java-logging

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Java logging with SLF4J facade, Logback, and Log4j2 implementations. Covers configuration, log levels, structured logging, async logging, and production best practices for Spring Boot applications. USE WHEN: user mentions "java logging", "spring boot logging", "slf4j setup", asks about "how to log in java", "logback vs log4j2", "java logging best practices" DO NOT USE FOR: Node.js logging - use `nodejs-logging` instead, Python logging - use `python-logging`, Kotlin-specific logging - similar but has nuances

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NPX Install

npx skill4agent add claude-dev-suite/claude-dev-suite java-logging

Tags

Translated version includes tags in frontmatter
java-loggingslf4jlogbacklog4j2spring-boot

SKILL.md Content

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Java Logging

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Application Code                         │
│              (uses SLF4J API only)                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      SLF4J Facade                           │
│              (abstraction layer)                            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
              ┌───────────────┼───────────────┐
              ▼               ▼               ▼
        ┌──────────┐   ┌──────────┐   ┌──────────────┐
        │ Logback  │   │ Log4j2   │   │ java.util    │
        │          │   │          │   │ .logging     │
        └──────────┘   └──────────┘   └──────────────┘
Rule: Always code to SLF4J API. Implementation is a runtime dependency.

SLF4J API Usage

Basic Logging

java
import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;

public class UserService {
    private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(UserService.class);

    public User findUser(Long id) {
        log.debug("Finding user with id: {}", id);

        try {
            User user = repository.findById(id);
            log.info("User found: {}", user.getEmail());
            return user;
        } catch (Exception e) {
            log.error("Failed to find user with id: {}", id, e);
            throw e;
        }
    }
}

With Lombok

java
import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;

@Slf4j
public class OrderService {
    public void processOrder(Order order) {
        log.info("Processing order: {}", order.getId());
    }
}

Log Levels

LevelPurposeExample
TRACE
Very detailed debuggingLoop iterations, variable values
DEBUG
Debugging informationMethod entry/exit, query params
INFO
Business eventsUser login, order placed
WARN
Potential issuesDeprecated API used, retry attempt
ERROR
Errors requiring attentionException caught, operation failed
java
log.trace("Entering loop iteration {}", i);
log.debug("Query parameters: userId={}, status={}", userId, status);
log.info("Order {} placed successfully", orderId);
log.warn("Payment retry attempt {} of {}", attempt, maxRetries);
log.error("Failed to process payment for order {}", orderId, exception);

Parameterized Messages (Best Practice)

java
// GOOD - uses parameterized logging (efficient)
log.debug("Processing user {} with role {}", userId, role);

// BAD - string concatenation (always evaluated)
log.debug("Processing user " + userId + " with role " + role);

// For expensive operations, use isEnabled check
if (log.isDebugEnabled()) {
    log.debug("Complex data: {}", computeExpensiveDebugInfo());
}

Logback Configuration

Spring Boot (logback-spring.xml)

xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<configuration>
    <!-- Include Spring Boot defaults -->
    <include resource="org/springframework/boot/logging/logback/defaults.xml"/>

    <!-- Properties -->
    <property name="LOG_PATH" value="${LOG_PATH:-logs}"/>
    <property name="LOG_FILE" value="${LOG_FILE:-application}"/>

    <!-- Console Appender -->
    <appender name="CONSOLE" class="ch.qos.logback.core.ConsoleAppender">
        <encoder>
            <pattern>%d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSS} %highlight(%-5level) [%thread] %cyan(%logger{36}) - %msg%n</pattern>
        </encoder>
    </appender>

