Setting Up Stackdriver Logging for Node.js

Beta

This product or feature is in a pre-release state and might change or have limited support. For more information, see the product launch stages.

You can write logs to Logging from Node.js applications by using the Bunyan or Winston plugins, or by using the Stackdriver Logging API Cloud client library for Node.js directly.

The Logging agent does not have to be installed to use the Bunyan and Winston libraries on a Compute Engine VM instance.

Before you begin

1. Sign in to your Google Account.

   If you don't already have one, sign up for a new account.

2. Select or create a GCP project.

   Note: If you don't plan to keep the resources that you create in this procedure, create a project instead of selecting an existing project. After you finish these steps, you can delete the project, removing all resources associated with the project.

   Go to the project selector page

3. Make sure that billing is enabled for your Google Cloud Platform project. Learn how to enable billing.

4. Enable the Stackdriver Logging API.

   Enable the API

5. Prepare your environment for Node.js development.

   Go to the Node.js setup guide

Using Bunyan

Stackdriver Logging provides a plugin for the Bunyan Node.js Logging library. The Logging plugin for Bunyan provides a simpler, higher-level layer for working with Logging.

Installing the plugin

1. The easiest way to install the Logging Bunyan plugin is with npm:

   npm install --save bunyan @google-cloud/logging-bunyan

2. Import the plugin and add it to your Bunyan configuration:

   View on GitHub Feedback

   const bunyan = require('bunyan');
   
   // Imports the Google Cloud client library for Bunyan
   const {LoggingBunyan} = require('@google-cloud/logging-bunyan');
   
   // Creates a Bunyan Stackdriver Logging client
   const loggingBunyan = new LoggingBunyan();
   
   // Create a Bunyan logger that streams to Stackdriver Logging
   // Logs will be written to: "projects/YOUR_PROJECT_ID/logs/bunyan_log"
   const logger = bunyan.createLogger({
     // The JSON payload of the log as it appears in Stackdriver Logging
     // will contain "name": "my-service"
     name: 'my-service',
     streams: [
       // Log to the console at 'info' and above
       {stream: process.stdout, level: 'info'},
       // And log to Stackdriver Logging, logging at 'info' and above
       loggingBunyan.stream('info'),
     ],
   });
   
   // Writes some log entries
   logger.error('warp nacelles offline');
   logger.info('shields at 99%');

Configuring the plugin

You can customize the behavior of the Bunyan plugin using the same configuration options supported by the Stackdriver Logging API Cloud client library for Node.js. These options can be passed in the options object passed to the plugin's constructor.

Using Winston

Stackdriver Logging provides a plugin for the Winston Node.js Logging library. The Logging plugin for Winston provides a simpler, higher-level layer for working with Logging.

Installing the plugin

1. The easiest way to install the Logging Winston plugin is with npm:

   npm install --save @google-cloud/logging-winston

2. Import the plugin and add it to your Winston configuration:

   View on GitHub Feedback

   const winston = require('winston');
   
   // Imports the Google Cloud client library for Winston
   const {LoggingWinston} = require('@google-cloud/logging-winston');
   
   const loggingWinston = new LoggingWinston();
   
   // Create a Winston logger that streams to Stackdriver Logging
   // Logs will be written to: "projects/YOUR_PROJECT_ID/logs/winston_log"
   const logger = winston.createLogger({
     level: 'info',
     transports: [
       new winston.transports.Console(),
       // Add Stackdriver Logging
       loggingWinston,
     ],
   });
   
   // Writes some log entries
   logger.error('warp nacelles offline');
   logger.info('shields at 99%');

Configuring the plugin

You can customize the behavior of the Winston plugin using the same configuration options supported by the Stackdriver Logging API Cloud client library for Node.js. These options can be passed in the options object passed to the plugin's constructor.

For more information on installation, see the documentation for the Stackdriver Logging libraries for Node.js. You can also report issues using the issue tracker.

Using the Cloud Client Library directly

For information on using the Stackdriver Logging Cloud client library for Node.js directly, see Stackdriver Logging Client Libraries.

