TCPDashboard/docs/components/logging.md

Unified Logging System

The TCP Dashboard project uses a unified logging system that provides consistent, centralized logging across all components.

Features

• Component-specific directories: Each component gets its own log directory
• Date-based file rotation: New log files created daily automatically
• Unified format: Consistent timestamp and message format across all logs
• Thread-safe: Safe for use in multi-threaded applications
• Verbose console logging: Configurable console output with proper log level handling
• Automatic log cleanup: Built-in functionality to remove old log files automatically
• Error handling: Graceful fallback to console logging if file logging fails

Log Format

All log messages follow this unified format:

[YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS - LEVEL - message]

Example:

[2024-01-15 14:30:25 - INFO - Bot started successfully]
[2024-01-15 14:30:26 - ERROR - Connection failed: timeout]

File Organization

Logs are organized in a hierarchical structure:

logs/
├── app/
│   ├── 2024-01-15.txt
│   └── 2024-01-16.txt
├── bot_manager/
│   ├── 2024-01-15.txt
│   └── 2024-01-16.txt
├── data_collector/
│   └── 2024-01-15.txt
└── strategies/
    └── 2024-01-15.txt

Basic Usage

Import and Initialize

from utils.logger import get_logger

# Basic usage - gets logger with default settings
logger = get_logger('bot_manager')

# With verbose console output
logger = get_logger('bot_manager', verbose=True)

# With custom cleanup settings
logger = get_logger('bot_manager', clean_old_logs=True, max_log_files=7)

# All parameters
logger = get_logger(
    component_name='bot_manager',
    log_level='DEBUG',
    verbose=True,
    clean_old_logs=True,
    max_log_files=14
)

Log Messages

# Different log levels
logger.debug("Detailed debugging information")
logger.info("General information about program execution")
logger.warning("Something unexpected happened")
logger.error("An error occurred", exc_info=True)  # Include stack trace
logger.critical("A critical error occurred")

Complete Example

from utils.logger import get_logger

class BotManager:
    def __init__(self):
        # Initialize with verbose output and keep only 7 days of logs
        self.logger = get_logger('bot_manager', verbose=True, max_log_files=7)
        self.logger.info("BotManager initialized")
    
    def start_bot(self, bot_id: str):
        try:
            self.logger.info(f"Starting bot {bot_id}")
            # Bot startup logic here
            self.logger.info(f"Bot {bot_id} started successfully")
        except Exception as e:
            self.logger.error(f"Failed to start bot {bot_id}: {e}", exc_info=True)
            raise
    
    def stop_bot(self, bot_id: str):
        self.logger.info(f"Stopping bot {bot_id}")
        # Bot shutdown logic here
        self.logger.info(f"Bot {bot_id} stopped")

Configuration

Logger Parameters

The get_logger() function accepts several parameters for customization:

get_logger(
    component_name: str,           # Required: component name
    log_level: str = "INFO",       # Log level: DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL
    verbose: Optional[bool] = None, # Console logging: True, False, or None (use env)
    clean_old_logs: bool = True,   # Auto-cleanup old logs
    max_log_files: int = 30        # Max number of log files to keep
)

Log Levels

Set the log level when getting a logger:

# Available levels: DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL
logger = get_logger('component_name', 'DEBUG')  # Show all messages
logger = get_logger('component_name', 'ERROR')  # Show only errors and critical

Verbose Console Logging

Control console output with the verbose parameter:

# Explicit verbose settings
logger = get_logger('bot_manager', verbose=True)   # Always show console logs
logger = get_logger('bot_manager', verbose=False)  # Never show console logs

# Use environment variable (default behavior)
logger = get_logger('bot_manager', verbose=None)   # Uses VERBOSE_LOGGING from .env

Environment variables for console logging:

# In .env file or environment
VERBOSE_LOGGING=true     # Enable verbose console logging
LOG_TO_CONSOLE=true      # Alternative environment variable (backward compatibility)

Console output respects log levels:

