diff --git a/src/Server/Loggers/Logger.php b/src/Server/Loggers/Logger.php
index ea668ff..48955c5 100644
--- a/src/Server/Loggers/Logger.php
+++ b/src/Server/Loggers/Logger.php
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 namespace BlaxSoftware\LaravelWebSockets\Server\Loggers;
 
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Log;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Formatter\OutputFormatterStyle;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\OutputInterface;
 
@@ -15,14 +16,14 @@ class Logger
     protected $consoleOutput;
 
     /**
-     * Wether the logger is enabled.
+     * Whether the logger is enabled.
      *
      * @var bool
      */
     protected $enabled = false;
 
     /**
-     * Wether the verbose mode is on.
+     * Whether the verbose mode is on.
      *
      * @var bool
      */
@@ -116,10 +117,38 @@ class Logger
         $this->line($message, 'error');
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Write a message to the console and persist it to the websocket log file.
+     */
     protected function line(string $message, string $style)
     {
+        // Console output (existing behavior)
         $this->consoleOutput->writeln(
             $style ? "<{$style}>{$message}</{$style}>" : $message
         );
+
+        // Also persist to log file so errors are visible outside the console
+        $this->fileLog($style, $message);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Write a message to the websocket log channel.
+     * Uses the 'websocket' channel if available, falls back to the default.
+     */
+    protected function fileLog(string $level, string $message): void
+    {
+        // Map console styles to log levels
+        $logLevel = match ($level) {
+            'error' => 'error',
+            'warning' => 'warning',
+            default => 'info',
+        };
+
+        try {
+            $channel = config('logging.channels.websocket') ? 'websocket' : null;
+            Log::channel($channel)->log($logLevel, '[WebSocket] '.$message);
+        } catch (\Throwable) {
+            // Logging must never crash the WS server
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Server/WebSocketHandler.php b/src/Server/WebSocketHandler.php
index 7bc1449..740c25a 100644
--- a/src/Server/WebSocketHandler.php
+++ b/src/Server/WebSocketHandler.php
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ use BlaxSoftware\LaravelWebSockets\Events\NewConnection;
 use BlaxSoftware\LaravelWebSockets\Helpers;
 use BlaxSoftware\LaravelWebSockets\Server\Exceptions\WebSocketException;
 use Exception;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Log;
 use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 use Ratchet\ConnectionInterface;
 use Ratchet\RFC6455\Messaging\MessageInterface;
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ class WebSocketHandler implements MessageComponentInterface
     public function onOpen(ConnectionInterface $connection)
     {
         if (! $this->connectionCanBeMade($connection)) {
+            $this->wsLog('warning', 'Connection rejected: server not accepting new connections');
             return $connection->close();
         }
 
@@ -64,6 +66,8 @@ class WebSocketHandler implements MessageComponentInterface
 
                         $this->channelManager->connectionPonged($connection);
 
+                        $this->wsLog('info', "[{$connection->app->id}][{$connection->socketId}] Connection established (key: {$connection->app->key})");
+
                         NewConnection::dispatch($connection->app->id, $connection->socketId);
                     }
                 } catch (WebSocketException $exception) {
@@ -84,6 +88,7 @@ class WebSocketHandler implements MessageComponentInterface
     public function onMessage(ConnectionInterface $connection, MessageInterface $message)
     {
         if (! isset($connection->app)) {
+            $this->wsLog('warning', 'Message dropped: connection has no app (likely failed auth). Payload: '.Str::limit($message->getPayload(), 200));
             return;
         }
 
@@ -170,6 +175,10 @@ class WebSocketHandler implements MessageComponentInterface
                 $exception->getPayload()
             ));
         }
+
+        $appId = $connection->app->id ?? 'unknown';
+        $socketId = $connection->socketId ?? 'unknown';
+        $this->wsLog('error', "[{$appId}][{$socketId}] {$exception->getMessage()}");
     }
 
     /**
@@ -201,6 +210,7 @@ class WebSocketHandler implements MessageComponentInterface
         App::findByKey($appKey)
             ->then(function ($app) use ($appKey, $connection, $deferred) {
                 if (! $app) {
+                    $this->wsLog('error', "Unknown app key: '{$appKey}'. Check that PUSHER_APP_KEY in .env matches the key used by the frontend. Configured apps: ".implode(', ', array_map(fn ($a) => $a['key'] ?? 'null', config('websockets.apps', []))));
                     $deferred->reject(new Exceptions\UnknownAppKey($appKey));
                 }
 
@@ -306,4 +316,18 @@ class WebSocketHandler implements MessageComponentInterface
     {
         return str_ends_with($event, '.' . $action) || str_ends_with($event, ':' . $action);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Log a WebSocket server message.
+     * Uses the 'websocket' channel if configured, falls back to the default channel.
+     */
+    protected function wsLog(string $level, string $message): void
+    {
+        try {
+            $channel = config('logging.channels.websocket') ? 'websocket' : config('logging.default');
+            Log::channel($channel)->log($level, '[WebSocket] '.$message);
+        } catch (\Throwable) {
+            // Logging must never break the server
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/WebSocketsServiceProvider.php b/src/WebSocketsServiceProvider.php
index 099f739..b08b17a 100644
--- a/src/WebSocketsServiceProvider.php
+++ b/src/WebSocketsServiceProvider.php
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ class WebSocketsServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
             __DIR__ . '/Websocket' => app_path('Websocket')
         ]);
 
+        $this->registerWebsocketLogChannel();
         $this->registerDefaultWebsocketChannels();
         $this->registerEventLoop();
         $this->registerWebSocketHandler();
@@ -85,6 +86,19 @@ class WebSocketsServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
         }
     }
 
+    protected function registerWebsocketLogChannel()
+    {
+        // Register a dedicated 'websocket' log channel if the app hasn't defined one
+        if (! config('logging.channels.websocket')) {
+            config(['logging.channels.websocket' => [
+                'driver' => 'daily',
+                'path' => storage_path('logs/websocket.log'),
+                'level' => 'debug',
+                'days' => 7,
+            ]]);
+        }
+    }
+
     protected function registerWebSocketHandler()
     {
         $this->app->singleton('websockets.handler', function () {