lambda-log

Basic logging mechanism for Node 6.10+ Lambda Functions which properly formats various logs into JSON format for easier reading through Cloudwatch Logs. The module includes functionality to include custom metadata and tags for each log, allowing increased filtering capabilities within Cloudwatch.

This module is not just for Lambda! You can use this is many different environments that support reading JSON from logs. While the name remains lambda-log, it's really a universal JSON logger.

Why another lambda logger?
There are others out there, but seemed to be convoluted, included more functionality than needed, not maintained, or not configurable enough. I created lambda-log to include the important functionality from other loggers, but still keeping it simple and dependency-free.

Features

• Global metadata and tags that are included with every log.
• Pluggable by wrapping/extending the LambdaLog class.
• Emits event on log to allow third-party integration.
• Error and Error-like objects logged include stacktraces in the metadata automatically.
• Pretty-printing of JSON object in dev mode.
• Well-documented and commented source.
• Small footprint!

New in Version 2.0.0

• Dynamic metadata can be added to every log (ex. timestamp).
• Logs can be piped to a custom stream instead of stdout/stderr.
• Log levels and their corresponding console method can be customized.
• Logs are now an instance of a class with a simple API.
• When logs are converted to JSON, you can customize/mask certain data using a replacer function.
• And a bunch more...

There are a few breaking changes in version 2.0.0. If you are upgrading from the previous version, please read the Changelog and documentation to see how these changes could affect your implementation.

Getting Started

Requirements

Node v6.10+ is required. You need to ensure that your Lambda function is running with the correct Node version.

Install

Install via NPM:

$ npm install lambda-log --save

Usage

Here is a basic usage example, read the API documentation below to learn more.

const log = require('lambda-log');

exports.handler = function(event, context, callback) {
    // set some optional metadata to be included in all logs (this is an overkill example)
    log.options.meta.event = event;
    // add additional tags to all logs
    log.options.tags.push(event.env);
    
    // Log info message
    log.info('my lambda function is running!');
    //=> { _logLevel: 'info' msg: 'my lambda function is running!', event:..., _tags: ['log', 'info', ...] }
    
    if(somethingHappenedButNotFatal) {
        log.warn('something is missing, but it is OK');
        //=> { _logLevel: 'warn', msg: 'something is missing, but it is OK', event:..., _tags: ['log', 'warn', ...] }
    }
    
    // Debug messages are not generated or displayed unless enabled in the config
    log.debug('some debug message');
    //=> false
    
    // Enable debug messages
    log.options.debug = true;
    log.debug('some debug message again');
    //=> { _logLevel: 'debug', msg: 'some debug message again', event:..., _tags: ['log', 'debug', ...] }
    
    someAsyncTask(function(err, results) {
        if(err) {
            log.error(err);
            //=> { _logLevel: 'error', msg: 'Error from someAsyncTask', stack: ..., event: ..., _tags: ['log', 'error', ...]}
        } else {
            log.info('someAsyncTask completed successfully!', { results });
            //=> { _logLevel: 'info', msg: 'someAsyncTask completed successfully!', results:..., event: ..., _tags: ['log', 'info', ...]}
        }
    });
    
    // New in version 1.4.0 - assert
    someAsyncTask(function(err, results) {
        if(err) {
            log.error(err);
            //=> { _logLevel: 'error', msg: 'Error from someAsyncTask', stack: ..., event: ..., _tags: ['log', 'error', ...]}
        } else {
            // Will only log if no results are returned
            log.assert(results, 'No results returned from someAsyncTask');
        }
    });
};

API Documentation

log

Instance of the LambdaLog class which is exported when calling require('lambda-log').

log.LambdaLog([options={}][, levels={}])

Constructor for the LambdaLog class. Provided to be utilized in more advanced cases to allow overriding and configuration. By default, this module will export an instance of this class, but you may access the class and create your own instance via log.LambdaLog.

log.options

Configuration object for LambdaLog. Most options can be changed at any time via log.options.OPTION = VALUE; unless otherwise noted.

log.<info|warn|error|debug|*>(msg[, meta={}][, tags=[]])

Shortcut methods for log.log(). By default, the following methods are available: log.info(), log.warn(), log.error() and log.debug(). Additional methods will be added for any custom log levels provided.

