diff --git a/.changeset/debug-log-prefixes.md b/.changeset/debug-log-prefixes.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a5b0707
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/debug-log-prefixes.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+---
+"@maastrich/hashup": patch
+---
+
+Add structured debug-log prefixes for easy filtering.
+
+At `--log-level debug` the hasher now emits one line per event, each
+starting with a bracketed tag at column zero:
+
+- `[hash]: <file>` — a file's content was read and its sha256 computed.
+- `[import]: <source> -> "<specifier>" -> <resolved>` — a static import
+  was resolved. Unresolved specifiers show `<unresolved>` in the third
+  slot.
+- `[skip]: <file>` — a resolved path was skipped because it lives in
+  `node_modules`.
+
+```bash
+hashup -l debug 2>&1 | grep '^\[hash\]:'
+hashup -l debug 2>&1 | grep -c '^\[skip\]:'
+```
diff --git a/docs/guide/how-it-works.md b/docs/guide/how-it-works.md
index ed379be..8c2d1e3 100644
--- a/docs/guide/how-it-works.md
+++ b/docs/guide/how-it-works.md
@@ -50,16 +50,38 @@ single byte-accurate input.
 
 By default `hashup()` writes nothing to stderr. Pass `logLevel` to opt in:
 
-| Level    | What you'll see                                                        |
-| -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| `silent` | Nothing. Default for programmatic use.                                 |
-| `warn`   | Files that could not be hashed (read or parse failures).               |
-| `info`   | Higher-level progress messages.                                        |
-| `debug`  | Per-file decisions, including which `node_modules` paths were skipped. |
+| Level    | What you'll see                                          |
+| -------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `silent` | Nothing. Default for programmatic use.                   |
+| `warn`   | Files that could not be hashed (read or parse failures). |
+| `info`   | Higher-level progress messages.                          |
+| `debug`  | Per-file trace of hashing, import resolution, and skips. |
 
 The CLI accepts `--log-level <level>` / `-l`, and `hashup.json` accepts a
 top-level `"logLevel"` field. The CLI flag wins when both are set.
 
+### Debug-level prefixes
+
+At `debug` level every line starts with a bracketed tag so you can
+filter with `grep`:
+
+| Prefix      | When                                                            |
+| ----------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `[hash]:`   | A file's content was read and its sha256 computed.              |
+| `[import]:` | A static import was resolved (or marked `<unresolved>`).        |
+| `[skip]:`   | A resolved path was skipped because it lives in `node_modules`. |
+
+```bash
+# Watch only what got hashed
+hashup -l debug 2>&1 | grep '^\[hash\]:'
+
+# See every unresolved import
+hashup -l debug 2>&1 | grep '<unresolved>'
+
+# Count how many node_modules paths were short-circuited
+hashup -l debug 2>&1 | grep -c '^\[skip\]:'
+```
+
 ## Caveats
 
 - **Circular imports** terminate deterministically. The cache is seeded with
diff --git a/src/lib/hash-file.ts b/src/lib/hash-file.ts
index efc1ad1..80fd4b8 100644
--- a/src/lib/hash-file.ts
+++ b/src/lib/hash-file.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ export async function hashFile(
     const deps: string[] = [];
     cache.hashes.set(file, selfHash);
     cache.deps.set(file, deps);
+    logger.debug(`[hash]: ${file}`);
 
     const imports = await extractImports(file, content);
     await walkDependencies(imports, file, cache, resolver, logger, deps);
@@ -58,14 +59,18 @@ async function walkDependencies(
 ): Promise<void> {
   for (const imported of imports) {
     const resolved = await resolveImport(resolver, sourceFile, imported);
-    if (!resolved) continue;
+    if (!resolved) {
+      logger.debug(`[import]: ${sourceFile} -> "${imported}" -> <unresolved>`);
+      continue;
+    }
+    logger.debug(`[import]: ${sourceFile} -> "${imported}" -> ${resolved}`);
     // Dependencies installed into `node_modules` are opaque: we don't
     // walk their files. Users that need to pin to installed versions
     // can add their lockfile (pnpm-lock.yaml / package-lock.json /
     // yarn.lock) to `extras` so any install-tree change still shifts
     // the final hash.
     if (isInNodeModules(resolved)) {
-      logger.debug(`Skipping node_modules dependency: ${resolved}`);
+      logger.debug(`[skip]: ${resolved}`);
       continue;
     }
     deps.push(resolved);
diff --git a/tests/debug-logs.test.ts b/tests/debug-logs.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e1309bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/debug-logs.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, test, vi } from "vite-plus/test";
+import { hashup } from "../src/index.js";
+
+describe("debug log prefixes", () => {
+  afterEach(() => vi.restoreAllMocks());
+
+  test("emits [hash]:, [import]:, [skip]: lines at debug level", async () => {
+    const messages: string[] = [];
+    vi.spyOn(process.stderr, "write").mockImplementation((chunk) => {
+      messages.push(typeof chunk === "string" ? chunk : chunk.toString());
+      return true;
+    });
+
+    await hashup("./tests/fixtures/skip-node-modules/entry.ts", { logLevel: "debug" });
+
+    const out = messages.join("");
+
+    // [hash]: — one per successfully hashed user file
+    expect(out).toMatch(/\[hash\]: .+entry\.ts\n/);
+    expect(out).toMatch(/\[hash\]: .+local\.ts\n/);
+
+    // [import]: — each import resolution, with the source and specifier
+    expect(out).toMatch(/\[import\]: .+entry\.ts -> "fake-lib" -> /);
+    expect(out).toMatch(/\[import\]: .+entry\.ts -> "\.\/local\.js" -> /);
+
+    // [skip]: — one per node_modules short-circuit
+    expect(out).toMatch(/\[skip\]: .+node_modules\/fake-lib\//);
+  });
+
+  test("prefixes are grep-friendly at column zero of each line", async () => {
+    const messages: string[] = [];
+    vi.spyOn(process.stderr, "write").mockImplementation((chunk) => {
+      messages.push(typeof chunk === "string" ? chunk : chunk.toString());
+      return true;
+    });
+
+    await hashup("./tests/fixtures/skip-node-modules/entry.ts", { logLevel: "debug" });
+
+    const lines = messages.join("").split("\n").filter(Boolean);
+    // Every debug line from the hasher should start with one of our prefixes.
+    for (const line of lines) {
+      expect(line).toMatch(/^\[(hash|import|skip)\]: /);
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("warn level suppresses all three prefixes", async () => {
+    const messages: string[] = [];
+    vi.spyOn(process.stderr, "write").mockImplementation((chunk) => {
+      messages.push(typeof chunk === "string" ? chunk : chunk.toString());
+      return true;
+    });
+
+    await hashup("./tests/fixtures/skip-node-modules/entry.ts", { logLevel: "warn" });
+
+    const out = messages.join("");
+    expect(out).not.toMatch(/\[hash\]:/);
+    expect(out).not.toMatch(/\[import\]:/);
+    expect(out).not.toMatch(/\[skip\]:/);
+  });
+});