How to configure log4j to log different log levels to different files for the same logger

Question

I have a normal INFO level log for application. What I need is to additionally log all ERROR level events to separate error log. I am using configuration like this:

<logger name="com.acme">
    <level value="error"/>
    <appender-ref ref="error"/>
</logger>

<logger name="com.acme">
    <level value="info"/>
</logger>

<root>
    <level value="warn"/>
    <appender-ref ref="general"/>
</root>

This configuration logs errors only. If I put info level logger first, then it will log only to general appender, but error logger will not work. I would like to have them both working.

jamesmortensen · Accepted Answer · 2012-04-07 09:20:13Z

86

What you need to do is have a single <logger> definition with a defined level of INFO, but in your two appender definitions, you set their thresholds accordingly, e.g.

<appender name="ERROR_FILE">
   <param name="Threshold" value="ERROR"/>
</appender>

<appender name="GENERAL">
   <param name="Threshold" value="INFO"/>
</appender>

You then add both appenders to your logger:

<logger name="com.acme">
  <level value="INFO"/>
  <appender-ref ref="ERROR_FILE"/>
  <appender-ref ref="GENERAL"/>
</logger>

Log entries now going to the logger will get sent to both appenders, but since they have different independent thresholds, the ERROR_FILE appender will only log ERROR and above.

edited Apr 7, 2012 at 9:20

jamesmortensen

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answered Dec 3, 2009 at 12:47

skaffman

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4 Comments

Alexandre Brasil Over a year ago

@vilmonts If you define the same logger (com.acme) twice, one of them gets overwritten, and that's why you can't see the INFO messages: the first one (with "error" level) erases the next (with "info" messages).

AmanicA Over a year ago

But I want to allow my ERROR_FILE appender to get selected debug messages of some other logger?!

AmanicA Over a year ago

I think then I need to write a custom filter. (In my case I found an application level tweak to fix this)

mahesh Over a year ago

how to call this in java, is it like below Logger.getLogger(<classname under the package com.acme>)?

Peter Perháč · Accepted Answer · 2016-02-26 13:18:56Z

13

Full working solution including the date in the filename:

<appender name="InfoFileAppender" class="org.apache.log4j.rolling.RollingFileAppender">
    <rollingPolicy class="org.apache.log4j.rolling.TimeBasedRollingPolicy">
      <param name="FileNamePattern" value="/var/output/Info_%d{ddMMyyyy}.log" />
    </rollingPolicy>
    <layout class="org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout">
    <param name="ConversionPattern" value="%d{HH:mm:ss} %-5p %t %c{2} - %m%n" />
    </layout>
    <filter class="org.apache.log4j.varia.LevelRangeFilter">
      <param name="levelMin" value="INFO" />
      <param name="levelMax" value="INFO" />
    </filter>
</appender>

<appender name="ErrorFileAppender" class="org.apache.log4j.rolling.RollingFileAppender">
    <param name="Threshold" value="ERROR" />
    <rollingPolicy class="org.apache.log4j.rolling.TimeBasedRollingPolicy">
        <param name="FileNamePattern" value="/var/output/Error_%d{ddMMyyyy}.log" />
    </rollingPolicy>
    <layout class="org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout">
        <param name="ConversionPattern" value="%d{HH:mm:ss} %-5p %t %c{2} - %m%n" />
    </layout>
</appender>
<root>
    <level value="INFO" />
    <appender-ref ref="InfoFileAppender" />
    <appender-ref ref="ErrorFileAppender" />
</root>

edited Feb 26, 2016 at 13:18

Peter Perháč

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answered Jun 4, 2013 at 7:37

Tcaci Oleg

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2 Comments

Carlos López Marí Over a year ago

It would be helpfult o know the dependencies

Woodchuck Over a year ago

Does this need to be named logback.xml? Or logback-spring.xml?

