Laravel Log Viewer Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation:

   composer require rap2hpoutre/laravel-log-viewer
   

2. Publish Config (Optional):

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

   (Default config works out-of-the-box, but publishing allows customization.)

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

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

   (Use middleware like auth if needed.)

4. First Use Case: Visit /logs to view real-time Laravel logs with:

   • Filtering by log level (debug, info, warning, error, critical).
   • Search functionality.
   • Auto-refresh toggle (default: 30s).

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflows

1. Log Filtering:

   • Level-Based: Use the dropdown to isolate errors (error, critical) or debug logs.
   • Keyword Search: Enter terms in the search bar to filter logs dynamically.
   • Date Range: Navigate via "Previous" and "Next" buttons to browse logs by day.

2. Integration with Existing Systems:

   • Middleware: Restrict access to logs in production:

     Route::get('/logs', '\Rap2hpoutre\LaravelLogViewer\LogViewerController@index')->middleware('can:view-logs');
     

   • API Wrappers: Expose log data via a custom API endpoint by extending the controller:

     class ApiLogController extends \Rap2hpoutre\LaravelLogViewer\LogViewerController {
         public function showJson() {
             return response()->json($this->getLogs());
         }
     }
     

3. Log Rotation Handling:

   • Automatically detects rotated logs (e.g., storage/logs/laravel-2023-10-01.log) and merges them into a unified view.
   • Configure log_viewer.log_files in config/log-viewer.php to specify custom paths or exclude files.

4. Customizing Output:

   • Override the Blade view (resources/views/vendor/log-viewer/index.blade.php) to:
     • Add team-specific annotations.
     • Embed logs in a dashboard.
     • Modify the UI (e.g., dark mode, syntax highlighting for JSON logs).

5. Programmatic Access:

   • Use the underlying service directly in tests or commands:

     $logs = app(\Rap2hpoutre\LaravelLogViewer\LogViewerService::class)->getLogs();
     

Advanced Patterns

1. Log Annotations: Add context to logs by extending the LogEntry model:

   // In a service provider
   $this->app->extend('log-viewer.entry', function ($entry) {
       $entry->setCustomAttribute('user_id', auth()->id());
       return $entry;
   });
   

2. Real-Time Updates: Combine with Laravel Echo/Pusher to push new logs to clients:

   // Frontend (Vue/React)
   Echo.channel('logs')
       .listen('LogUpdated', (e) => {
           // Update UI with new log entry
       });
   

3. Log Export: Add a download button to export logs as JSON/CSV:

   // In a custom controller method
   public function exportLogs() {
       $logs = $this->getLogs();
       return response()->json($logs)->header('Content-Type', 'application/json');
   }
   

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Log File Permissions:

   • Ensure storage/logs/ is writable by the web server:

     chmod -R 775 storage/logs/
     

   • Symptom: Blank page or "File not found" errors.

2. Log Rotation Conflicts:

   • If logs are rotated manually (e.g., via logrotate), the viewer may miss recent entries.
   • Fix: Configure log_viewer.log_files to include all rotated files or adjust rotation settings to keep recent logs in a single file.

3. Large Log Files:

   • Performance degrades with files >10MB. Use log_viewer.max_log_size to limit file size or pre-process logs with log_viewer.filter.
   • Tip: Archive old logs via a cron job to keep files manageable.

4. Lumen Compatibility:

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

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

5. Monolog-Specific Issues:

   • If using custom Monolog handlers, ensure they output to storage/logs/laravel.log or update log_viewer.log_files.

Debugging

1. Blank Screen:

   • Check storage/logs/laravel.log for PHP errors.
   • Verify the route is correctly pointing to LogViewerController.

2. Logs Not Loading:

   • Temporarily disable log_viewer.filter in config to rule out custom filtering issues.
   • Test with a fresh log file to isolate corruption.

3. Search Not Working:

   • Ensure log_viewer.searchable_fields includes all relevant log properties (default: ['message', 'context']).

Tips

1. Configuration Shortcuts:

   • Disable auto-refresh for production:

     'auto_refresh' => env('APP_ENV') !== 'production',
     

   • Limit log visibility by level:

     'visible_levels' => ['error', 'critical'],
     

2. Extending Functionality:

   • Add a "Clear Logs" button by extending the controller:

     public function clearLogs() {
         $files = glob(storage_path('logs/*.log'));
         foreach ($files as $file) {
             unlink($file);
         }
         return back()->with('status', 'Logs cleared!');
     }
     

3. Security:

   • Rate-limit log access in production:

     Route::middleware(['throttle:10,1'])->group(function () {
         Route::get('/logs', 'LogViewerController@index');
     });
     

4. Performance:

   • Cache log entries for non-real-time views:

     $logs = Cache::remember('log_viewer_entries', now()->addHours(1), function () {
         return $this->getLogs();
     });
     

5. Local Development:

   • Use log_viewer.log_files to monitor specific log files:

     'log_files' => [
         storage_path('logs/laravel.log'),
         storage_path('logs/debug.log'),
     ],