Laravel Log Viewer Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation:

   composer require nmfmcosta/laravel-log-viewer
   

2. Register Service Provider (Laravel): Add to config/app.php under providers:

   LB\LaravelLogViewer\LaravelLogViewerServiceProvider::class,
   

3. Add Route (Laravel): In routes/web.php:

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

4. Access Logs: Visit /logs in your browser to view Laravel’s default log file (storage/logs/laravel.log).

First Use Case

• Debugging Live Issues: Quickly inspect real-time logs without tailing files manually.
• Production Troubleshooting: Filter logs by severity (e.g., error, critical) to isolate issues in staging/production.

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflows

1. Log Filtering:

   • Use query parameters to filter logs by:
     • level: debug, info, warning, error, critical.
     • date: ?date=2024-01-01 (format: YYYY-MM-DD).
     • search: Full-text search (e.g., ?search=authentication).
   • Example:

     /logs?level=error&date=2024-01-01
     

2. Integration with Laravel Debugbar:

   • Add a link to the log viewer in your Debugbar panel for seamless navigation:

     Debugbar::addMenu('Logs', [
         'link' => route('logs'),
         'text' => 'View Logs',
     ]);
     

3. Custom Log Files:

   • Extend the package to support additional log files (e.g., storage/logs/custom.log):
     • Publish the config (php artisan vendor:publish --tag=config) and update logviewer.php:

       'files' => [
           storage_path('logs/laravel.log'),
           storage_path('logs/custom.log'),
       ],
       

4. API Access (Lumen/Laravel):

   • Expose logs via an API endpoint for headless clients:

     Route::get('api/logs', '\LB\LaravelLogViewer\LogViewerController@apiIndex');
     

   • Customize the apiIndex method in the controller to return JSON:

     public function apiIndex() {
         return response()->json($this->getLogs());
     }
     

Advanced Patterns

• Log Anonymization:

  • Override the LogViewerController to sanitize sensitive data (e.g., passwords, tokens) before rendering:

    protected function formatLogEntry($entry) {
        $entry['message'] = str_replace('password=.*?&', 'password=***&', $entry['message']);
        return $entry;
    }
    

• Log Retention:

  • Configure log rotation in logviewer.php to limit displayed logs (e.g., last 7 days):

    'max_days' => 7,
    

• Real-Time Updates:

  • Use Laravel Echo/Pusher to push new log entries to connected clients (requires frontend JS integration).

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Permission Issues:

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

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

2. Large Log Files:

   • Performance degrades with log files >100MB. Use max_days in config to limit scope:

     'max_days' => 30,
     

3. Route Conflicts:

   • Avoid naming your log route /logs if it clashes with existing routes. Use a subpath like /admin/logs.

4. Lumen Namespace:

   • In Lumen, ensure the namespace in bootstrap/app.php matches the route definition exactly to avoid ClassNotFound errors.

Debugging

• Blank Page?:

  • Check if the logviewer.php config file exists in /config/. Publish it if missing:

    php artisan vendor:publish --tag=config
    

  • Verify the files array includes the correct log path.

• Search Not Working:

  • The search is case-sensitive. Use ?search=Error (not error) for consistency with log levels.

• Logs Not Updating:

  • Clear cached views if changes to log.blade.php aren’t reflected:

    php artisan view:clear
    

Tips

1. Custom Styling:

   • Override the default Blade template (resources/views/vendor/laravel-log-viewer/log.blade.php) to match your app’s design:

     <style>
         .log-entry.error { background: #ffebee; }
         .log-entry.debug { font-style: italic; }
     </style>
     

2. Environment-Specific Routes:

   • Restrict log access to local environments in routes/web.php:

     if (app()->environment('local')) {
         Route::get('logs', '\LB\LaravelLogViewer\LogViewerController@index');
     }
     

3. Log Level Aliases:

   • Use shorthand for log levels in URLs:

     /logs?level=e  # Equivalent to ?level=error
     

   • Add this to your logviewer.php:

     'level_aliases' => [
         'e' => 'error',
         'c' => 'critical',
     ],
     

4. Log Context:

   • Enhance log readability by adding context (e.g., user IDs, request IDs) to log entries:

     Log::debug('User action', ['user_id' => auth()->id(), 'request_id' => request()->header('X-Request-ID')]);
     

5. Backup Logs:

   • Exclude sensitive logs from the viewer by filtering in logviewer.php:

     'exclude_patterns' => [
         'password',
         'api_token',
         'secret_',
     ],