diff --git a/pkg/workflow/command_dispatch_validation.go b/pkg/workflow/command_dispatch_validation.go
index 26099191279..5f0f012ba75 100644
--- a/pkg/workflow/command_dispatch_validation.go
+++ b/pkg/workflow/command_dispatch_validation.go
@@ -3,8 +3,12 @@ package workflow
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/logger"
 )
 
+var commandDispatchValidationLog = logger.New("workflow:command_dispatch_validation")
+
 // validateCommandWorkflowDispatchInputs rejects required workflow_dispatch inputs when
 // slash_command or label_command triggers are configured.
 // Returns an error if any workflow_dispatch input has required: true.
@@ -19,6 +23,9 @@ func validateCommandWorkflowDispatchInputs(workflowData *WorkflowData) error {
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	commandDispatchValidationLog.Printf("Validating workflow_dispatch inputs: slash_command=%v, label_command=%v",
+		hasSlashCommand, hasLabelCommand)
+
 	onMap, ok := workflowData.RawFrontmatter["on"].(map[string]any)
 	if !ok {
 		return nil
@@ -51,6 +58,8 @@ func validateCommandWorkflowDispatchInputs(workflowData *WorkflowData) error {
 			}
 			triggerNamesPhrase := strings.Join(triggerNames, " and ")
 
+			commandDispatchValidationLog.Printf("Rejecting required workflow_dispatch input %q because triggers %s cannot supply manual inputs",
+				inputName, triggerNamesPhrase)
 			return fmt.Errorf(
 				"on.workflow_dispatch.inputs.%s.required: true is not allowed when using %s; these triggers are dispatched automatically and cannot enforce required manual inputs; set required: false in workflow_dispatch.inputs",
 				inputName, triggerNamesPhrase,
@@ -58,5 +67,6 @@ func validateCommandWorkflowDispatchInputs(workflowData *WorkflowData) error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	commandDispatchValidationLog.Printf("Workflow_dispatch inputs validation passed: input_count=%d", len(inputsMap))
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/pkg/workflow/error_recovery.go b/pkg/workflow/error_recovery.go
index 7249ba06275..c0f2368b0f1 100644
--- a/pkg/workflow/error_recovery.go
+++ b/pkg/workflow/error_recovery.go
@@ -4,8 +4,12 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/logger"
 )
 
+var errorRecoveryLog = logger.New("workflow:error_recovery")
+
 // ErrorSeverity classifies how urgently a compilation error should be fixed.
 type ErrorSeverity int
 
@@ -44,6 +48,7 @@ func ExpandErrorMessages(err error) []string {
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	errorRecoveryLog.Print("Expanding error messages from compilation error")
 	var messages []string
 	collectErrorMessages(err, &messages)
 	if len(messages) == 0 {
@@ -109,9 +114,11 @@ func shouldSuppressWrapperMessage(message string) bool {
 
 // BuildPrioritizedErrorReportFromMessages classifies, suppresses, and limits messages.
 func BuildPrioritizedErrorReportFromMessages(messages []string, showAll bool) PrioritizedErrorReport {
+	errorRecoveryLog.Printf("Building prioritized error report: message_count=%d, show_all=%v", len(messages), showAll)
 	prioritized, suppressedCount := prioritizeErrorMessages(messages)
 	displayed := prioritized
 	if !showAll && len(displayed) > 5 {
+		errorRecoveryLog.Printf("Truncating displayed errors from %d to top 5 (set show_all=true to see all)", len(displayed))
 		displayed = displayed[:5]
 	}
 
@@ -125,6 +132,8 @@ func BuildPrioritizedErrorReportFromMessages(messages []string, showAll bool) Pr
 		report.RecoveryPlan = buildRecoveryPlan(prioritized, suppressedCount)
 	}
 
+	errorRecoveryLog.Printf("Prioritized report ready: total=%d, displayed=%d, hidden=%d, suppressed=%d, has_plan=%v",
+		report.TotalCount, len(report.DisplayedErrors), report.HiddenCount, report.SuppressedCount, report.RecoveryPlan != nil)
 	return report
 }
 