    <!-- Rolling File Appender -->
    <appender name="FILE" class="ch.qos.logback.core.rolling.RollingFileAppender">
        <file>${LOG_PATH}/${LOG_FILE}.log</file>
        <rollingPolicy class="ch.qos.logback.core.rolling.SizeAndTimeBasedRollingPolicy">
            <fileNamePattern>${LOG_PATH}/${LOG_FILE}.%d{yyyy-MM-dd}.%i.log.gz</fileNamePattern>
            <maxFileSize>100MB</maxFileSize>
            <maxHistory>30</maxHistory>
            <totalSizeCap>3GB</totalSizeCap>
        </rollingPolicy>
        <encoder>
            <pattern>%d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSS} %-5level [%thread] %logger{36} - %msg%n</pattern>
            <charset>UTF-8</charset>
        </encoder>
    </appender>

    <!-- JSON Appender for Production -->
    <appender name="JSON" class="ch.qos.logback.core.rolling.RollingFileAppender">
        <file>${LOG_PATH}/${LOG_FILE}-json.log</file>
        <rollingPolicy class="ch.qos.logback.core.rolling.TimeBasedRollingPolicy">
            <fileNamePattern>${LOG_PATH}/${LOG_FILE}-json.%d{yyyy-MM-dd}.log.gz</fileNamePattern>
            <maxHistory>7</maxHistory>
        </rollingPolicy>
        <encoder class="net.logstash.logback.encoder.LogstashEncoder">
            <includeMdcKeyName>traceId</includeMdcKeyName>
            <includeMdcKeyName>userId</includeMdcKeyName>
        </encoder>
    </appender>

    <!-- Async Appender for Performance -->
    <appender name="ASYNC_FILE" class="ch.qos.logback.classic.AsyncAppender">
        <queueSize>512</queueSize>
        <discardingThreshold>0</discardingThreshold>
        <appender-ref ref="FILE"/>
    </appender>

    <!-- Logger Configuration -->
    <logger name="com.yourcompany" level="DEBUG"/>
    <logger name="org.springframework" level="INFO"/>
    <logger name="org.hibernate.SQL" level="DEBUG"/>
    <logger name="org.hibernate.type.descriptor.sql" level="TRACE"/>

    <!-- Root Logger -->
    <root level="INFO">
        <appender-ref ref="CONSOLE"/>
        <appender-ref ref="ASYNC_FILE"/>
    </root>

    <!-- Profile-specific configuration -->
    <springProfile name="prod">
        <root level="INFO">
            <appender-ref ref="JSON"/>
        </root>
    </springProfile>
</configuration>

application.yml Configuration

yaml
logging:
  level:
    root: INFO
    com.yourcompany: DEBUG
    org.springframework.web: INFO
    org.hibernate.SQL: DEBUG
  pattern:
    console: "%d{HH:mm:ss.SSS} %highlight(%-5level) [%thread] %cyan(%logger{36}) - %msg%n"
    file: "%d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSS} %-5level [%thread] %logger{36} - %msg%n"
  file:
    name: logs/application.log
  logback:
    rollingpolicy:
      max-file-size: 100MB
      max-history: 30

Log4j2 Configuration

log4j2-spring.xml

xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Configuration status="WARN">
    <Properties>
        <Property name="LOG_PATH">logs</Property>
        <Property name="LOG_PATTERN">%d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSS} %-5level [%thread] %logger{36} - %msg%n</Property>
    </Properties>

    <Appenders>
        <Console name="Console" target="SYSTEM_OUT">
            <PatternLayout pattern="${LOG_PATTERN}"/>
        </Console>

        <RollingFile name="File" fileName="${LOG_PATH}/app.log"
                     filePattern="${LOG_PATH}/app-%d{yyyy-MM-dd}-%i.log.gz">
            <PatternLayout pattern="${LOG_PATTERN}"/>
            <Policies>
                <SizeBasedTriggeringPolicy size="100MB"/>
                <TimeBasedTriggeringPolicy/>
            </Policies>
            <DefaultRolloverStrategy max="30"/>
        </RollingFile>

        <!-- Async for high performance -->
        <Async name="AsyncFile">
            <AppenderRef ref="File"/>
        </Async>
    </Appenders>

