Node.js agent logs in context

This is the simplest approach, and it's a great choice for developers who may not have the access or interest in setting up a log forwarder, or for accounts that want to see the power of logs and other linking metadata in context of their apps, without a lot of overhead.

Using this option, the agent reports your entire log and adds our attributes span.id, trace.id, hostname, entity.guid, and entity.name. These attributes link your logs to spans, traces, and other telemetry, making it easier to troubleshoot.

All you need to do is install an agent version with log forwarding capabilities (Node.js agent 8.11.0 or higher). If forwarding is disabled, you can use this configuration:

newrelic.js:

application_logging: {
  forwarding: {
    enabled: true
  }
}

Environment variable:

NEW_RELIC_APPLICATION_LOGGING_FORWARDING_ENABLED=true

This option is on by default since agent version 8.16.0.

Optional adjustments:

Once this is enabled, you also have control over the maximum number of logs sent to New Relic every minute. The default value is 10,000. If more than 10,000 logs are received in a 60-second window, your logs will begin to be sampled.

Set it to a higher number to receive more logs. Set it to a lower number to receive fewer logs. Any integer up to 100,000 is valid. Increasing this value may increase the agent's utilization of CPU and RAM.

newrelic.js:

application_logging: {
  forwarding: {
    max_samples_stored: 10000
  }
}

Environment variable:

NEW_RELIC_APPLICATION_LOGGING_FORWARDING_MAX_SAMPLES_STORED: 10000

If you have an existing log forwarding solution and are updating your agent to use automatic logs in context, be sure to disable your manual log forwarder. Otherwise, your app will be sending double log lines. Depending on your account, this could result in double billing. For more information, follow the procedures to disable your specific log forwarder.

Already have a log forwarder you like? We've got you covered! Language agents can decorate your logs with the linking metadata needed to provide access to automatic logs-in-context features.

This option should not be used with in-agent forwarding. Using an external log forwarder to send logs to New Relic while in-agent forwarding is enabled will cause your logs to be sent up twice to New Relic. Depending on your account, this may result in double billing.

1. If you want to use this option, make sure you have the in-agent forwarding configuration option disabled.

   newrelic.js:

   application_logging: {
     forwarding: {
       enabled: false
     }
   }

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2. Enable log decorating in your configuration, then relaunch the agent to start decorating your logs.

   newrelic.js:

   application_logging: {
     local_decorating: {
       enabled: true
     }
   }

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   Environment variable:

   NEW_RELIC_APPLICATION_LOGGING_LOCAL_DECORATING_ENABLED=true

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   Our decorator adds five attributes to every log message: entity.guid, entity.name, hostname, trace.id, and span.id. Example:

   This is my log message. NR-LINKING|{entity.guid}|{hostname}|{trace.id}|{span.id}|{entity.name}|

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   If the log message is empty or blank, output message will also be empty. Example:

   NR-LINKING|{entity.guid}|{hostname}|{trace.id}|{span.id}|{entity.name}|.

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   The output log message will be an empty string.

   Some attributes may be empty if the log occurred outside a transaction or if they are not applicable to your application's context.