🌲 Timber - Log Better. Solve Problems Faster.

Overview

Timber for Ruby is an optional upgrade you can install for Ruby apps on the Timber.io logging platform. Instead of completely replacing your log messages, Timber efficiently augments your logs with critical metadata. Turning them into rich events with context. This preserves the readability of your logs while still adding the critical context needed to properly analyze your logs.

How it works

For example, Timber turns this familiar raw text log:

Sent 200 in 45.ms

Into a rich http_server_response event.

Sent 200 in 45.2ms @metadata {"dt": "2017-02-02T01:33:21.154345Z", "level": "info", "context": {"user": {"id": 1, "name": "Ben Johnson"}, "http": {"method": "GET", "host": "timber.io", "path": "/path", "request_id": "abcd1234"}}, "event": {"http_server_response": {"status": 200, "time_ms": 45.2}}}

In the Timber console simply click the line to view this metdata. Moreover, this data allows you to run powerful queries like:

context.request_id:abcd1234 - View all logs generated for a specific request.
context.user.id:1 - View logs generated by a specific user.
type:http_server_response - View specific events (exceptions, sql queries, etc)
http_server_response.time_ms:>=1000 - View slow responses with the ability to zoom out and view them in context (request, user, etc).
level:info - Levels in your logs!

For a complete overview, see the Timber for Ruby docs.

Installation

In Gemfile, add the timber gem:
```
gem 'timber', '~> 2.0'
```
In your shell, run bundle install
In your shell, run bundle exec timber install

Usage

Basic logging

Use `Logger` as normal: ```ruby logger.info("My log message") # => My log message @metadata "info", "context": {...} ``` ---

Custom events

Custom events allow you to extend beyond events already defined in the [`Timber::Events`](lib/timber/events) namespace. ```ruby logger.warn "Payment rejected", payment_rejected: "abcd1234", amount: 100, reason: "Card expired" # => Payment rejected @metadata "warn", "event": {"payment_rejected": {"customer_id": "abcd1234", "amount": 100, "reason": "Card expired"}, "context": ...} ``` * Notice the `:payment_rejected` root key. Timber will classify this event as such. * In the [Timber console](https://app.timber.io) use the query: `type:payment_rejected` or `payment_rejected.amount:>100`. * See more details on our [custom events docs page](https://timber.io/docs/ruby/custom-events/) ---

Custom contexts

Context is additional data shared across log lines. Think of it like log join data. Custom contexts allow you to extend beyond contexts already defined in the [`Timber::Contexts`](lib/timber/contexts) namespace. ```ruby logger.with_context(build: "1.0.0") do logger.info("My log message") end # => My log message @metadata "info", "context": {"build": {"version": "1.0.0"}} ``` * Notice the `:build` root key. Timber will classify this context as such. * In the [Timber console](https://app.timber.io) use queries like: `build.version:1.0.0` * See more details on our [custom contexts docs page](https://timber.io/docs/ruby/custom-contexts/)

Metrics

Logging metrics is accomplished by logging custom events. Please see our [metrics docs page](https://timber.io/docs/ruby/metrics/) for a more detailed explanation with examples.

Jibber-Jabber

Which log events does Timber structure for me?

Out of the box you get everything in the [`Timber::Events`](lib/timber/events) namespace. We also add context to every log, everything in the [`Timber::Contexts`](lib/timber/contexts) namespace. Context is structured data representing the current environment when the log line was written. It is included in every log line. Think of it like join data for your logs. ---

What about my current log statements?

They'll continue to work as expected. Timber adheres to the default `Logger` interface. Your previous logger calls will work as they always do. In fact, traditional log statements for non-meaningful events, debug statements, etc, are encouraged. In cases where the data is meaningful, consider [logging a custom event](#usage).

How is Timber different?

1. **It's just _better_ logging**. Nothing beats well structured raw data. And that's exactly what Timber aims to provide. There are no agents, special APIs, or proprietary data sets that you can't access. 2. **Improved log data quality.** Instead of relying on parsing alone, Timber ships libraries that structure and augment your logs from _within_ your application. Improving your log data at the source. 3. **Human readability.** Timber _augments_ your logs without sacrificing human readability. For example: `log message @metadata ...`. And when you view your logs in the [Timber console](https://app.timber.io), you'll see the human friendly messages with the ability to view the associated metadata. 4. **Long retention**. Logging is notoriously expensive with low retention. Timber offers _6 months_ of retention by default with sane prices. 5. **Normalized schema.** Have multiple apps? All of Timber's libraries adhere to our [JSON schema](https://github.com/timberio/log-event-json-schema). This means queries, alerts, and graphs for your ruby app can also be applied to your elixir app (for example). ---