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Logging Configuration Guide

Configuration Properties​

The Brobot logging system uses standard Spring Boot logging configuration for level control.

Logging Level Configuration​

Use standard Spring Boot properties to control logging levels:

# Set the root logging level
# Values: OFF, ERROR, WARN, INFO, DEBUG, TRACE
logging.level.root=INFO

# Control specific packages or classes
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot=INFO
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.action=DEBUG
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.statemanagement=WARN
logging.level.com.bdo.automation=DEBUG  # Your application package

Note: The Brobot library uses standard SLF4J logging, so all Spring Boot logging features apply.

Output Format Configuration​

# Format for log output
# SIMPLE - Human-readable console format
# STRUCTURED - Key-value pairs for log aggregation
# JSON - Machine-readable JSON format
brobot.logging.output.format=SIMPLE

# Include additional context
brobot.logging.output.include-timestamp=true
brobot.logging.output.include-thread=false
brobot.logging.output.include-correlation-id=true
brobot.logging.output.include-state-context=true

Performance Configuration​

# Enable async logging for better performance
brobot.logging.performance.async=false

# Buffer size for async logging (bytes)
brobot.logging.performance.buffer-size=8192

Data Enrichment​

# Control what additional data is included in logs
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-screenshots=false
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-similarity-scores=true
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-timing-breakdown=false
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-memory-usage=false

Preset Configurations​

Use presets for common scenarios:

# Available presets: PRODUCTION, DEVELOPMENT, TESTING, SILENT
brobot.logging.preset=DEVELOPMENT

Preset Details​

PRODUCTION​

  • Recommended level: logging.level.root=WARN
  • Format: JSON
  • Async: true
  • Minimal enrichment

DEVELOPMENT​

  • Recommended level: logging.level.root=DEBUG
  • Format: SIMPLE
  • Async: false
  • Full enrichment including screenshots

TESTING​

  • Recommended level: logging.level.root=INFO
  • Additional: logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.action=DEBUG
  • Focused on test execution

SILENT​

  • Recommended level: logging.level.root=OFF
  • No logging output

Logback Configuration​

The Brobot library includes a default logback-spring.xml that reduces verbosity for certain components. You can override these in your application.properties:

# Override specific Brobot components if needed
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.action.basic.find.FindPipeline=DEBUG
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.action.internal.region.DynamicRegionResolver=INFO

Example Configurations​

Minimal Action Logging​

logging.level.root=WARN
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.action=INFO
brobot.logging.output.format=SIMPLE
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-similarity-scores=false

Verbose Debugging​

logging.level.root=DEBUG
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot=DEBUG
brobot.logging.output.format=STRUCTURED
brobot.logging.output.include-correlation-id=true
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-screenshots=true
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-timing-breakdown=true

Production with Monitoring​

logging.level.root=WARN
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.action=INFO
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.performance=INFO
brobot.logging.output.format=JSON
brobot.logging.performance.async=true
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-memory-usage=true

Image and History Saving Configuration​

Control whether debug images and action history are saved to disk:

# Image saving is DISABLED by default to avoid filling disk space
# Set to true only when debugging or analyzing automation behavior
brobot.screenshot.save-history=false  # Default: false

# Configure where images are saved when enabled
brobot.screenshot.history-path=history/
brobot.screenshot.history-filename=hist

# Additional debug image settings
brobot.debug.image.enabled=false  # Default: false
brobot.debug.image.output-dir=debug/image-finding

Important Notes:

  • Images are NOT saved by default - both save-history and debug.image.enabled default to false
  • Enable image saving only when actively debugging to avoid disk space issues
  • Images include action visualizations, match highlights, and search regions
  • When enabled at INFO log level, you may see [SIDEBAR] and [IMAGE_WRITE] messages

When to Enable Image Saving​

Enable image saving in these scenarios:

  • Debugging pattern matching issues
  • Analyzing why actions fail
  • Creating documentation of automation behavior
  • Training new patterns
# Development/debugging configuration
brobot.screenshot.save-history=true
brobot.debug.image.enabled=true
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.tools.history.visual=DEBUG
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.util.image.io=DEBUG

Programmatic Configuration​

Configure output format and enrichment at runtime:

@Autowired
private LoggingConfiguration config;

// Apply a preset for format and performance settings
config.applyPreset(LoggingPreset.DEVELOPMENT);

// Change output format
config.getOutput().setFormat(OutputFormat.JSON);

// Note: Logging levels are controlled via Spring Boot's
// LoggingSystem and cannot be changed via LoggingConfiguration