ColorLogging: A simple Python logger with colored log levels

Installation:

Prerequisites:

• Have Python 3.X installed
• Have the ability to install Python packages

Method 1: pip

If your Python install contains pip:

pip install colorlogging

Note: if multiple Python releases are installed on your system (e.g. 2.7 and 3.6), you may need to execute the correct version of pip. For Python 3.X, change pip install colorlogging to pip3 install colorlogging.

Method 2: From source

• Download the ColorLogging repository, navigate to the download location on the command line/terminal, and execute "python setup.py install".

Usage

The simplest way to use the ColorLogger is with the "log" function:

from colorlogging import log
log('debug', 'This is a debugging log!')
log('info', 'This is an information log!')
log('warn', 'This is a warning log!')
log('error', 'This is an error log!')
log('crit', 'This is a critical log!')

The "log" function accepts:

• level: log level for message
• message: message to log

with optional arguments:

• name: name of the logger (defaults to "color_logger")
• log_dir: where to save the logs (defaults to "./logs")
• use_color: whether to log to the stream using color (defaults to True)

The "log" function will only log to console by default. To save the log message to a file, supply the "to_file" argument:

log('debug', 'This will be printed to console and saved to a file', to_file=True)

To work in a lower level with ColorLogging, import the ColorLogger with:

from colorlogging import ColorLogger

And initialize it:

my_logger = ColorLogger()

By default, the ColorLogger will not log to a file. To enable file logging, specify the desired file logging level:

my_logger = ColorLogger(file_level='debug')

You can change the directory that logs are saved to when initializing or by setting the value:

my_logger = ColorLogger(file_level='debug', log_dir='path/to/my/log/directory')
my_logger.log_dir = 'path/to/my/log/directory'

By default, logs are saved to "/logs" in your current working directory.

ColorLogger will log Debugging, Information, Warning, Error and Critical messages. To change the minimum log level for stream logging and file logging, specify it in the initialization of the ColorLogger or by setting the value:

my_logger = ColorLogger(stream_level='warn', file_level='info')
my_logger.stream_level = 'warn'
my_logger.file_level = 'info'

Supported log levels (in argument form) are:

• 'debug' (debugging)
• 'info' (information)
• 'warn' (warning)
• 'error' (error)
• 'crit' (critical)
• 'disable' (turn off logging)

To log a message, supply your desired log level and a message:

my_logger.log('warn', 'This is a warning message!')

Output stream format:

Log records contain a timestamp, the function/line where the log occurred, a colored log level, and the supplied message. Log files are populated with logs in the same format, without coloring.

If a custom call location (instead of function/line) is desired, supply the "call_loc" argument:

# From the ColorLogger
my_logger.log('debug', 'Specifying a call location', call_loc='LOCATION')
# From the log function
log('debug', 'Specifying a call location', call_loc='LOCATION')

To turn off colors for stream logging, specify it in the initialization of your ColorLogger:

my_logger = ColorLogger(use_color=False)

And in the log function:

log('debug', 'Debug message', use_color=False)

Color is currently disabled on Windows machines due to a bug in the Colorama package.

Contributing, Reporting Issues and Other Support:

To contribute to ColorLogging, make a pull request. Contributions should include tests for new features added, as well as extensive documentation.

To report problems with the software or feature requests, file an issue. When reporting problems, include information such as error messages, your OS/environment and Python version.

For additional support/questions, contact Travis Kessler (travis.j.kessler@gmail.com).