    <Loggers>
        <Logger name="com.yourcompany" level="debug"/>
        <Root level="info">
            <AppenderRef ref="Console"/>
            <AppenderRef ref="AsyncFile"/>
        </Root>
    </Loggers>
</Configuration>

Structured Logging (JSON)

Dependencies

xml
<!-- For Logback -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>net.logstash.logback</groupId>
    <artifactId>logstash-logback-encoder</artifactId>
    <version>7.4</version>
</dependency>

MDC (Mapped Diagnostic Context)

java
import org.slf4j.MDC;

@Component
public class RequestLoggingFilter implements Filter {

    @Override
    public void doFilter(ServletRequest request, ServletResponse response, FilterChain chain) {
        try {
            MDC.put("traceId", generateTraceId());
            MDC.put("userId", getCurrentUserId());
            MDC.put("requestPath", ((HttpServletRequest) request).getRequestURI());

            chain.doFilter(request, response);
        } finally {
            MDC.clear();
        }
    }
}

Structured Log Output

java
import static net.logstash.logback.argument.StructuredArguments.*;

log.info("Order processed",
    kv("orderId", order.getId()),
    kv("customerId", order.getCustomerId()),
    kv("amount", order.getTotal()),
    kv("currency", "USD"));
Output:
json
{
  "@timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
  "level": "INFO",
  "logger": "com.example.OrderService",
  "message": "Order processed",
  "orderId": "ORD-12345",
  "customerId": "CUST-789",
  "amount": 99.99,
  "currency": "USD",
  "traceId": "abc123",
  "userId": "user456"
}

Best Practices

DO

  • Use SLF4J API everywhere
  • Use parameterized messages 
    log.info("User {}", userId)
  • Include correlation IDs (traceId, requestId)
  • Log at appropriate levels
  • Use async appenders in production
  • Configure log rotation
  • Use JSON format for log aggregation

DON'T

  • Don't use string concatenation in log messages
  • Don't log sensitive data (passwords, tokens, PII)
  • Don't log inside tight loops without level check
  • Don't use System.out.println for logging
  • Don't catch and swallow exceptions silently

Security

java
// BAD - logs sensitive data
log.info("User login: email={}, password={}", email, password);

// GOOD - mask sensitive data
log.info("User login: email={}", maskEmail(email));

// Helper
private String maskEmail(String email) {
    int atIndex = email.indexOf('@');
    if (atIndex > 2) {
        return email.substring(0, 2) + "***" + email.substring(atIndex);
    }
    return "***";
}

When NOT to Use This Skill

  • SLF4J API-only questions: Use 
    slf4j
    skill for API usage patterns
  • Logback configuration details: Use 
    logback
    skill for XML config
  • Node.js/Python projects: Use language-appropriate logging skills
  • Application code patterns: Focus on SLF4J API, not implementation
  • Framework migration: Consult migration-specific guides

Anti-Patterns

Anti-PatternWhy It's BadSolution
Using System.out.printlnNo control, no persistence, no filteringUse SLF4J logger
String concatenation in logsAlways evaluated, performance hitUse parameterized logging: 
log.info("User {}", id)
Not using async appenders in productionBlocks application threadsWrap with AsyncAppender
Logging without MDC in multi-threaded appsLoses request contextUse MDC for correlation IDs
DEBUG level in productionPerformance impact, disk usageUse INFO or WARN in production
Not masking sensitive dataSecurity/compliance violationFilter passwords, tokens, PII before logging

Quick Troubleshooting

IssueCauseSolution
NoClassDefFoundError: StaticLoggerBinderMissing SLF4J implementationAdd Logback or Log4j2 dependency
Multiple bindings warningMultiple implementations on classpathKeep only one: Logback OR Log4j2
Logs not appearingWrong log level or missing configCheck logback.xml and log levels
Performance degradationSynchronous appendersUse AsyncAppender wrapper
Logs not rotatingMissing rolling policyConfigure RollingFileAppender
MDC values not showingPattern missing %X{key}Add MDC placeholders to log pattern

Reference