• DEBUG level: Shows all messages (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL)
• INFO level: Shows INFO and above (INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL)
• WARNING level: Shows WARNING and above (WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL)
• ERROR level: Shows ERROR and above (ERROR, CRITICAL)
• CRITICAL level: Shows only CRITICAL messages

Automatic Log Cleanup

Control automatic cleanup of old log files:

# Enable automatic cleanup (default)
logger = get_logger('bot_manager', clean_old_logs=True, max_log_files=7)

# Disable automatic cleanup
logger = get_logger('bot_manager', clean_old_logs=False)

# Custom retention (keep 14 most recent log files)
logger = get_logger('bot_manager', max_log_files=14)

How automatic cleanup works:

• Triggered every time a new log file is created (date change)
• Keeps only the most recent max_log_files files
• Deletes older files automatically
• Based on file modification time, not filename

Advanced Features

Manual Log Cleanup

Remove old log files manually based on age:

from utils.logger import cleanup_old_logs

# Remove logs older than 30 days for a specific component
cleanup_old_logs('bot_manager', days_to_keep=30)

# Or clean up logs for multiple components
for component in ['bot_manager', 'data_collector', 'strategies']:
    cleanup_old_logs(component, days_to_keep=7)

Error Handling with Context

try:
    risky_operation()
except Exception as e:
    logger.error(f"Operation failed: {e}", exc_info=True)
    # exc_info=True includes the full stack trace

Structured Logging

For complex data, use structured messages:

# Good: Structured information
logger.info(f"Trade executed: symbol={symbol}, price={price}, quantity={quantity}")

# Even better: JSON-like structure for parsing
logger.info(f"Trade executed", extra={
    'symbol': symbol,
    'price': price,
    'quantity': quantity,
    'timestamp': datetime.now().isoformat()
})

Configuration Examples

Development Environment

# Verbose logging with frequent cleanup
logger = get_logger(
    'bot_manager',
    log_level='DEBUG',
    verbose=True,
    max_log_files=3  # Keep only 3 days of logs
)

Production Environment

# Minimal console output with longer retention
logger = get_logger(
    'bot_manager',
    log_level='INFO',
    verbose=False,
    max_log_files=30  # Keep 30 days of logs
)

Testing Environment

# Disable cleanup for testing
logger = get_logger(
    'test_component',
    log_level='DEBUG',
    verbose=True,
    clean_old_logs=False  # Don't delete logs during tests
)

Environment Variables

Create a .env file to control default logging behavior:

# Enable verbose console logging globally
VERBOSE_LOGGING=true

# Alternative (backward compatibility)
LOG_TO_CONSOLE=true

Best Practices

1. Component Naming

Use descriptive, consistent component names:

• bot_manager - for bot lifecycle management
• data_collector - for market data collection
• strategies - for trading strategies
• backtesting - for backtesting engine
• dashboard - for web dashboard

2. Log Level Guidelines

• DEBUG: Detailed diagnostic information, typically only of interest when diagnosing problems
• INFO: General information about program execution
• WARNING: Something unexpected happened, but the program is still working
• ERROR: A serious problem occurred, the program couldn't perform a function
• CRITICAL: A serious error occurred, the program may not be able to continue

3. Verbose Logging Guidelines

# Development: Use verbose logging with DEBUG level
dev_logger = get_logger('component', 'DEBUG', verbose=True, max_log_files=3)

# Production: Use INFO level with no console output
prod_logger = get_logger('component', 'INFO', verbose=False, max_log_files=30)

# Testing: Disable cleanup to preserve test logs
test_logger = get_logger('test_component', 'DEBUG', verbose=True, clean_old_logs=False)

4. Log Retention Guidelines

# High-frequency components (data collectors): shorter retention
data_logger = get_logger('data_collector', max_log_files=7)