Pang · Accepted Answer · 2024-05-29 01:33:48Z

6

You need to use log4j filters:

<filter class="org.apache.log4j.varia.LevelRangeFilter">
    <param name="levelMin" value="ERROR" />
    <param name="levelMax" value="ERROR" />
</filter>

That way, you can create log files for each level separately.

edited May 29, 2024 at 1:33

Pang

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answered Aug 29, 2012 at 13:39

Pawel Solarski

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2 Comments

Peter Perháč Over a year ago

this is a great answer. i am using .properties files for my log4j configuration. Could you please include in your answer how I would go about configuring this filter in .properties? please

Stimpson Cat Over a year ago

That is not possible with a .properties file use XML file instead

Deepesh kumar Gupta · Accepted Answer · 2020-07-09 22:33:39Z

If you are using log4j2 and config with XML format, ThresholdFilter is a good solution.

Here is a sample:

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

      <Configuration status="WARN">

       <Appenders>
          <Console name="Console" target="SYSTEM_OUT">
      <PatternLayout>
        <Pattern>%d %-5p  %m%n</Pattern>
      </PatternLayout>
      <ThresholdFilter level="DEBUG"/>
    </Console>
    
    <RollingFile name="RollingDebugLogFile" fileName="logs/app-debug.log" filePattern="logs/$${date:yyyy-MM}/app-debug-%d{MM-dd-yyyy}-%i.log.gz">
      <PatternLayout>
        <Pattern>%d %-5p  %m%n</Pattern>
      </PatternLayout>
      <Policies>
        <TimeBasedTriggeringPolicy />
        <SizeBasedTriggeringPolicy size="20MB"/>
      </Policies>
      <ThresholdFilter level="DEBUG"/>
    </RollingFile>
  
    <RollingFile name="RollingErrorLogFile" fileName="logs/app-error.log" filePattern="logs/$${date:yyyy-MM}/app-error-%d{MM-dd-yyyy}-%i.log.gz">
      <PatternLayout>
        <Pattern>%d %-5p  %m%n</Pattern>
      </PatternLayout>
      <Policies>
        <TimeBasedTriggeringPolicy />
        <SizeBasedTriggeringPolicy size="20MB"/>
      </Policies>
      <ThresholdFilter level="ERROR"/>
    </RollingFile>
  
    <RollingFile name="RollingInfoLogFile" fileName="logs/app-info.log" filePattern="logs/$${date:yyyy-MM}/app-info-%d{MM-dd-yyyy}-%i.log.gz">
      <PatternLayout>
        <Pattern>%d %-5p  %m%n</Pattern>
      </PatternLayout>
      <Policies>
        <TimeBasedTriggeringPolicy />
        <SizeBasedTriggeringPolicy size="20MB"/>
      </Policies>
      <ThresholdFilter level="INFO"/>
    </RollingFile>
    
  </Appenders>

  <Loggers>
    <Logger name="testLogger" level="DEBUG" additivity="false">
        <AppenderRef ref = "Console" />
        <AppenderRef ref="RollingErrorLogFile" />
        <AppenderRef ref="RollingInfoLogFile" />
        <AppenderRef ref="RollingDebugLogFile" />
    </Logger>
    <Root level="INFO">
      <AppenderRef ref = "Console" />
      <AppenderRef ref="RollingErrorLogFile" />
      <AppenderRef ref="RollingInfoLogFile" />
      <AppenderRef ref="RollingDebugLogFile" />
    </Root>
    
  </Loggers>
</Configuration>

borieux · Accepted Answer · 2019-11-22 15:55:35Z

2

Well, actually, you can do it using .properties file; you don't have to use .xml file :

Log only WARN

log4j.appender.appenderName.filter.a=org.apache.log4j.varia.LevelRangeFilter
log4j.appender.appenderName.filter.a.LevelMin=WARN
log4j.appender.appenderName.filter.a.LevelMax=WARN

Log from INFO to WARN

log4j.appender.appenderName.filter.a=org.apache.log4j.varia.LevelRangeFilter
log4j.appender.appenderName.filter.a.LevelMin=INFO
log4j.appender.appenderName.filter.a.LevelMax=WARN

answered Nov 22, 2019 at 15:55

borieux

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1 Comment

Carlos López Marí Over a year ago

The question was to log it into different files, not to filter by level.

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