Using Log4j 2 with Gradle

Back to: Log4j

Log4j 2 is a powerful logging framework for Java applications, which provides many advanced features such as asynchronous logging, custom appenders, and multiple logging levels. Gradle is a build automation tool that allows you to define and manage your application’s dependencies, including Log4j 2.

Here are the steps to use Log4j 2 with Gradle:

Step 1: Add Log4j 2 dependency to Gradle

To use Log4j 2 in your Java project, you need to add the Log4j 2 dependency to your Gradle build file. Open your project’s build.gradle file and add the following code in the dependencies block:

dependencies {
    implementation 'org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core:2.16.0'
    implementation 'org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-api:2.16.0'
}

This code will add the Log4j 2 core and API dependencies to your project.

Step 2: Create a Log4j 2 configuration file

Log4j 2 requires a configuration file to specify the logging settings for your application. Create a file named log4j2.xml in your project’s resources directory (src/main/resources). This file should contain the logging configuration for your application.

Here is an example of a basic Log4j 2 configuration file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Configuration status="warn">
    <Appenders>
        <Console name="Console" target="SYSTEM_OUT">
            <PatternLayout pattern="%d{HH:mm:ss.SSS} [%t] %-5level %logger{36} - %msg%n"/>
        </Console>
    </Appenders>
    <Loggers>
        <Root level="info">
            <AppenderRef ref="Console"/>
        </Root>
    </Loggers>
</Configuration>

This configuration will log messages to the console with a timestamp, log level, logger name, and message.

Step 3: Use Log4j 2 in your application

To use Log4j 2 in your application, you need to create a logger object and call its methods to log messages. Here is an example of how to use Log4j 2 in your application:

import org.apache.logging.log4j.LogManager;
import org.apache.logging.log4j.Logger;

public class MyApp {
    private static final Logger logger = LogManager.getLogger(MyApp.class);

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        logger.info("Application started");
        // ...
        logger.warn("Something went wrong");
        // ...
        logger.info("Application stopped");
    }
}

In this example, we create a logger object using the LogManager.getLogger method, passing in the class name of the logger. We then call the logger’s info and warn methods to log messages at the info and warn levels, respectively.

Also, see the example code JavaExamples_NoteArena in our GitHub repository. See complete examples in our GitHub repositories.

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