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Logging Configuration Guide

Configuration Properties​

Brobot extends standard Spring Boot logging with custom formatters, enrichment features, and correlation tracking. You can use both standard Spring Boot logging properties (logging.level.*) and Brobot-specific properties for advanced features.

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​

Brobot provides logging presets for common scenarios. Presets must be applied programmatically (they cannot be set via properties):

# Presets are applied programmatically, not via properties
# Use Spring profiles to trigger preset application:
spring.profiles.active=development  # Triggers DEVELOPMENT preset via LoggingPresetManager

Available Presets: PRODUCTION, DEVELOPMENT, TESTING, SILENT

Note: Presets configure output format, async performance, and enrichment settings. You must still configure Spring Boot logging levels separately via logging.level.* properties.

Preset Details​

Important: Presets configure output format, async settings, and enrichment. They do NOT automatically set logging levels - you must configure logging.level.* properties manually in application.properties.

PRODUCTION​

  • Sets: Format=JSON, Async=true, Screenshots=false
  • Recommended level (set manually): logging.level.root=WARN
  • Use case: Production environments with log aggregation

DEVELOPMENT​

  • Sets: Format=SIMPLE, Async=false, Screenshots=true
  • Recommended level (set manually): logging.level.root=DEBUG
  • Use case: Local development with full debugging

TESTING​

  • Sets: Format=STRUCTURED, Screenshots=false
  • Recommended level (set manually): logging.level.root=INFO and logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.action=DEBUG
  • Use case: Automated test execution

SILENT​

  • Sets: Format=SIMPLE, minimal enrichment
  • Recommended level (set manually): logging.level.root=OFF
  • Use case: Suppressing all 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 (set in brobot-defaults.properties)
  • Logging defaults are defined in brobot-logging-defaults.properties (separate from main brobot-defaults.properties)
  • 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:

import io.github.jspinak.brobot.logging.LoggingConfiguration;
import io.github.jspinak.brobot.logging.LoggingConfiguration.LoggingPreset;
import io.github.jspinak.brobot.logging.LoggingConfiguration.OutputFormat;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

@Component
public class LoggingSetup {

    @Autowired
    private LoggingConfiguration config;

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

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

        // Configure enrichment
        config.getEnrichment().setIncludeScreenshots(true);
        config.getEnrichment().setIncludeSimilarityScores(true);

        // Configure performance
        config.getPerformance().setAsync(false);

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

Alternative: Use LoggingPresetManager with Spring profiles:

import io.github.jspinak.brobot.logging.config.LoggingAutoConfiguration.LoggingPresetManager;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.core.env.Environment;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

@Component
public class ProfileBasedLogging {

    @Autowired
    private LoggingPresetManager presetManager;

    @Autowired
    private Environment environment;

    public void applyProfilePreset() {
        // Automatically applies preset based on active Spring profile
        presetManager.applyProfilePreset(environment.getActiveProfiles());
    }
}

Logging System​

  • Logging Overview - Introduction to Brobot's logging system and key concepts
  • Usage Guide - How to use logging in your code with ActionConfig and custom messages
  • Output Formats - Detailed guide to SIMPLE, STRUCTURED, and JSON output formats
  • Performance Guide - Performance considerations and optimization strategies

Configuration & Properties​

Testing & Debugging​

Action Configuration​

Getting Started​

Advanced Topics​

External Resources​