diff --git a/apps/server/src/serverLogger.test.ts b/apps/server/src/serverLogger.test.ts
index 23eb39b3f5f76..70b4cd86b2cdc 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/serverLogger.test.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/serverLogger.test.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,16 @@
 import * as NodePath from "@effect/platform-node/NodePath";
 import { assert, describe, it } from "@effect/vitest";
 import * as NodeOS from "node:os";
+import * as NodeUtil from "node:util";
+
 import { ExternalLauncherBrowserSpawnError } from "@t3tools/contracts";
 import * as Cause from "effect/Cause";
 import * as ConfigProvider from "effect/ConfigProvider";
+import * as Console from "effect/Console";
 import * as Effect from "effect/Effect";
 import * as Exit from "effect/Exit";
 import * as Layer from "effect/Layer";
+import * as Redactable from "effect/Redactable";
 import * as Path from "effect/Path";
 import * as Tracer from "effect/Tracer";
 import * as HttpClient from "effect/http/HttpClient";
@@ -147,6 +151,25 @@ const logInSpanThrough = (
     return { requests, spans };
   });
 
+/** Logs one warning through the server logger and returns what its console printed. */
+const printThroughConsole = (fields: object) =>
+  Effect.gen(function* () {
+    const printed: Array<string> = [];
+    const testConsole = {
+      ...globalThis.console,
+      log: (...args: ReadonlyArray<unknown>) => {
+        printed.push(NodeUtil.format(...args));
+      },
+    } satisfies Console.Console;
+    yield* Effect.logWarning("pull request watch check failed", fields).pipe(
+      Effect.provide(
+        ServerLogger.layer.pipe(Layer.provide(layerConfig({})), Layer.provide(layerCollector([]))),
+      ),
+      Effect.provideService(Console.Console, testConsole),
+    );
+    return printed.join("\n");
+  });
+
 describe("ServerLoggerLive", () => {
   it.effect("exports log records to the configured logs endpoint", () =>
     Effect.gen(function* () {
@@ -241,6 +264,49 @@ describe("ServerLoggerLive", () => {
     }),
   );
 
+  it.effect("prints a cause passed as a log field instead of collapsing it", () =>
+    Effect.gen(function* () {
+      const output = yield* printThroughConsole({
+        threadId: "thread-1",
+        cause: Cause.fail(new Error("gh: HTTP 502 from api.github.com")),
+      });
+
+      assert.include(output, "threadId: 'thread-1'");
+      assert.include(output, "gh: HTTP 502 from api.github.com");
+      assert.notInclude(output, "[Object]");
+    }),
+  );
+
+  it.effect("leaves getters uncalled while printing a cause field", () =>
+    Effect.gen(function* () {
+      const output = yield* printThroughConsole({
+        cause: Cause.fail(new Error("upstream refused")),
+        get detail(): string {
+          throw new Error("getter must not run");
+        },
+      });
+
+      assert.include(output, "upstream refused");
+      assert.notInclude(output, "getter must not run");
+    }),
+  );
+
+  it.effect("leaves a message with its own redaction hook to that hook", () =>
+    Effect.gen(function* () {
+      const output = yield* printThroughConsole({
+        token: "secret-token-value",
+        cause: Cause.fail(new Error("upstream refused")),
+        [Redactable.symbolRedactable](this: { readonly cause: unknown }) {
+          return { token: "<redacted>", cause: Cause.isCause(this.cause) ? "cause" : "missing" };
+        },
+      });
+
+      assert.include(output, "token: '<redacted>'");
+      assert.include(output, "cause: 'cause'");
+      assert.notInclude(output, "secret-token-value");
+    }),
+  );
+
   describe("startup pairing URL", () => {
     const pairingToken = "PAIRTOKEN7Q4K9";
     const pairingUrl = `http://localhost:3773/pair#token=${pairingToken}`;
diff --git a/apps/server/src/serverLogger.ts b/apps/server/src/serverLogger.ts
index 2b61d843f2542..af7ea3805f208 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/serverLogger.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/serverLogger.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,53 @@
 import * as HostProcess from "@t3tools/shared/HostProcess";
 import * as SharedObservability from "@t3tools/shared/observability";
+import * as Cause from "effect/Cause";
 import * as Effect from "effect/Effect";
 import * as Layer from "effect/Layer";
 import * as Logger from "effect/Logger";
+import * as Redactable from "effect/Redactable";
 import * as References from "effect/References";
 import * as OtlpExporter from "effect/observability/OtlpExporter";
 import * as OtlpLogger from "effect/observability/OtlpLogger";
 
 import * as ServerConfig from "./config.ts";
 
+/**
+ * `Logger.consolePretty` prints message objects with `util.inspect`, which
+ * collapses a `Cause` passed as a field (`{ cause }`) to
+ * `{ failures: [ [Object] ] }`. Render those fields with `Cause.pretty`, the
+ * same text a `Cause` passed as its own log argument already gets.
+ */
+const consolePretty = (): Logger.Logger<unknown, void> => {
+  const pretty = Logger.consolePretty();
+  return Logger.make((options) =>
+    pretty.log({
+      ...options,
+      message: Array.isArray(options.message)
+        ? options.message.map(prettyCauseFields)
+        : prettyCauseFields(options.message),
+    }),
+  );
+};
+
+function prettyCauseFields(value: unknown): unknown {
+  if (typeof value !== "object" || value === null) return value;
+  const prototype: unknown = Object.getPrototypeOf(value);
+  if (prototype !== Object.prototype && prototype !== null) return value;
+  // A message with its own redaction hook already decides how it prints.
+  if (Redactable.isRedactable(value)) return value;
+  // Copy descriptors rather than entries so getters are never invoked and
+  // symbol keys survive the copy.
+  const descriptors = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptors(value);
+  let changed = false;
+  for (const descriptor of Object.values(descriptors)) {
+    if ("value" in descriptor && Cause.isCause(descriptor.value)) {
+      descriptor.value = Cause.pretty(descriptor.value);
+      changed = true;
+    }
+  }
+  return changed ? Object.create(prototype, descriptors) : value;
+}
+
 export const layer = Effect.gen(function* () {
   const config = yield* ServerConfig.ServerConfig;
   const hostName = yield* HostProcess.Hostname;
@@ -34,8 +73,8 @@ export const layer = Effect.gen(function* () {
   // superset: keeping both would export every in-span message twice.
   const layerLogger = Logger.layer(
     otlpLogger === undefined
-      ? [Logger.consolePretty(), Logger.tracerLogger]
-      : [Logger.consolePretty(), otlpLogger],
+      ? [consolePretty(), Logger.tracerLogger]
+      : [consolePretty(), otlpLogger],
     { mergeWithExisting: false },
   ).pipe(
     Layer.provide(OtlpExporter.layerFlusher),