Laravel Devlogger Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation

   composer require onamfc/laravel-devlogger
   php artisan devlogger:install  # New unified command (replaces manual publish/migrate)
   

   • Automatically publishes config (config/devlogger.php) and creates the required logs table.
   • Handles existing tables gracefully (no migration conflicts).

2. Basic Configuration

   • Update config/devlogger.php to define:
     • log_level (e.g., debug, error, critical)
     • enabled (set to false in production)
     • table_name (default: logs)
     • purge_old_logs (auto-cleanup interval in days)
   • New: Default log_level now set to debug (previously error in some setups).

3. First Use Case: Automatic Error Logging

   • No manual setup needed—all uncaught exceptions are auto-captured and stored in the DB.
   • View logs via:

     php artisan devlogger:list
     

   • Clear logs:

     php artisan devlogger:purge
     

Implementation Patterns

1. Manual Logging

Replace Log::error() with DevLogger’s fluent interface:

use Onamfc\DevLogger\Facades\DevLogger;

// Log with context (auto-attaches user, IP, etc.)
DevLogger::error("Failed to process order", [
    'order_id' => 123,
    'user_id'  => auth()->id(),
]);

// Log with custom metadata
DevLogger::debug("API request received", [
    'endpoint' => 'users/create',
    'payload'  => $request->all(),
]);

2. Middleware for Request Logging

Log HTTP requests/responses in middleware:

use Onamfc\DevLogger\Facades\DevLogger;

public function handle($request, Closure $next)
{
    $start = microtime(true);
    $response = $next($request);
    $duration = microtime(true) - $start;

    DevLogger::info("Request processed", [
        'method'   => $request->method(),
        'url'      => $request->fullUrl(),
        'duration' => $duration,
        'status'   => $response->getStatusCode(),
    ]);

    return $response;
}

3. Filtering and Querying Logs

Use the DevLogger facade to fetch logs programmatically:

// Get last 10 errors for a user
$logs = DevLogger::query()
    ->where('level', 'error')
    ->where('context->user_id', auth()->id())
    ->orderBy('created_at', 'desc')
    ->limit(10)
    ->get();

// Filter by custom metadata
$logs = DevLogger::query()
    ->where('context->order_id', 123)
    ->get();

4. Scheduling Log Purge

Add to app/Console/Kernel.php:

protected function schedule(Schedule $schedule)
{
    $schedule->command('devlogger:purge')->dailyAt('03:00');
}

5. Extending Log Context

Auto-attach metadata via service provider binding:

// In AppServiceProvider@boot()
DevLogger::extend(function ($logger) {
    $logger->setContext('custom_key', 'custom_value');
});

6. New: Log Retention Configuration

Configure retention policies directly in config/devlogger.php:

'retention' => [
    'max_days' => 30,       // Default: 30 days
    'soft_delete' => true,  // Enable soft deletes (default: false)
],

• Soft deletes now supported for compliance (logs marked as deleted but retained).

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Deprecated Commands

   • php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Onamfc\DevLogger\DevLoggerServiceProvider" is no longer needed.
   • Use php artisan devlogger:install instead (handles config + migrations).

2. Performance Overhead

   • Database writes add latency. Avoid logging in tight loops (e.g., bulk operations).
   • Fix: Use DevLogger::disable() in performance-critical paths:

     DevLogger::disable();
     // ... bulk operations ...
     DevLogger::enable();
     

3. Context Data Size Limits

   • The context column uses JSON storage. Large payloads may bloat the DB.
   • Fix: Log only essential data or use DevLogger::logRaw() for large payloads.

4. Log Level Defaults

   • Default log_level is now debug (previously error in some setups).
   • Fix: Explicitly set log_level in config/devlogger.php if stricter filtering is needed.

5. Soft Delete Conflicts

   • If soft_delete is enabled but the logs table lacks a deleted_at column, migrations will fail.
   • Fix: Run php artisan devlogger:install --force to update the schema.

Debugging Tips

• Check Raw Queries: Enable Laravel’s query logging to debug slow log queries:

  DB::enableQueryLog();
  DevLogger::error("Test");
  dd(DB::getQueryLog());
  

• Inspect Context Data: Use DevLogger::getLastLog() to debug context attachment:

  $lastLog = DevLogger::getLastLog();
  dd($lastLog->context);
  

• Purge Issues: If devlogger:purge fails:
  • Check database permissions.
  • Verify purge_old_logs config (must be > 0).
  • For soft deletes, ensure deleted_at column exists.

Extension Points

1. Custom Log Levels Extend the level column by modifying the migration or using a trait:

   // app/Models/Log.php
   use Onamfc\DevLogger\Traits\LogLevelTrait;
   
   class Log extends Model
   {
       use LogLevelTrait;
   
       protected $casts = [
           'level' => 'string',
       ];
   }
   

2. Web Interface Build a custom admin panel using the logs table. Example query for a dashboard:

   $stats = DevLogger::query()
       ->selectRaw('level, count(*) as count')
       ->groupBy('level')
       ->get();
   

3. Slack/Email Alerts Hook into log events via the DevLogger event system:

   // In EventServiceProvider@boot()
   DevLogger::listen(function ($log) {
       if ($log->level === 'critical') {
           Notification::route('slack', config('services.slack.webhook'))
               ->notify(new CriticalLogAlert($log));
       }
   });
   

4. Rate Limiting Prevent log spam by throttling in middleware:

   use Illuminate\Cache\RateLimiter;
   
   public function handle($request, Closure $next)
   {
       $limiter = app(RateLimiter::class);
       if ($limiter->tooManyAttempts($this->throttleKey($request), 10)) {
           DevLogger::warning("Rate limit exceeded for IP: {$request->ip()}");
       }
       return $next($request);
   }
   

5. New: Retention Policies

   • Use devlogger:prune to manually enforce retention:

     php artisan devlogger:prune --days=7  # Delete logs older than 7 days
     

   • Schedule pruning in app/Console/Kernel.php:

     $schedule->command('devlogger:prune --days=' . config('devlogger.retention.max_days'))
              ->dailyAt('02:00');