# Important components (bot managers): longer retention
bot_logger = get_logger('bot_manager', max_log_files=30)

# Development: very short retention
dev_logger = get_logger('dev_component', max_log_files=3)

5. Message Content

# Good: Descriptive and actionable
logger.error("Failed to connect to OKX API: timeout after 30s")

# Bad: Vague and unhelpful
logger.error("Error occurred")

# Good: Include relevant context
logger.info(f"Bot {bot_id} executed trade: {symbol} {side} {quantity}@{price}")

# Good: Include duration for performance monitoring
start_time = time.time()
# ... do work ...
duration = time.time() - start_time
logger.info(f"Data aggregation completed in {duration:.2f}s")

6. Exception Handling

try:
    execute_trade(symbol, quantity, price)
    logger.info(f"Trade executed successfully: {symbol}")
except APIError as e:
    logger.error(f"API error during trade execution: {e}", exc_info=True)
    raise
except ValidationError as e:
    logger.warning(f"Trade validation failed: {e}")
    return False
except Exception as e:
    logger.critical(f"Unexpected error during trade execution: {e}", exc_info=True)
    raise

7. Performance Considerations

# Good: Efficient string formatting
logger.debug(f"Processing {len(data)} records")

# Avoid: Expensive operations in log messages unless necessary
# logger.debug(f"Data: {expensive_serialization(data)}")  # Only if needed

# Better: Check log level first for expensive operations
if logger.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG):
    logger.debug(f"Data: {expensive_serialization(data)}")

Integration with Existing Code

The logging system is designed to be gradually adopted:

1. Start with new modules: Use the unified logger in new code
2. Replace existing logging: Gradually migrate existing logging to the unified system
3. No breaking changes: Existing code continues to work

Migration Example

# Old logging (if any existed)
import logging
logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

# New unified logging
from utils.logger import get_logger
logger = get_logger('component_name', verbose=True)

Testing

Run a simple test to verify the logging system:

python -c "from utils.logger import get_logger; logger = get_logger('test', verbose=True); logger.info('Test message'); print('Check logs/test/ directory')"

Maintenance

Automatic Cleanup Benefits

The automatic cleanup feature provides several benefits:

• Disk space management: Prevents log directories from growing indefinitely
• Performance: Fewer files to scan in log directories
• Maintenance-free: No need for external cron jobs or scripts
• Component-specific: Each component can have different retention policies

Manual Cleanup for Special Cases

For cases requiring age-based cleanup instead of count-based:

# cleanup_logs.py
from utils.logger import cleanup_old_logs

components = ['bot_manager', 'data_collector', 'strategies', 'dashboard']
for component in components:
    cleanup_old_logs(component, days_to_keep=30)

Monitoring Disk Usage

Monitor the logs/ directory size and adjust retention policies as needed:

# Check log directory size
du -sh logs/

# Find large log files
find logs/ -name "*.txt" -size +10M

# Count log files per component
find logs/ -name "*.txt" | cut -d'/' -f2 | sort | uniq -c

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Permission errors: Ensure the application has write permissions to the project directory
2. Disk space: Monitor disk usage and adjust log retention with max_log_files
3. Threading issues: The logger is thread-safe, but check for application-level concurrency issues
4. Too many console messages: Adjust verbose parameter or log levels

Debug Mode

Enable debug logging to troubleshoot issues:

logger = get_logger('component_name', 'DEBUG', verbose=True)

Console Output Issues

# Force console output regardless of environment
logger = get_logger('component_name', verbose=True)

# Check environment variables
import os
print(f"VERBOSE_LOGGING: {os.getenv('VERBOSE_LOGGING')}")
print(f"LOG_TO_CONSOLE: {os.getenv('LOG_TO_CONSOLE')}")

Fallback Logging

If file logging fails, the system automatically falls back to console logging with a warning message.

New Features Summary

Verbose Parameter

• Controls console logging output
• Respects log levels (DEBUG shows all, ERROR shows only errors)
• Uses environment variables as default (VERBOSE_LOGGING or LOG_TO_CONSOLE)
• Can be explicitly set to True/False to override environment

Automatic Cleanup

• Enabled by default (clean_old_logs=True)
• Triggered when new log files are created (date changes)
• Keeps most recent max_log_files files (default: 30)
• Component-specific retention policies
• Non-blocking operation with error handling