The provided msg can be any type, although a string or Error is recommended. If Error is provided the stack trace is added as metadata to the log as stack.

Examples:

const log = require('lambda-log');

// Basic logs
log.info('Hello world!');
log.warn('Something non-fatal happened with x, y and z!');
log.error(new Error('Houston, we have a problem'));

// Adding metadata
log.error('Something broke...', { answer: 42 });

let data = { ... };
log.info('Data received', data);

// Add custom tags too...
let number = 'this is not a number';
log.warn('It is not a number!', { number }, ['method:numberCheck', 'validation']);

// This log will return false and not display any message since options.debug is false by default
log.debug('This is a test debug message');
//=> false

// But if we enable options.debug, it will act the same as the other log methods:
log.options.debug = true;
log.debug('This is a test debug message');
//=> { msg: "This is a test debug message" ... }

See Log Output for the structure of each log output.

Returns LogMessage

Returns instance of LogMessage.

log.log(level, msg[, meta={}][, tags=[]])

Generates JSON log message based on the provided parameters and the global configuration. Once the JSON message is created, it is properly logged to the console and emitted through an event. If and Error or Error-like object is provided for msg, it will parse out the message and include the stacktrace in the metadata.

Example:

const log = require('lambda-log');

log.log('info', 'This is a test info message');
log.log('info', 'This is a test info message', { someKey: 'with some optional metadata!' });
log.log('error', new Error('It broke'), {}, ['custom-tag']);

Throws: Error

If improper log level is provided.

Returns: LogMessage | Boolean

Returns instance of LogMessage or false if level = "debug" and options.debug = false. May also return false when a custom log level handler function prevents the log from being logged.

log.assert(test, msg[, meta={}][, tags=[]])

(Since v1.4.0) Generates a log message if test is a falsy value. If test is truthy, the log message is skipped and returns false. Allows creating log messages without the need to wrap them in an if statement. The log level will be error.

Example:

const log = require('lambda-log');

let results = null;
// This log will be displayed since `results` is a falsy value.
log.assert(results, 'No results provided!');
//=> { msg: "No results provided!" ... }

// But if they are truthy, the log is ignored:
results = [1, 2, 3];
log.assert(results, 'No results provided!');
//=> false

Returns: LogMessage | Boolean

Returns instance of LogMessage or false if the test passed.

Event: log

The log event is emitted (using EventEmitter) for every log generated. This allows for custom integrations, such as logging to a thrid-party service. This event is emitted with the LogMessage instance for the log. You may control events using all the methods of EventEmitter.

Example:

const log = require('lambda-log');

log.on('log', function(message) {
    // ... do what you want with the log data, such as integrating with third-party service
    console.log(message.value);
    console.log(message.msg);
    console.log(message.toJSON());
    // ...
});

LogMessage

The LogMessage class is a private/internal class that is used for generating log messages. All log methods return an instance of LogMessage allowing for a chainable api. Having a seperate class and instance for each log allows chaining and the ability to further customize this module in the future without major breaking changes. The documentation provided here is what is available to you for each log message.

logMessage.toJSON([format=false])

Returns the compiled log object converted into JSON. This method utilizes options.replacer for the replacer function. It also uses json-safe-stringify to prevent circular reference issues.

Example:

log.error('This is an error').toJSON(true);
//=> {
//      "_logLevel": "error",
//      "msg": "This is an error",
//      ...
//   }

Returns: String

Returns the log object stringified as JSON.

logMessage.level

String log level of the message.

Example:

log.error('This is an error').level;
//=> "error"

logMessage.meta

The fully compiled metadata object for the log. Includes global and dynamic metadata.

Example:

log.info('This is some info', { hello: 'world' }).meta;
//=> { hello: 'world', ... }

logMessage.tags

Array of tags attached to this log. Includes global tags.

