Laravel Log Viewer Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation:

   composer require sn0rk64/laravel-log-viewer
   

   (Note: The package is a fork of rap2hpoutre/laravel-log-viewer; ensure you’re using the correct namespace in your code.)

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

   Sn0rk64\LaravelLogViewer\LaravelLogViewerServiceProvider::class,
   

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

   Route::get('logs', '\Sn0rk64\LaravelLogViewer\LogViewerController@index');
   

4. Access Logs: Visit /logs in your browser. The viewer will display logs from storage/logs/laravel.log by default.

First Use Case

• Debugging live issues: Quickly filter logs by level (e.g., error, warning) to isolate problems.
• JSON inspection: Pretty-print JSON log entries for easy debugging of API responses or payloads.

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflows

1. Log Filtering: Use the built-in log level filters (e.g., debug, info, error) to narrow down logs. Example URL:

   /logs?level=error
   

   (Supports multiple levels via comma-separated values: ?level=error,warning.)

2. JSON Logs: The package automatically formats JSON log entries for readability. No manual parsing required.

3. Lumen Support: Follow the Lumen-specific setup in the README (namespace grouping in bootstrap/app.php and routes.php).

Integration Tips

• Custom Log Paths: Override the default log path by publishing the config:

  php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Sn0rk64\LaravelLogViewer\LaravelLogViewerServiceProvider" --tag="config"
  

  Then modify config/log-viewer.php to set log_file.

• Middleware Protection: Restrict access to logs in production by wrapping the route in middleware:

  Route::get('logs', function () {
      if (app()->environment('production')) {
          abort(403);
      }
      return \Sn0rk64\LaravelLogViewer\LogViewerController::index();
  });
  

• Log Rotation Compatibility: Works seamlessly with Laravel’s log rotation (e.g., laravel.log.2023_01_01). No additional setup needed.

• Custom Views: Publish the view files for modification:

  php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Sn0rk64\LaravelLogViewer\LaravelLogViewerServiceProvider" --tag="views"
  

  Override resources/views/vendor/log-viewer/index.blade.php to add custom UI elements (e.g., timestamps, user context).

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Namespace Mismatch: The package uses Sn0rk64\LaravelLogViewer (not Rap2hpoutre). Ensure all routes/controllers reference the correct namespace. Fix: Update routes and service provider registration to match the forked package.

2. Log File Permissions: If logs fail to load, verify the web server user (e.g., www-data) has read access to storage/logs/. Fix: Run:

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

3. JSON Parsing Errors: Malformed JSON in logs may break the pretty-printing. The package silently skips invalid entries. Debug: Check raw logs via tail -f storage/logs/laravel.log for syntax issues.

4. Route Cache Conflicts: After changing routes, clear the route cache:

   php artisan route:clear
   

Debugging Tips

• Log Level Filtering: Use ?level=* to show all logs (default) or ?level=debug,info for specific levels. Debug logs are hidden by default in production.

• Log Truncation: The viewer loads logs in chunks (configurable via config/log-viewer.php). Adjust max_lines to control pagination.

• Custom Log Channels: To view logs from non-default channels (e.g., single or daily), extend the LogViewerController:

  use Monolog\Logger;
  public function index() {
      $logs = Logger::getMonolog()->channels['custom_channel']->getLogs();
      // Custom logic to render logs
  }
  

Extension Points

1. Add Log Context: Extend the view to include request context (e.g., user ID, IP) by modifying the published blade template:

   @if(request()->user())
       <div class="context">User: {{ request()->user()->name }}</div>
   @endif
   

2. Log Search: Implement a search feature by overriding the controller’s index() method to filter logs by keyword:

   public function index() {
       $search = request('search');
       $logs = collect($this->getLogs())
           ->filter(fn($log) => $search && stripos($log['message'], $search) !== false);
       return view('log-viewer::index', ['logs' => $logs]);
   }
   

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

   Route::get('logs/export', [LogViewerController::class, 'export']);
   

   In the controller:

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