provide a solution that satisfies the acceptance criteria.

[only1rezie]

My Implementation Plan: Add Concise summary() API for High-Volume Error Monitoring

Objective
Introduce a standardized summary() API across all HostError and DecodeResult variants to provide deterministic, single-line error descriptions optimized for high-throughput logging and monitoring.

Implementation Steps
Define the Summary Interface
Add a dedicated summary() method (or Summary trait) that returns a concise String.
Keep the API independent from verbose diagnostic rendering to preserve separation of concerns.

Implement Variant-Specific Summaries
Implement summary() for every HostError and DecodeResult variant.
Extract only the highest-value context (error category, primary cause, and key identifier), omitting verbose diagnostic details.

Enforce Compact Formatting
Standardize output as:
[CATEGORY] Short Description
Examples:
[BUDGET] CPU Exceeded (105%)
[CONTRACT] Panicked: 'Insufficient Funds'
[DECODE] Invalid Host Function
Add Safe Truncation Logic
Introduce reusable string truncation utilities that preserve meaningful prefixes while guaranteeing a maximum output length of 80 characters.
Ensure truncation never produces malformed or ambiguous summaries.

Integrate with Decode Layer
Update contract_error.rs and decode/mod.rs so Tier 1 display modes consume summary() instead of verbose diagnostic output when brief logging is requested.

Validate Consistency
Add tests verifying:
Every error variant implements summary().
Output never exceeds 80 characters.
Critical identifying information is preserved.
Formatting remains consistent across all error categories.

Expected Outcome
Grat will support compact, standardized one-line error reporting, enabling developers to monitor thousands of transactions in real time without terminal flooding while still preserving enough context to quickly identify and investigate failures.

[Samaro1]

gm gm boss! I'd love to be assigned this issue, I've got solid experience with Rust error handling and trait design, and I'm confident I can implement a clean summary() trait across the HostError/DecodeResult variants while keeping the truncation logic tight and the 80-char limit respected. Please assign it to me!

[grantfox-oss]

🦊 GrantFox — @only1rezie has been assigned to this issue as part of the Official Campaign | FWC26 campaign!

Next steps:

1. Open a Pull Request referencing this issue (e.g., Closes #352)
2. Your PR will be reviewed by the Toolbox-Lab maintainers

Good luck! Track your progress on GrantFox.