AppSignal for Elixir now provides out-of-the-box support for Finch. If your Elixir app sends requests to another web app, you're likely already using Finch. We wanted to ensure that AppSignal's analytics provided performance data on a per-request level.
Finch in Action
Finch is a performance-focused HTTP client built on top of Mint, Elixir's low-level HTTP client library, and has built-in support for request telemetry. Finch handles the opening and closing of connections, making it easier for you to add HTTP requests to your application.
For example, let's say you've created an application that tells users when it will rain. Your application fetches data from a weather API via Finch. To keep your users dry, you want to ensure your application runs as quickly as possible. To measure the application's performance, you need to understand how much time per request is spent waiting to get a response from the API when a user requests data. This is where AppSignal can help you!
How to Monitor Finch with AppSignal
Finch support is automatically instrumented in the already-released AppSignal for Elixir 2.3 package. When using the package, AppSignal will automatically recognize external requests executed by Finch and wrap them into a request.finch event on your Event Timeline.
In the Event Timeline, you'll see how much time Finch spends making external API requests. This data may help inform you to move the API requests to a background job or introduce caching to help speed up performance and limit unnecessary API requests.
If you want to learn more about Finch, you may be interested in our The State of Elixir HTTP Clients blog post.
Since Finch Support is implemented automatically, you only need to update your AppSignal for Elixir package to version 2.3 to start seeing Finch events in your AppSignal Event Timelines.
Monitoring for Elixir That Comes With Stroopwafels 😋
If you've not yet tried out AppSignal for your Elixir project, there's no time like the present! We'll even send you some stroopwafels to sweeten the deal if you reach out to our support team during your trial. 🍪
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Connor James
Official technical writer at AppSignal. Podcast addict who loves cannoli so much that he's considering changing his name to Connoli. He thinks there's a `u` in color. You might find him on the mic, on the stage, or lying on the sofa when he's off Documentation Duty.
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AppSignal provides insights for Ruby, Rails, Elixir, Phoenix, Node.js, Express and many other frameworks and libraries. We are located in beautiful Amsterdam. We love stroopwafels. If you do too, let us know. We might send you some!
