http-debug-logger

A beginner-friendly HTTP request logger for Node.js.
Supports both native http servers and Express middleware.
Logs method, URL, status code, and response time.
Ideal for learning and debugging backend behavior in development.

Features

• Works with native Node.js http servers and Express
• Logs HTTP method, path, status code, and duration
• Optional header and body logging
• Type-safe with full TypeScript support
• Zero external dependencies
• Configurable output (colors, format, etc.)
• JSON structured logging
• [New] Write logs to a file continuously with user-specified path

Installation

# Using npm
npm install http-debug-logger

# Using yarn
yarn add http-debug-logger

Quick Start

Node.js

import http from 'http';
import {createServerLogger} from 'http-debug-logger';

const logger = createServerLogger();

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
    logger(req, res); // log the request
    res.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/plain'});
    res.end('Hello from Node!');
});

server.listen(3000, () => {
    console.log('Server is listening on http://localhost:3000');
});

Express

import express from 'express';
import {expressLogger} from 'http-debug-logger';

const app = express();

app.use(expressLogger()); // Use expressLogger middleware

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
    res.send('Hello from Express!');
});

app.listen(3000, () => {
    console.log('Express server running on http://localhost:3000');
});

Preset Options

To simplify setup, you can use one of the predefined logging presets by passing the preset option:

| Preset | Description | |--------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------| | minimal | Logs only the HTTP method, URL, and status code. | | verbose | Logs method, URL, status code, response time, headers, and body. | | production | Outputs logs in JSON format (structured logging) with timestamp included. | | json | JSON-structured output with all fields |

Example Usage

Minimal Logging

import {createServerLogger} from 'http-debug-logger';

const logger = createServerLogger({preset: 'minimal'});

Verbose Logging (for development)

const logger = createServerLogger({preset: 'verbose'});

Production Logging (structured JSON format)

const logger = createServerLogger({preset: 'production'});

Note: You can still override individual options (logHeaders, logBody, timestamp, etc.) even when using a preset.

Configuration Options

| Option | Type | Default | Description | |-----------------|------------------------------------|---------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | prefix | string | "" | Optional prefix for each log message. | | color | boolean | true | Enable/disable colored output (using kleur). | | timestamp | boolean | true | Add a timestamp in ISO format before each log message. | | skip | (req, res) => boolean | () => false | Function that allows skipping certain logs. It returns true to skip logging. | | logHeaders | boolean | false | Log request headers (defaults to false). | | logBody | boolean | false | Log request body (defaults to false). | | format | string or (req, res) => string | "default" | Custom log message format. If a string is provided, it will be used as the format; if a function is provided, it will format the log message. | | logFilePath | string | "" | [New] File path to write logs to. | | logFileAppend | boolean | "false" | [New] Append to log file (true) or overwrite (false). |

How Configuration Works:

• prefix: You can specify a string prefix for all your log messages.
• color: If true, it uses kleur to colorize the logs based on the HTTP status code.
• timestamp: If true, each log entry will include a timestamp in ISO format.
• skip: A function to conditionally skip logging for specific requests based on your own logic (e.g., for certain paths, HTTP methods, etc.).
• logHeaders: If enabled, logs the HTTP request headers.
• logBody: If enabled, logs the HTTP request body (be cautious about logging sensitive data).
• format: You can provide a custom format string or function to control how the log message is formatted.
• logFilePath: You can provide the file path to write logs to.
• logFileAppend: Append to log file (true) or overwrite (false).

API

createServerLogger(options?)

Creates a logger for native Node.js http servers.

expressLogger(options?)

Returns an Express middleware function that logs requests.

License

MIT