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Work with Lightrun Dynamic Logs in the VS Code IDE

Prerequisites

To use the plugin, make sure you have:

  1. Attached an agent to your application
  2. Installed the plugin in your local VS Code instance
  3. Authenticated the VS Code plugin against your Lightrun account
  4. The source code file for your running application is opened in VSCode

From the Lightrun plugin for VSCode, you can:

Adding logs

To add dynamic logs to your code, you must open the Insert a Log form and enter your preferred log parameters.

Opening the Insert a Log form

There are two ways to open the Insert a Log form.

  1. From the Agents or Tags tab.
  2. From a code line in your VSCode editor.

Agents or Tags tab

  1. Open the Lightrun Sidebar in your VSCode IDE.
  2. Navigate to the Agents or Tags tab and select an agent or tag.
  3. Click the Add Action icon Add Action button --icon on the agent or tag.
  4. Select Log in the menu that appears.

    The Insert a Log form should appear similar to the following image. Create Log --quarter

Code line method

  1. Go to the line in your application source code where you'd like to insert the log. Make sure to use the source code version currently deployed to your remote app (where the agent is attached).
  2. Right-click to open the VSCode context menu.
    VSCode context menu --quarter
  3. From the VSCode context menu, click Lightrun....
    The VSCode Command Palette opens with a list of Lightrun plugin options.
    Lightrun context menu --quarter
  4. From the Command Palette, select Insert a Log
    The Insert a Log form should appear similar to the following image. Insert a log form --quarter

Entering Log parameters

Complete the fields in the Insert a Log form, as follows:

Fields Description
Source From the available options in the dropdown list, bind the action to a specific agent, tag, or custom source.
Click the Custom Source icon --icon icon to create a new custom source.
Filename & line The source code file into which you're inserting the action. The default path is to the source code file from which you're currently working.
Log message The actual log string. Use expressions such as My variable is {var}, including method invocations such as: Method value: {myMethod() + 5}.
Log Level Select an appropriate log level: INFO, ERROR, DEBUG, WARN.
Once configured, logs can also be filtered by the LOG LEVEL attribute in the Lightrun console.
Condition The condition of an if statement, used to limit the execution of the action.
For example, The condition myVar % 7 == 0 limits the action (log, snapshot, metric) output so that it only prints for variables that are divisible by 7.
Lifetime The time after which the action ceases to track code behavior and is automatically disabled; default = 1 hour.
Target Select your preferred action output taget. You can pick either:
- Stdout - Logs are routed only to your application's standard output.
- Plugin - Logs appear in the Lightrun Console, the Lightrun Management Portal, and configured integrations.
or both options at once.

Click Create to insert the dynamic log into your code.

Managing logs

Upon log creation:

  • In the VSCode editor, a Log icon --icon icon will appear next to the selected code line.
  • A new log action will appear under the selected source (agent or tag) in the Lightrun sidebar. Log entry --quarter

You can disable, delete, or edit a log directly in your IDE.

To disable a Dynamic Log
  1. Hover your cursor over the relevant log in the Lightrun sidebar.
    A toggle switch should appear.
    Action toggle switch --quarter
  2. Click the toggle switch from blue (on) to grey (off).
  3. To resume logging, click the toggle back to blue.
To duplicate a Dynamic Log
  1. Hover your cursor over the relevant log in the Lightrun sidebar.
  2. Right-click and select Duplicate.

    Duplicate log

  3. Go to the selected destination and right-click and select Duplicate.

To delete a Dynamic Log
  1. Click the menu icon ... next to the relevant log in the Lightrun sidebar.
  2. Select Delete from the menu that appears.

    Action Options menu --quarter

To edit a Dynamic Log configuration parameters
  1. Click the menu icon ... next to the relevant log in the Lightrun sidebar.

    Action Options menu --quarter

  2. Select Edit from the menu that appears to open the Edit a Log form.

    The Edit a Log form should appear similar to the following image. Edit a log form --quarter

  3. Edit your log configuration data in the Edit a Log form.


Last update: December 4, 2024