@@ -162,6 +171,10 @@ func prioritizeErrorMessages(messages []string) ([]PrioritizedError, int) {
 		prioritized = append(prioritized, candidate)
 	}
 
+	if hasCriticalSyntax {
+		errorRecoveryLog.Printf("Critical syntax errors detected, suppressed %d cascading errors", suppressedCount)
+	}
+
 	if len(prioritized) == 0 {
 		prioritized = candidates
 		suppressedCount = 0
diff --git a/pkg/workflow/gh_aw_setup_steps.go b/pkg/workflow/gh_aw_setup_steps.go
index c37995b11ce..4a0aead7d3e 100644
--- a/pkg/workflow/gh_aw_setup_steps.go
+++ b/pkg/workflow/gh_aw_setup_steps.go
@@ -3,8 +3,12 @@ package workflow
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"sort"
+
+	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/logger"
 )
 
+var ghAwSetupLog = logger.New("workflow:gh_aw_setup_steps")
+
 type ghAwSetupStepConfig struct {
 	actionMode           ActionMode
 	ifCondition          string
@@ -16,7 +20,10 @@ type ghAwSetupStepConfig struct {
 }
 
 func generateGhAwSetupStep(config ghAwSetupStepConfig) (GitHubActionStep, error) {
+	ghAwSetupLog.Printf("Generating gh-aw setup step: action_mode=%s, action_repo=%s, cli_version=%s, with_field_count=%d",
+		config.actionMode, config.actionRepo, config.cliVersion, len(config.withFields))
 	if config.actionMode == ActionModeDev {
+		ghAwSetupLog.Print("Using dev mode: build and install gh-aw CLI from source")
 		step := GitHubActionStep{"      - name: Build and install gh-aw CLI from source"}
 		if config.ifCondition != "" {
 			step = append(step, "        if: "+config.ifCondition)
@@ -36,6 +43,11 @@ func generateGhAwSetupStep(config ghAwSetupStepConfig) (GitHubActionStep, error)
 	// Pinning errors are non-fatal: we still emit a valid step with the fallback
 	// action reference so compilation and workflow execution can continue.
 	actionRef, pinErr := resolveGhAwSetupActionRef(config)
+	if pinErr != nil {
+		ghAwSetupLog.Printf("Action ref resolution returned non-fatal error: %v (using fallback ref %s)", pinErr, actionRef)
+	} else {
+		ghAwSetupLog.Printf("Resolved action ref: %s", actionRef)
+	}
 	step := GitHubActionStep{
 		"      - name: Install gh-aw extension",
 	}
@@ -70,18 +82,24 @@ func resolveGhAwSetupActionRef(config ghAwSetupStepConfig) (string, error) {
 			return actionRef, err
 		}
 		if pinnedRef != "" {
+			ghAwSetupLog.Printf("Using workflow-aware action pin: %s", pinnedRef)
 			return pinnedRef, nil
 		}
+		ghAwSetupLog.Printf("No workflow-aware pin available, falling back to repo@tag: %s", actionRef)
 		return actionRef, nil
 	}
 
 	actionRef := getActionPin(config.actionRepo)
 	if actionRef != "" {
+		ghAwSetupLog.Printf("Using static action pin: %s", actionRef)
 		return actionRef, nil
 	}
 
 	if config.fallbackActionRefTag != "" {
-		return fmt.Sprintf("%s@%s", config.actionRepo, config.fallbackActionRefTag), nil
+		fallback := fmt.Sprintf("%s@%s", config.actionRepo, config.fallbackActionRefTag)
+		ghAwSetupLog.Printf("Using fallback action ref tag: %s", fallback)
+		return fallback, nil
 	}
+	ghAwSetupLog.Printf("Using bare action repo (no ref): %s", config.actionRepo)
 	return config.actionRepo, nil
 }