cmackenzie1/logging-best-practices

Logging Best Practices Skill

Version: 1.0.0

Purpose

This skill provides guidelines for implementing effective logging in applications. It focuses on wide events (also called canonical log lines) - a pattern where you emit a single, context-rich event per request per service, enabling powerful debugging and analytics.

When to Apply

Apply these guidelines when:

• Writing or reviewing logging code
• Adding console.log, logger.info, or similar
• Designing logging strategy for new services
• Setting up logging infrastructure

Core Principles

1. Wide Events (CRITICAL)

Emit one context-rich event per request per service. Instead of scattering log lines throughout your handler, consolidate everything into a single structured event emitted at request completion.

const wideEvent: Record<string, unknown> = {
  method: 'POST',
  path: '/checkout',
  requestId: c.get('requestId'),
  timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
};

try {
  const user = await getUser(c.get('userId'));
  wideEvent.user = { id: user.id, subscription: user.subscription };

  const cart = await getCart(user.id);
  wideEvent.cart = { total_cents: cart.total, item_count: cart.items.length };

  wideEvent.status_code = 200;
  wideEvent.outcome = 'success';
  return c.json({ success: true });
} catch (error) {
  wideEvent.status_code = 500;
  wideEvent.outcome = 'error';
  wideEvent.error = { message: error.message, type: error.name };
  throw error;
} finally {
  wideEvent.duration_ms = Date.now() - startTime;
  logger.info(wideEvent);
}

2. High Cardinality & Dimensionality (CRITICAL)

Include fields with high cardinality (user IDs, request IDs - millions of unique values) and high dimensionality (many fields per event). This enables querying by specific users and answering questions you haven't anticipated yet.

3. Business Context (CRITICAL)

Always include business context: user subscription tier, cart value, feature flags, account age. The goal is to know "a premium customer couldn't complete a $2,499 purchase" not just "checkout failed."

4. Environment Characteristics (CRITICAL)

Include environment and deployment info in every event: commit hash, service version, region, instance ID. This enables correlating issues with deployments and identifying region-specific problems.

5. Single Logger (HIGH)

Use one logger instance configured at startup and import it everywhere. This ensures consistent formatting and automatic environment context.

6. Middleware Pattern (HIGH)

Use middleware to handle wide event infrastructure (timing, status, environment, emission). Handlers should only add business context.

7. Structure & Consistency (HIGH)

• Use JSON format consistently
• Maintain consistent field names across services
• Simplify to two log levels: info and error
• Never log unstructured strings

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

1. Scattered logs: Multiple console.log() calls per request
2. Multiple loggers: Different logger instances in different files
3. Missing environment context: No commit hash or deployment info
4. Missing business context: Logging technical details without user/business data
5. Unstructured strings: console.log('something happened') instead of structured data
6. Inconsistent schemas: Different field names across services

Guidelines

Wide Events (rules/wide-events.md)

• Emit one wide event per service hop
• Include all relevant context
• Connect events with request ID
• Emit at request completion in finally block

Context (rules/context.md)

• Support high cardinality fields (user_id, request_id)
• Include high dimensionality (many fields)
• Always include business context
• Always include environment characteristics (commit_hash, version, region)

Structure (rules/structure.md)

• Use a single logger throughout the codebase
• Use middleware for consistent wide events
• Use JSON format
• Maintain consistent schema
• Simplify to info and error levels
• Never log unstructured strings

Common Pitfalls (rules/pitfalls.md)

• Avoid multiple log lines per request
• Design for unknown unknowns
• Always propagate request IDs across services

References:

• Logging Sucks
• Observability Wide Events 101
• Stripe - Canonical Log Lines