Different Log Levels in Serilog

In this article, we will discuss the different log levels in Serilog and how to configure them. We will explain the log targets offered by Serilog for writing logs. Additionally, we will cover how to configure Serilog to differentiate these options according to log levels.

Setting Up Serilog

Before we can take a look at the different logging levels, we need to configure our project to use Serilog:

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
builder.Services.AddSerilog(options =>
{
    options.MinimumLevel.Information()
           .WriteTo.Console(LogEventLevel.Information);
});

For a more in-depth look at using Serilog, be sure to check out our article Structured Logging in ASP.NET Core with Serilog.

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Let’s start with the log levels.

Different Log Levels in Serilog

Log levels allow us to categorize the seriousness of the logged event. Serilog supports six logging levels:

As the log level increases from Verbose to Fatal, its significance also increases.

Generating Log Messages at Different Log Levels

ASP.NET Core provides the ILogger<T> interface for logging scenarios regardless of which logging infrastructure we use. We simply inject the ILogger<T> interface into our constructor and straightaway we can begin logging.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at generating logs for each log level:

public class HomeController : Controller
{
    private readonly ILogger<HomeController> _logger;

    public HomeController(ILogger<HomeController> logger)
    {
        _logger = logger;
    }

    public IActionResult Index()
    {
        _logger.LogTrace("Trace Log Message");
        _logger.LogDebug("Debug Log Message");
        _logger.LogInformation("Information Log Message");
        _logger.LogWarning("Warning Log Message");
        _logger.LogError("Error Log Message");
        _logger.LogCritical("Critical Log Message");

        return View();
    }
}

As we mentioned earlier, in the HomeController constructor, we inject the ILogger<HomeController> interface, which we use to initialize our _logger instance. Then, in our Index() method, using our _logger, we log a message at each of the supported log levels.

Configuring Minimum Log Levels in Serilog

Logging is an essential part of our applications. Through the data it provides, we can detect failures, problems, and performance issues in our code. However, logging everything may not always be a desired scenario. Due to this, we may need to configure our application to log only specific log levels.

Additionally, we may need to generate environment-specific logs. For example, during development, we may want to see all logging levels between Debug and Fatal. On the other hand, in our production environment, we probably want to restrict this to only Warning, Error, and Fatal levels, to prevent consuming too many resources through logging.

Here is where Serilog’s MinimumLevel configuration comes to our rescue. If we configure this setting with a log level, then Serilog only generates logs for that level and higher. For example, if we set the MinimumLevel as Warning, then Serilog records only Warning, Error and Fatal level logs. If we don’t specify a MinimumLevel setting, Serilog uses the Information log level as the default. We can configure this setting in either the appSettings.json file or via the fluent API in Program.cs.

Let’s take a look at configuring MinimumLevel in the appSettings.json file:

"Serilog": {
  "MinimumLevel": {
    "Default": "Information",
    "Override": {
      "Microsoft": "Warning",
      "System": "Warning"
    }
  }
}

Here, we instruct Serilog to generate application logs for levels equal to or higher than the Information log level. Additionally, we override the logging of Microsoft and System messages, ensuring they are recorded solely when they are of Warning level or higher.

Now let’s perform the same configuration via the fluent API in Program.cs:

builder.Services.AddSerilog(options =>
{
    options.MinimumLevel.Information()
           .MinimumLevel.Override("Microsoft", LogEventLevel.Warning)
           .MinimumLevel.Override("System", LogEventLevel.Warning);
});

Where to Log?

We can configure Serilog to write logs to different targets or sinks. A sink, in the context of logging, is the destination for our log messages. Here are some of the most common sinks:

• The application console
• The file system
• Relational databases, like MS SQL Server
• Non-relational databases, like ElasticSearch or MongoDB

A complete list of available sinks can be found here. For a more in-depth look at sinks check out our article Structured Logging in ASP.NET Core with Serilog.

We can configure Serilog sinks in appSettings.json file or via fluent API in Program.cs file.

Configuring Sinks in appSettings.json

Let’s configure a console and a file sink via appSettings.json:

"Serilog": {
  "Using": [ "Serilog.Sinks.File", "Serilog.Sinks.Console" ],
  "WriteTo": [
    {
      "Name": "Console",
      "Args": {
        "restrictedToMinimumLevel": "Information",
        "outputTemplate": "[{Timestamp:HH:mm:ss} {Level:u3}] {Message:lj}{NewLine}{Exception}"
      }
    },
    {
      "Name": "File",
      "Args": {
        "path": "logs/log-.txt",
        "rollOnFileSizeLimit": true,
        "rollingInterval": "Day",
        "fileSizeLimitBytes": "1000000",
        "outputTemplate": "[{Timestamp:HH:mm:ss} {Level:u3}] {Message:lj}{NewLine}{Exception}",
        "restrictedToMinimumLevel": "Warning"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Firstly, we specify the sinks, via Using option. Then, we configure each of them through the WriteTo option. This takes an array of sinks with their associated configuration settings.

Configuring Sinks via Fluent API

Now let’s see how we can configure our logging sinks using the fluent API in Program.cs:

builder.Services.AddSerilog(options =>
{
    options.MinimumLevel.Information()
           .MinimumLevel.Override("Microsoft", LogEventLevel.Warning)
           .MinimumLevel.Override("System", LogEventLevel.Warning)
           .WriteTo.Console(restrictedToMinimumLevel: LogEventLevel.Information,
                outputTemplate: "[{Timestamp:HH:mm:ss} {Level:u3}] {Message:lj}{NewLine}{Exception}")
           .WriteTo.File("logs/log-.txt",
                rollOnFileSizeLimit: true,
                rollingInterval: RollingInterval.Day,
                fileSizeLimitBytes: 1000000,
                outputTemplate: "[{Timestamp:HH:mm:ss} {Level:u3}] {Message:lj}{NewLine}{Exception}",
                restrictedToMinimumLevel: LogEventLevel.Warning);
});

Differentiating Log Sinks Based on Log Level

Based on application requirements and environment, we may need to configure Serilog to write specific log levels to specific sinks. For example, we may want to write logs with the minimum log level Information to the console but logs with the minimum log level Warning to a file. Under these circumstances, we use the restrictedToMinimumLevel setting. It allows Serilog to differentiate log destinations based on the minimum log level.

We can configure the restrictedToMinimumLevel setting through appSettings.json:

"Serilog": {
    "Using": [ "Serilog.Sinks.File", "Serilog.Sinks.Console" ],
    "WriteTo": [
      {
        "Name": "Console",
        "Args": {
          "restrictedToMinimumLevel": "Information"
        }
      },
      {
        "Name": "File",
        "Args": {
          "path": "logs/log-.txt",
          "restrictedToMinimumLevel": "Warning"
        }
      }
    ]
  }

In like fashion, we can also configure restrictedToMinimumLevel through the fluent API:

builder.Services.AddSerilog(options =>
{
    options.WriteTo.Console(restrictedToMinimumLevel: LogEventLevel.Information)
           .WriteTo.File("logs/log-.txt", 
                   restrictedToMinimumLevel: LogEventLevel.Warning);
});

Conclusion

In this article, we have explored different log levels in Serilog and how to use them in our application. We delved into configuring the Serilog environment specifically based on the MinimumLevel parameter. Subsequently, we talked about Serilog sinks and how to configure these sinks through either the appSettings.json file or through the fluent API. Finally, we inspected the restrictedToMinimumLevel parameter and how it allows us to differentiate log sinks based on log levels.

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