Running on Google Cloud Platform

Using Stackdriver Logging libraries for Node.js requires the Cloud IAM Logs Writer role on GCP. Most GCP environments provide this role by default.

App Engine

App Engine grants the Logs Writer role by default.

The Stackdriver Logging libraries for Node.js can be used without needing to explicitly provide credentials.

Stackdriver Logging is automatically enabled for App Engine applications. No additional setup is required.

Note: Logs written to stdout and stderr are automatically sent to Stackdriver Logging for you, without needing to use Stackdriver Logging libraries for Node.js.

Google Kubernetes Engine

On Google Kubernetes Engine, you must add the logging.write access scope when creating the cluster:

gcloud container clusters create example-cluster-name --scopes https://www.googleapis.com/auth/logging.write

Compute Engine

Note: To use the Stackdriver Logging libraries for Node.js on a Compute Engine VM instance, you do not need to install the Stackdriver Logging agent.

When using Compute Engine VM instances, add the cloud-platform access scope to each instance. When creating a new instance through the Google Cloud Platform Console, you can do this in the Identity and API access section of the Create Instance panel. Use the Compute Engine default service account or another service account of your choice, and select Allow full access to all Cloud APIs in the Identity and API access section. Whichever service account you select, ensure that it has been granted the Logs Writer role in the IAM & admin section of the GCP Console.

Cloud Functions

Cloud Functions grants the Logs Writer role by default.

The Stackdriver Logging libraries for Node.js can be used without needing to explicitly provide credentials.

Cloud Functions is configured to use Stackdriver Logging automatically.

Note: Logs written to stdout and stderr are automatically sent to Stackdriver Logging for you, without needing to use the Stackdriver Logging libraries for Node.js.

Running locally and elsewhere

To use the Stackdriver Logging libraries for Node.js outside of Google Cloud Platform, including running the library on your own workstation, on your data center's computers, or on the VM instances of another cloud provider, you must supply your GCP project ID and appropriate service account credentials directly to the Stackdriver Logging libraries for Node.js.

You can create and obtain service account credentials manually. When specifying the Role field, use the Logs Writer role. For more information on Cloud Identity and Access Management roles, go to Access control guide.

Using Bunyan:

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// Imports the Google Cloud client library for Bunyan
const {LoggingBunyan} = require('@google-cloud/logging-bunyan');

// Creates a client
const loggingBunyan = new LoggingBunyan({
  projectId: 'your-project-id',
  keyFilename: '/path/to/key.json',
});

Using Winston:

View on GitHub Feedback

// Imports the Google Cloud client library for Winston
const {LoggingWinston} = require('@google-cloud/logging-winston');

// Creates a client
const loggingWinston = new LoggingWinston({
  projectId: 'your-project-id',
  keyFilename: '/path/to/key.json',
});

Viewing the logs

After deployment, you can view the logs in the GCP Console Logs Viewer.

Go to the Logs Viewer

In the Logs Viewer, you must specify one or more resources, but the resource selection might not be obvious. Here are some tips to help you get started:

• If you are deploying your application to App Engine or using the App Engine-specific libraries, set your resource to GAE Application.

• If you are deploying your application on Compute Engine, set the resource to GCE VM Instance.

• If you are deploying your application on Google Kubernetes Engine, your cluster's logging configuration determines the resource type of the log entries. For a detailed discussion on the Legacy Stackdriver and the Stackdriver Kubernetes Monitoring solutions, and how those options affect the resource type, see Migrating to Stackdriver Kubernetes Monitoring.

• If your application is using the Stackdriver Logging API directly, the resource is dependent on the API and your configuration. For example, in your application, you can specify a resource or use a default resource.

• If you don't see any logs in the Logs Viewer, to see all log entries, switch to the advanced query mode and use an empty query.

  1. To switch to the advanced query mode, click menu (▾) at the top of the Logs Viewer and then select Convert to advanced filter.
  2. Clear the content that appears in the filter box.
  3. Click Submit Filter.

  You can examine the individual entries to identify your resources.

For additional information, see Viewing Logs and Advanced logs queries.