diff --git a/.changes/updater-logs.md b/.changes/updater-logs.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..35e8454a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/updater-logs.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+"updater": patch
+"updater-js": patch
+---
+
+Enhance error logging.
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 4fde9953..4b24a009 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -6959,6 +6959,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "futures-util",
  "http",
  "infer",
+ "log",
  "minisign-verify",
  "osakit",
  "percent-encoding",
diff --git a/plugins/updater/Cargo.toml b/plugins/updater/Cargo.toml
index 4d462f31..68c03c9b 100644
--- a/plugins/updater/Cargo.toml
+++ b/plugins/updater/Cargo.toml
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ tauri = { workspace = true }
 serde = { workspace = true }
 serde_json = { workspace = true }
 thiserror = { workspace = true }
+log = { workspace = true }
 tokio = "1"
 reqwest = { version = "0.12", default-features = false, features = [
   "json",
diff --git a/plugins/updater/src/updater.rs b/plugins/updater/src/updater.rs
index 21acc732..37472b7c 100644
--- a/plugins/updater/src/updater.rs
+++ b/plugins/updater/src/updater.rs
@@ -371,11 +371,14 @@ impl Updater {
                 .replace("{{arch}}", self.arch)
                 .parse()?;
 
+            log::debug!("checking for updates {url}");
+
             let mut request = ClientBuilder::new().user_agent(UPDATER_USER_AGENT);
             if let Some(timeout) = self.timeout {
                 request = request.timeout(timeout);
             }
             if let Some(ref proxy) = self.proxy {
+                log::debug!("using proxy {proxy}");
                 let proxy = reqwest::Proxy::all(proxy.as_str())?;
                 request = request.proxy(proxy);
             }
@@ -391,24 +394,38 @@ impl Updater {
                     if res.status().is_success() {
                         // no updates found!
                         if StatusCode::NO_CONTENT == res.status() {
+                            log::debug!("update endpoint returned 204 No Content");
                             return Ok(None);
                         };
 
-                        raw_json = Some(res.json().await?);
-                        match serde_json::from_value::<RemoteRelease>(raw_json.clone().unwrap())
+                        let update_response: serde_json::Value = res.json().await?;
+                        log::debug!("update response: {update_response:?}");
+                        raw_json = Some(update_response.clone());
+                        match serde_json::from_value::<RemoteRelease>(update_response)
                             .map_err(Into::into)
                         {
                             Ok(release) => {
+                                println!("parsed release response {release:?}");
                                 last_error = None;
                                 remote_release = Some(release);
-                                // we found a relase, break the loop
+                                // we found a release, break the loop
                                 break;
                             }
-                            Err(err) => last_error = Some(err),
+                            Err(err) => {
+                                log::error!("failed to deserialize update response: {err}");
+                                last_error = Some(err)
+                            }
                         }
+                    } else {
+                        log::error!(
+                            "update endpoint did not respond with a successful status code"
+                        );
                     }
                 }
-                Err(err) => last_error = Some(err.into()),
+                Err(err) => {
+                    log::error!("failed to check for updates: {err}");
+                    last_error = Some(err.into())
+                }
             }
         }
 
@@ -670,6 +687,7 @@ impl Update {
         };
 
         if let Some(on_before_exit) = self.on_before_exit.as_ref() {
+            log::debug!("running on_before_exit hook");
             on_before_exit();
         }
 
@@ -838,6 +856,7 @@ impl Update {
 
                     #[cfg(feature = "zip")]
                     if infer::archive::is_gz(bytes) {
+                        log::debug!("extracting AppImage");
                         // extract the buffer to the tmp_dir
                         // we extract our signed archive into our final directory without any temp file
                         let archive = Cursor::new(bytes);
@@ -861,6 +880,7 @@ impl Update {
                         return Err(Error::BinaryNotFoundInArchive);
                     }
 
+                    log::debug!("rewriting AppImage");
                     return match std::fs::write(&self.extract_path, bytes)
                         .and_then(|_| std::fs::set_permissions(&self.extract_path, permissions))
                     {
@@ -914,6 +934,7 @@ impl Update {
     fn install_deb(&self, bytes: &[u8]) -> Result<()> {
         // First verify the bytes are actually a .deb package
         if !infer::archive::is_deb(bytes) {
+            log::warn!("update is not a valid deb package");
             return Err(Error::InvalidUpdaterFormat);
         }
 
@@ -956,6 +977,7 @@ impl Update {
             .status()
         {
             if status.success() {
+                log::debug!("installed deb with pkexec");
                 return Ok(());
             }
         }
@@ -963,6 +985,7 @@ impl Update {
         // 2. Try zenity or kdialog for a graphical sudo experience
         if let Ok(password) = self.get_password_graphically() {
             if self.install_with_sudo(deb_path, &password)? {
+                log::debug!("installed deb with GUI sudo");
                 return Ok(());
             }
         }
@@ -975,6 +998,7 @@ impl Update {
             .status()?;
 
         if status.success() {
+            log::debug!("installed deb with sudo");
             Ok(())
         } else {
             Err(Error::DebInstallFailed)
@@ -1098,6 +1122,7 @@ impl Update {
         };
 
         if need_authorization {
+            log::debug!("app installation needs admin privileges");
             // Use AppleScript to perform moves with admin privileges
             let apple_script = format!(
                 "do shell script \"rm -rf '{src}' && mv -f '{new}' '{src}'\" with administrator privileges",