Exceptionless Logging in .NET Core

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Exceptionless Logging Framework Guide

Overview

ExceptionLess is a free open-source distributed logging framework that provides self-hosted and managed solutions for error tracking and log collection. Key features include:

Real-time error monitoring
Structured logging capabilities
Cross-platform client support
Custom event categorization
Powerful search/filter capabilities

GitHub Repositories:

Main Project: exceptionless/Exceptionless
.NET Client: exceptionless/Exceptionless.Net

Deployment Options

Self-Hosted Installation (Docker)

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docker run --rm -it -p 5000:80 exceptionless/exceptionless:6.1.0

After successful startup:

Access dashboard: http://localhost:5000
Create account and login
Create new project

For production environments, see Self-Hosting Guide

.NET Core Integration

Step 1: Install NuGet Package

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Install-Package Exceptionless.AspNetCore

Step 2: Configuration

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// appsettings.json
{
 "Exceptionless": {
 "ServerUrl": "http://localhost:5000",
 "ApiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
 }
}

Step 3: Initialize Middleware

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// Startup.cs
public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env)
{
 // Other middleware
 app.UseExceptionless(Configuration);
 // ...
}

Usage Examples

Automatic Exception Logging

All unhandled exceptions are automatically captured:

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// Example controller action
[HttpGet]
public IActionResult ErrorTest()
{
 throw new InvalidOperationException("Sample exception");
}

Manual Error Reporting

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try
{
 // Application code
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
 ex.ToExceptionless().Submit();
}

Dashboard Features

Key dashboard capabilities:

Error frequency analysis
Stack trace visualization
Environment filtering (DEV/UAT/PROD)
Custom event tagging
Team collaboration features

Advanced Configuration

Setting	Description	Default
`ServerUrl`	Self-hosted instance URL	Managed service
`ApiKey`	Project authentication key	Required
`Enabled`	Enable/disable logging	true
`Tags`	Custom event tags	None
`OmitStackTrace`	Disable stack traces	false

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// Advanced initialization
services.AddExceptionless(config => {
 config.ApiKey = Configuration["Exceptionless:ApiKey"];
 config.ServerUrl = Configuration["Exceptionless:ServerUrl"];
 config.SetVersion("1.2.0");
});

Best Practices

Environment Segregation: Use different projects for DEV/UAT/PROD
Error Classification: Apply tags like “Critical”, “UI-Error”, etc.

User Context: Attach user information to events

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ExceptionlessClient.Default.CreateLog("LoginFailed")
 .SetUserIdentity(user.Email)
 .Submit();

Rate Limiting: Configure event submission thresholds
Data Retention: Set appropriate retention policies

For full documentation: Exceptionless.Net Wiki

Exceptionless on Allen's Dev Journal