Stoclog

Developer tool allowing for sending server-side console logs to the client.

Why?

Because there are times when you want to figure out what is the value or state that some variable contains, but some data structures are just too big to be read in the terminal, so you have to scroll them up and down trying to understand what is where. It can be awfully irritable.
And that's where Stoclog runs to help.
Stoclog stands for server to client log

Possible advantages over the native solution:

• Loads logs of the desired type on demand onto the console in the browser tab, meaning you don't need to watch and rummage in a waterfall of logs in a detached console
• Types of logs can be user-defined
• Works in any browser (of popular ones at least)
• Easily allows to set up as many client-server connections as many running servers and open tabs you have
• Allows to name server-side variables and check their state in the browser console by referencing them by name

How to use

On the client

Logs are fetched on the call of Stoclog and its sub-specificators.

Stoclog ()

Returns predefined (5) number of last server logs.

Stoclog (Number n)

Returns n last logs.

Stoclog.remove()

Removes all stored logs on the server.

Stoclog.get(String variableName)

Returns console.saveState()ed variable from the server, and saves it in Stoclog.$ object, for playing and fiddling if needed.

// server-side
console.saveState('myAwesomeState', { x: 1 });

// client-size
Stoclog.get('myAwesomeState');
Stoclog.$.myAwesomeState
=> { x: 1 }

To get particular type of logs, call Stoclog[type]().

Stoclog.warn()
=> last 5 warning logs

Particular number of logs of particular type:

Stoclog.error(2)
=> last 2 error logs

Remove particular type of logs

Stoclog.info.remove();
// all logs of 'info' category are removed now

If you defined custom logs on the server, you call Stoclog[customLogName] to get them.

To redefine the default number for fetching logs call Stoclog.defaultFetchNumber(num), with num to be the number of logs to load when the number isn't specified.

If you don't like having Stoclog global function on your window object, rename it to the name you like with Stoclog.renameTo(newName).

On the server

Just use the family of console methods, or if you defined your own log types, call them on the console object as well.

console.myTypeOfLog('Foo Bar');

To save the value of some variable for the client to pick it up later, call console.saveState(uniqueId, value) (example is described a little above)

How to install

First of all, load package

npm install stoclog

which will also load additional package stoclog-middleware for setting up server-side.

Setting up client

import 'stoclog';

or

require('stoclog');

if you use bundler or include script onto the html page through script tag. This is all you need to do to set up the client part.

Setting up server

stoclog-middleware is for server-side, it's a function. And it must be called to set up server-side connection.
stoclog-middleware requires at least one argument, which should be a http.Server instance for the middleware to attach to.

const http = require('http');
const server = http.createServer(...);
require('stoclog-middleware')(server);

If you use express and didn't initialize http.Server yourself, express returns http.Server instance on .listen() method call.

const server = expressApp.listen(...);
require('stoclog-middleware')(server);

Same goes for koa

const server = koaApp.listen(...);
require('stoclog-middleware')(server);

hapi holds http.Server instance within itself after initialization as .listener property.

const hapiServer = Hapi.server(...);
require('stoclog-middleware')(hapiServer.listener);

If you use some other framework, just find where it holds http.Server instance and get it.
That is all that is required to set up the server part.

The second argument to stoclog-middleware() is an optional options object, that may help customize some of the middleware behavior. Option keys are:

• maxLoggerCapacity - a number of logs that middleware will contain within itself for fetching. After the number of stored logs exceeds this limit, old logs will get truncated. (default value: 50)
• userLogs - the array of log types that will be attached to console and use console.log() behavior, but you will be able to fetch logs with given particular names.

// server-side
require('stoclog-middleware')(httpServerInstance, { userLogs: ['db', 'somethingImportant'] });
console.db('connection established')
console.somethingImportant('IT HAPPENS!');

// client-side
Stoclog.db();
=> 'connection established'
Stoclog.somethingImportant();
=> 'IT HAPPENS'