Getting Started

Minimal Setup

Installation:
```
composer require spatie/laravel-log-dumper
```
No additional configuration is required—just use the ld() helper function globally.
First Use Case: Replace dd() or dump() calls with ld() to log variables to Laravel’s default log channel (e.g., single, daily, or stack).
```
ld($user, $request->all(), $this->someComplexObject);
```
Outputs structured logs with Symfony’s VarDumper formatting.
Where to Look First:
- README for basic usage.
- VarDumper docs for formatting nuances.
- Laravel’s logging configuration to customize log channels/drivers.

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflows

Debugging in Production: Replace dd() in production to avoid halting execution:

// Instead of:
dd($user->roles); // Crashes app

// Use:
ld($user->roles); // Logs to file/database without stopping

Structured Logging: Log complex objects (e.g., Eloquent models, API responses) with automatic type casting:

ld([
    'user' => $user->toArray(),
    'request' => $request->except('password'),
    'exception' => $e->getTraceAsString(),
]);

Integration with Monolog: Leverage Laravel’s log channels (e.g., stack, slack, papertrail) by default:
```
// Log to a custom channel (e.g., 'error-logger'):
ld($error, channel: 'error-logger');
```
Conditional Logging: Use in if blocks or middleware to log only under specific conditions:
```
if ($request->has('debug')) {
    ld('Debug mode enabled', $request->all());
}
```

Testing: Mock ld() in tests to verify log output:

$this->expectsLogs(function () {
    ld('Test log entry');
});

Advanced Patterns

Log Context: Attach metadata (e.g., user ID, request ID) to logs:

ld('Payment processed', context: ['user_id' => auth()->id(), 'tx_id' => $txId]);

Performance Logging: Log execution time alongside data:

$start = microtime(true);
$result = $this->processData();
ld('Processing time', microtime(true) - $start, $result);

Exception Handling: Log exceptions with stack traces in App\Exceptions\Handler:

public function report(Throwable $e) {
    ld($e, context: ['url' => request()->url()]);
}

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

Performance Overhead:
- Avoid logging large datasets (e.g., ld($users->all())) in loops or high-traffic endpoints.
- Fix: Use ld()->only(['id', 'name']) or chunk data.
Log Channel Mismatch:
- ld() defaults to Laravel’s default log channel. If using a custom channel (e.g., slack), ensure it’s configured in config/logging.php.
- Fix: Explicitly specify the channel:
```
ld($data, channel: 'slack');
```
Sensitive Data Leaks:
- Logging passwords, tokens, or PII can expose security risks.
- Fix: Redact sensitive fields:
```
ld($request->except('password', 'api_token'));
```
VarDumper Limitations:
- Circular references or closures may cause infinite loops or truncated output.
- Fix: Use ld()->maxDepth(2) to limit recursion depth.
Log Rotation:
- Large log files can bloat storage. Configure log_max_files in config/logging.php to rotate logs.

Debugging Tips

Verify Log Output: Check logs in storage/logs/laravel.log (or your configured path). Use tail -f storage/logs/laravel.log in CLI.

Log Levels: Override the default log level (e.g., debug) via config:

'log_dumper' => [
    'level' => 'info', // or 'debug', 'error'
],

Custom Formatters: Extend the dumper’s behavior by publishing the config:
```
php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Spatie\LogDumper\LogDumperServiceProvider"
```
Then modify config/log-dumper.php to add custom formatters or filters.

Extension Points

Custom Log Channels: Create a dedicated channel for ld() logs:

// config/logging.php
'channels' => [
    'log_dumper' => [
        'driver' => 'single',
        'path' => storage_path('logs/debug.log'),
        'level' => 'debug',
    ],
],

Then use:

ld($data, channel: 'log_dumper');

Pre-Log Hooks: Add middleware to transform data before logging:

// app/Providers/AppServiceProvider.php
public function boot() {
    LogDumper::macro('sanitize', function ($data) {
        return collect($data)->mapWithKeys(function ($value, $key) {
            return str_contains($key, 'password') ? '[REDACTED]' : $value;
        });
    });
}

Usage:

ld($request->all())->sanitize();

Log to External Services: Use Monolog handlers to forward logs to services like Datadog or Sentry:

// config/logging.php
'channels' => [
    'log_dumper' => [
        'driver' => 'monolog',
        'handler' => \Monolog\Handler\DatadogHandler::class,
    ],
],

Conditional Logging in Production: Disable ld() in production via config:

// config/log-dumper.php
'enabled' => env('APP_ENV') !== 'production',

Laravel Log Dumper Laravel Package