Node API Logs

A comprehensive API logging and monitoring system for Node.js + Express applications that tracks, analyzes, and visualizes API requests in real-time. Built with Node.js, Express, and MongoDB, this system provides detailed insights into your API's performance, errors, and usage patterns.

Note: Currently supports Node.js + Express applications only. Support for other frameworks (like NestJS) will be added in future releases.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• Express.js application
• MongoDB database

Features

1. Real-time API Monitoring

• Track all API requests in real-time
• Monitor response times, session logs, status codes, and request/response bodies
• Filter logs by endpoint, date, time, and status code

2. Comprehensive Dashboard

• Visual metrics for total requests, average response time, and error rates
• Interactive charts showing status code trends
• System resource monitoring (CPU, Memory, Uptime)
• Top 5 slowest endpoints analysis

3. Detailed Log Analysis

• View complete request and response details
• Inspect headers and session logs
• Copy request/response data with one click
• Navigate through paginated log history

4. Security Features

• Role-based access control (Admin/Dev roles)
• Secure authentication with JWT
• Protected dashboard and logs access
• Session management

Installation

1. Install the package:

npm install api-logger

2. Configure your Express application:

const express = require("express");
const app = express();
const { createExpressLogger } = require("api-logger");

// Important: Place other middleware before createExpressLogger
app.use(function (req, res, next) {
	logger.info(`[${req.method}] ${req.baseUrl}${req.url}`);
	next();
});

// Initialize the logger after other middleware
createExpressLogger({
	app,
	mongoUri: "mongodb://localhost:27017/your-database",
	beginswith: ["/api"], // Optional: Only log requests starting with these paths
	specifics: ["/auth"], // Optional: Exclude these paths from logging
});

Usage

Accessing the Dashboard

1. Navigate to /logs/login in your browser
2. Log in with your credentials:
   • First user to log in becomes an admin
   • Subsequent users are assigned dev role
   • Password is set on first login

Dashboard Features

Home Page (/logs/home)

• View real-time metrics and system stats
• Monitor API performance trends
• Track system resource usage
• Identify slow endpoints

Logs Page (/logs)

• Browse all API requests
• Filter logs by:
  • Endpoint
  • Date and time
  • Status code
• View paginated results
• Sort and search through logs

Log Details (/logs/:id)

• View complete request details
• Inspect request and response bodies
• Check headers and session logs
• Copy data for debugging

Settings (/logs/settings)

• Manage your account
• Log out securely

Configuration Options

The createExpressLogger function accepts the following parameters:

• app: Your Express application instance
• mongoUri: MongoDB connection string
• beginswith: Array of path prefixes to log (optional)
• specifics: Array of paths to exclude from logging (optional)

Troubleshooting

Middleware Ordering

The order of middleware in Express is crucial. If you're using other logging middleware, make sure to place it before createExpressLogger. For example:

// