Laravel Log Viewer Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation:

   composer require rap2hpoutre/laravel-log-viewer
   

   (Note: The README incorrectly lists everysecond/laravel-log-viewer; the correct package is rap2hpoutre/laravel-log-viewer.)

2. Publish Config (Optional):

   php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Rap2hpoutre\LaravelLogViewer\LogViewerServiceProvider"
   

   (Default config is minimal; customization is rare but useful for log paths.)

3. Route Registration: Add to routes/web.php:

   Route::get('/logs', '\Rap2hpoutre\LaravelLogViewer\LogViewerController@index');
   

   (No middleware needed by default; secure with auth or can if required.)

4. First Use Case: Visit /logs to see a real-time log viewer with:

   • Auto-refresh (configurable interval).
   • Filtering by log level (e.g., error, info).
   • Line numbers and timestamps.

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflows

1. Debugging in Development:

   • Quick Checks: Use /logs to verify if a bug’s logs exist before diving into storage/logs.
   • Real-Time Monitoring: Watch logs live during feature testing (e.g., API endpoints, cron jobs).
   • Filtering: Append ?level=error to the URL to focus on critical logs.

2. Production Support:

   • Limited Access: Restrict the route to admins only:

     Route::get('/logs', [LogViewerController::class, 'index'])->middleware('can:view-logs');
     

   • Log Rotation Handling: Works seamlessly with Laravel’s default log rotation (no manual config needed).

3. Integration with Existing Tools:

   • Log Analysis: Export logs via the built-in "Download" button for further analysis (e.g., in Sentry or Datadog).
   • Custom Log Channels: If using non-default log channels (e.g., single, daily), ensure the log config path is correct in config/log-viewer.php.

4. Testing:

   • Mock Logs: Simulate logs in tests by writing to storage/logs/laravel.log and verifying the viewer displays them.
   • Assertions: Use Laravel’s Log::shouldReceive() to test log filtering logic.

Advanced Patterns

• Custom Log Paths: Override the log path in config:

  'log_path' => storage_path('logs/custom/laravel.log'),
  

• Disable Auto-Refresh: Set 'auto_refresh' => false in config to reduce server load.
• Theming: Extend the Blade template (resources/views/vendor/log-viewer/index.blade.php) to match your app’s CSS.

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Incorrect Package Name: The README lists everysecond/laravel-log-viewer, but the correct package is rap2hpoutre/laravel-log-viewer. Double-check during installation.

2. Log Rotation Conflicts:

   • If logs are rotated (e.g., laravel.log.1), the viewer may not show them by default. Use the "Browse" feature to manually select older files.
   • Fix: Ensure log-rotate isn’t deleting logs before they’re viewed.

3. Performance on Large Logs:

   • Auto-refresh on logs >10MB may lag. Disable it or increase PHP’s memory_limit temporarily.
   • Tip: Use ?lines=100 to limit displayed lines.

4. Permission Issues:

   • Ensure the web server user (e.g., www-data) has read access to storage/logs/.
   • Fix:

     chmod -R 755 storage/logs/
     chown -R www-data:www-data storage/logs/
     

5. Lumen Compatibility:

   • Lumen users must manually register the service provider in bootstrap/app.php:

     $app->register(\Rap2hpoutre\LaravelLogViewer\LogViewerServiceProvider::class);
     

Debugging Tips

• Logs Not Showing?: Verify the log path in config/log-viewer.php matches your config/logging.php path setting.

  // config/logging.php
  'path' => storage_path('logs/laravel.log'),
  

• Blank Page: Check for PHP errors in storage/logs/laravel.log (ironic but common). Enable Laravel’s debug mode:

  APP_DEBUG=true
  

• Filtering Not Working: Ensure log levels match Laravel’s defaults (debug, info, notice, warning, error, critical). Custom levels (e.g., spam) won’t filter.

Extension Points

1. Custom Log Levels: Extend the LogLevel class to support custom levels:

   namespace App\Extensions;
   use Rap2hpoutre\LaravelLogViewer\LogLevel;
   
   class CustomLogLevel extends LogLevel {
       public static function spam(): string { return 'spam'; }
   }
   

   Then update the controller to use your class.

2. Add Context to Logs: Override the LogViewerController to inject additional context (e.g., user ID, request data) into log lines:

   public function index() {
       Log::info('Custom context', ['user_id' => auth()->id()]);
       return parent::index();
   }
   

3. API Endpoint: Convert the viewer into an API by extending the controller:

   public function apiLogs(Request $request) {
       return response()->json($this->getLogs($request));
   }
   

   (Useful for integrating with frontend frameworks like Vue/React.)

4. Log Anonymization: Filter sensitive data (e.g., passwords) before displaying logs. Hook into the getLogs method:

   protected function filterLogs(array $logs) {
       return array_map(function ($log) {
           return str_replace('password=".*?"', 'password="[FILTERED]"', $log);
       }, $logs);
   }