Logging from Java

This documentation outlines how to configure logging with the AppSignal for Java integration.

Configure Logging

🔐 Do not send Personal Identifiable Information (PII) to AppSignal. Filter PII (e.g., names, emails) from logs and use an ID, hash, or pseudonymized identifier instead.

For HIPAA-covered entities, more information about signing a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) can be found in our Business Add-Ons documentation.

You do not need to create a log source to send logs from the AppSignal for Java integration. An “application” log source will be created automatically. The Java integration uses OpenTelemetry’s logging capabilities to send logs to AppSignal.

Stand-alone usage

To use logging with OpenTelemetry in Java, you need to set up the logger using the OpenTelemetry LoggerProvider.

import io.opentelemetry.api.GlobalOpenTelemetry;
import io.opentelemetry.api.logs.Logger;
import io.opentelemetry.api.logs.LoggerProvider;
import io.opentelemetry.api.logs.Severity;

public class MyApplication {
    public void logMessages() {
        // Get the logger from the global logger provider
        LoggerProvider loggerProvider = GlobalOpenTelemetry.getLoggerProvider();
        Logger logger = loggerProvider.get("my-app");

        // Log a message
        logger.logRecordBuilder()
            .setSeverity(Severity.INFO)
            .setBody("Log message line")
            .emit();
    }
}

Usage with Log4j

Log4j is automatically instrumented by the OpenTelemetry Java agent. Logs emitted using Log4j2 will automatically be sent to AppSignal. Context added using ThreadContext or within StructuredDataMessage logs will be shown as log tags in AppSignal.

import org.apache.logging.log4j.LogManager;
import org.apache.logging.log4j.Logger;
import org.apache.logging.log4j.ThreadContext;
import org.apache.logging.log4j.message.StructuredDataMessage;

public class MyService {
    private static final Logger logger = LogManager.getLogger(MyService.class);

    public void processOrder(String orderId) {
        // This will be shown as a tag in AppSignal for all log lines
        ThreadContext.put("order_id", orderId);

        logger.info("Processing order");

        StructuredDataMessage structuredMessage = new StructuredDataMessage(
            "processing_items", // ID (not shown in AppSignal)
            String.format("Processing items in order"), // Message
            "order" // Type (not shown in AppSignal)
        );

        // This will be shown as a tag in AppSignal for this log line
        structuredMessage.put("item_count", 123);
        logger.info(structuredMessage);

        ThreadContext.clearAll();
    }
}

Usage with `java.util.logging`

Java’s built-in logging framework, java.util.logging, is automatically instrumented by the OpenTelemetry Java agent. Logs emitted using java.util.logging will automatically be sent to AppSignal.

import java.util.logging.Logger;
import java.util.logging.Level;

public class MyApplication {
    private static final Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(MyApplication.class.getName());

    public void doSomething() {
        logger.info("Application started");
        logger.log(Level.WARNING, "This is a warning message");
        logger.severe("This is an error message");
    }
}

Usage

Sending Logs

Using the OpenTelemetry logger directly, you can define the severity level of your logs:

import io.opentelemetry.api.GlobalOpenTelemetry;
import io.opentelemetry.api.logs.Logger;
import io.opentelemetry.api.logs.LoggerProvider;
import io.opentelemetry.api.logs.Severity;

public class MyApplication {
    public void sendLogs() {
        // Get the logger from the global logger provider
        LoggerProvider loggerProvider = GlobalOpenTelemetry.getLoggerProvider();
        Logger logger = loggerProvider.get("my-app");

        // Different severity levels
        logger.logRecordBuilder()
            .setSeverity(Severity.WARN)
            .setBody("Something went wrong")
            .emit();

        logger.logRecordBuilder()
            .setSeverity(Severity.INFO)
            .setBody("Action completed successfully")
            .emit();

        logger.logRecordBuilder()
            .setSeverity(Severity.ERROR)
            .setBody("Database connection failed")
            .emit();
    }
}

You can define custom attributes to send log information that can be used when filtering and querying logs:

import io.opentelemetry.api.GlobalOpenTelemetry;
import io.opentelemetry.api.common.AttributeKey;
import io.opentelemetry.api.common.Attributes;
import io.opentelemetry.api.logs.Logger;
import io.opentelemetry.api.logs.LoggerProvider;
import io.opentelemetry.api.logs.Severity;

public class InvoiceService {
    public void generateInvoice(Customer customer) {
        LoggerProvider loggerProvider = GlobalOpenTelemetry.getLoggerProvider();
        Logger logger = loggerProvider.get("invoice_helper");

        logger.logRecordBuilder()
            .setSeverity(Severity.INFO)
            .setBody("Generating invoice for customer")
            .setAllAttributes(Attributes.of(
                AttributeKey.stringKey("customer_id"), customer.getId()
            ))
            .emit();
    }
}

You can query and filter on message contents and attribute values from within the Log Management tool. Once configured, the desired attributes will be sent to AppSignal as log tags, and be queryable in the AppSignal logging interface.

Filtering Logs

You can use the ignore_logs configuration option to ignore log lines. See our Ignore Logs guide to learn more.

Need Help?

After configuring your Java application to send logs, logs should appear in AppSignal. If you are unsure about this step or AppSignal is not receiving any logs, you can always reach out for assistance. We’ll help get you back on track!

Features

Application health

Logs & metrics

Infrastructure

Tuning your apps

Configure Logging

Stand-alone usage

Usage with Log4j

Usage with `java.util.logging`

Usage

Sending Logs

Filtering Logs

Need Help?

​Configure Logging

​Stand-alone usage

​Usage with Log4j

​Usage with java.util.logging

​Usage

​Sending Logs

​Filtering Logs

​Need Help?

Configure Logging

Stand-alone usage

Usage with Log4j

Usage with `java.util.logging`

Usage

Sending Logs

Filtering Logs

Need Help?