Example:

log.info('This is some info', {}, ['custom-tag']).tags;
//=> ["custom-tag", ...]

logMessage.msg

The message for the log. If an Error was provided, it will be the message of the error.

Example:

log.error('This is an error').msg;
//=> "This is an error"

logMessage.value

The full log object. This is the object used in logMessage.toJSON() and when the log is written to the console. See Log Output for more information.

Example:

log.info('This is some info').value;
//=> { _logLevel: 'info', msg: 'This is some info', ... }

logMessage.log

Alias of logMessage.value.

logMessage.throw

Throws the log. If an error was not provided, one will be generated for you and thrown. This is useful in cases where you need to log an error, but also throw it.

Example:

log.error('This is an error').throw;
/*
Shorthand for:

    let logMsg = log.error('This is an error');
    let error = new Error(logMsg.msg);
    error.log = logMsg;
    
    throw error;
*/

Log Output

Each log generated is a custom object that has a set of properties containing all of the values of the log. This output is converted to JSON and logged to the console. Below are the properties included in the log.

Default Properties:

• _logLevel (String) - The log level (ex. error, warn, info, debug) Since 1.3.0
• msg (String) - The message of the log
• _tags (Array[String]) - Array of tags applied to the log

Conditional Properties:

• * (Any) - Any metadata provided, dynamic metadata and global metadata as individual properties
• stack (String) - Stack trace of an error if an Error was provided

Custom Log Levels

New in version 2.0.0, the ability to customize log levels is now available. In order to customize the log levels, you must create a new instance of LambdaLog as any changes directly to a pre-existing instance will not function correctly. The custom log levels are manipulated by passing in an object to the levels argument of the LambdaLog constructor. The provided custom log levels object will override and extend the existing log levels.

Any custom log levels added will be available as shorthand methods on the LambdaLog instance.

Log Levels Object

The log levels object is a simple object that should contain key/value pairs. The keys should be the log level and the values may be either a string or function. If a string is provided, it should be the corresponding console method name to use for the log (ex. log or info). If a function is provided, it must return either a string console method or false to prevent logging. The function will be called for every log with message (LogMessage) as the only parameter, allowing customizing the logging for certain messages.

const LambdaLog = require('lambda-log').LambdaLog;

const log = new LambdaLog({}, {
    fatal: 'error',
    poop: function(message) {
        // prepend an emoji to every message
        message.msg = '💩 ' + message.msg;
        
        return 'log';
    },
    info: function() {
        // Make `log.info()` work like `log.debug()`
        if(this.options.debug) return false;
        return 'info';
    }
});

log.poop('This is a test');
//=> "💩 This is a test"

Dynamic Metadata

New in version 2.0.0, lambda-log now has the ability to execute and include dynamic metadata for each log. Dynamic metadata is generated using a function (log.options.dynamicMeta) on the creation of each message and included into the metadata.

Dynamic Metadata Function

The dynamic metadata function is included into log.options and will run for every log. The function is called with parameters message (the LogMessage instance) and options (log.options object). The function should return an object with metadata to inject into the log.

// Add timestamp to each log
log.options.dynamicMeta = function(message) {
    return {
        timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
    };
};

Log Streams

New in version 2.0.0, you may now customize the streams in which logs are written to. By default, all logs are written using the built-in console object to process.stdout and process.stderr. You may use alternative streams (like fs.createWriteStream() to log to a file) to customize where your logs go. This is useful for non-aws or custom implementations so logs may be sent to the most convient place.

Tests

Tests are written and provided as part of the module. It requires mocha to be installed which is included as a devDependency. You may run the tests by calling:

$ npm run test

Contributing

Feel free to submit a pull request if you find any issues or want to integrate a new feature. Keep in mind, this module should be lightweight and advanced functionality should be published to NPM as a wrapper around this module. Ensure to write and run the tests before submitting a pull request. The code should work without any special flags in Node 6.10.

License

MIT License. See License in the repository.