PHP agent logs in context

If you're using a supported framework, you can configure the APM agent to send your app's logs and linking metadata automatically to New Relic. Supported frameworks for automatic logs in context include:

• Monolog (version 2 or 3)

  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 adds span.id, trace.id, hostname, entity.guid, and entity.name. Learn about log forwarding limitations.

  Important

  As of agent release 10.3.0 the logging metrics and agent log forwarding features are enabled by default.

  All you need to do is install an agent version with log forwarding capabilities (PHP agent 10.1.0 or higher). If forwarding is disabled, you can use this configuration:

  Configuration file (newrelic.ini):

  newrelic.application_logging.enabled = true
  newrelic.application_logging.metrics.enabled = true
  newrelic.application_logging.forwarding.enabled = true

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  The PHP agent configuration docs explain in detail how to configure your agent, but here we'll review and link to some of the most important aspects of the PHP logs configuration.

  There is a single option to control if the core logging feature is active:

• newrelic.application_logging.enabled

  If you're using a supported logging framework the agent can send metrics which measure the number of severity of log messages your application is generating. You can enable this features using the newrelic.application_logging.metrics.enabled config.

  If you're using a supported logging framework and want to use the agent to send your application logs to New Relic, you can control that through settings newrelic.application_logging.forwarding prefixed INI settings. Options available are:

• enabled

• max_samples_stored

• log_level

  If you are using the Monolog logging library (version 2 or 3) then you may also enable log context attributes. This converts logging context data passed to Monolog into New Relic attributes. You can control this feature through settings newrelic.application_logging.forwarding.context_data prefixed INI settings. Options available are:

• enabled

• include

• exclude

  Important

  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 the log data. Depending on your account, this could result in double billing. For more information, learn how 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 method requires that you install an external log forwarder before enabling logs in context. If you do not have a log forwarder, the New Relic UI will prompt you to use our infrastructure agent.

If you decide to use your existing log forwarding solution and later decide to update 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.

If you choose to use log decoration to activate logs in context for PHP, first setup your PHP app.

1. Make sure you have already set up logging in New Relic. This includes configuring a supported log forwarder that collects your application logs and forwards these to New Relic.

2. Install or update to the latest PHP agent version, and enable distributed tracing. Use PHP agent version 10.13.0.1 or higher for logs decoration support.

3. Install Monolog version 2 or 3.

4. Configure logs decoration for PHP using the Monolog extension.

   To enable local log decoration:

   1. Disable automatic log forwarding:

      newrelic.application_logging.forwarding.enabled = false

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   2. Enable local log decoration by the PHP agent:

      newrelic.application_logging.local_decorating.enabled = true

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   3. The PHP agent will now add linking metadata to each Monolog log record. For this information to appear in the actual log messages it is necessary to set a Monolog Formatter for each Monolog Handler that includes the %extra.NR-LINKING% format specification at the end of the message. This is the necessary linking data for logs in context to work.

      For example:

      <?php
      use Monolog\Logger;
      use Monolog\Formatter\LineFormatter;
      use Monolog\Handler\StreamHandler;
      
      $logger = new Logger('log');
      $handler = new StreamHandler('php://stderr');
      $logfmt = "%channel%.%level_name%: %message% %extra.NR-LINKING%\n";
      $formatter = new LineFormatter($logfmt);
      $handler->setFormatter($formatter);
      $logger->pushHandler($handler);

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      Our decorator adds five attributes to every log message (plain text): 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.

5. To verify that you have configured the log appender correctly, run your application, then check your logs data in New Relic using the query operator has:span.id has:trace.id.

   If everything is configured correctly and your data is being forwarded to New Relic with the enriched metadata, your logs should now be emitted as JSON and contain trace.id and span.id fields. If you don't see log data in the UI, follow the troubleshooting procedures.