Ebtoulson

Ebtoulson

This is kind of a question and a proposal.
I recently looked into switching loggers for a few our phoenix applications from a file logger to a stdout json logger.
While doing some research, I noticed a few different patterns in use. The first was to wrap the existing Logger module and the second was to create a backend.

I don’t think wrapping Logger is ideal since a lot of other packages have dependencies on Logger and could be calling it directly.
This would also require the project owner to be on the lookout for any direct use of the module in any future changes.

Creating a backend seems to be the intended pattern but I think this could be improved. I see a definite separation between outputting (stdio, file, tcp/udp, etc)
and formatting, but this seems to be coupled in a lot of existing logger packages (e.g. logger_json_file_backend).

Have I been looking at this wrong? If not, here’s my proposal: Let’s create a behavior for formatters, break out the default formatter from console, and determine formatters from configuration.

config :logger,
  backends: [{Logger.Backends.Stdout, :stdout_logger}]

config :logger, :stdout_logger,
  level: :debug,
  metadata: [:request_id],
  formatter: Logger.Formatters.Json

Doing something like this while remaining backwards compatible with the existing :console backend and :format configuration might be a little tricky.
We might also want to break out common functionality into the utils module or a helper. This would include things like handling metadata and what not.
Thoughts?

Showing Posts 1 to 3

ChristopherBui

ChristopherBui

@josevalim This is a pain point we’re also dealing with. Is there a good way to accomplish this with the current implementation?

josevalim

josevalim

Creator of Elixir

It is not possible in the current implementation, you would have to reimplement the whole backend. Can someone please open up an issue for supporting a custom formatter? I think the current console backend is complex enough to justify the inclusion of a formatting convenience.

josevalim

josevalim

Creator of Elixir

It seems we do support it today, I just forgot about it. :sweat_smile:

More info: Proposal: Logger Backends and Formatters · Issue #5754 · elixir-lang/elixir · GitHub

— All posts loaded —

Where Next? Top

Trending in Discussions Top

AstonJ
As the title says, please share what you’ve been up to with Elixir. Whether that’s been learning it, looking into it, making stuff with i...
2977 94592 917
New
cblavier
Hey there, It’s been more than a year since we started using LiveView as our main UI library and building a whole library of UI componen...
New
mudasobwa
I am happy to introduce the very α version of the new programming language compiled to BEAM. Welcome Cure. It has literally three kille...
New
heathen
Quite interesting article Google brought me. Didn’t find any mentions about it here. What do you think in general? Would you use togethe...
New
mhanberg
Hi everyone! The first release candidate for the Expert language server project is now available! We’ve published a press release detai...
New
budgie
A little off-topic, but I feel like people here have a good head on their shoulders. I used to be quite good at making software. Was luc...
New
axelson
Hi there! :wave: @frigidcode and I (but mostly him) have been running an Elixir Book club, we’re almost done with Designing Elixir Syste...
New

Other Trending Topics Top

OndrejValenta
(I just needed to vent somewhere and LinkedIn is full of hope, or hype, I’m not sure which exactly) AI dream has many faces, but general...
New
GenericJam
Edit: 2026 May 15 - This post is archived. Mob is alive!! Main docs: mob v0.7.11 — Documentation A bit of explanation for the slightly c...
New
JesseHerrick
Hey, I’m Jesse and I’m the main contributor behind Dexter, a full-featured, lightning-fast Elixir LSP optimized for large codebases. It s...
New
garrison
Hobbes is a low-level distributed database for the Elixir programming language. Hobbes provides a simple, safe, and scalable storage lay...
New
mcass19
ExRatatui lets you cook up rich terminal UIs in Elixir, powered by Rust’s ratatui via Rustler NIFs. Build interactive terminal applicatio...
New
georgeguimaraes
Just published claude-code-elixir, a plugin marketplace for Claude Code with Elixir support. These are the plugins I’ve been using for my...
New

We're in Beta

About us Mission Statement

Options

Thread Display Mode




Thread Preview

Skip Thread Previews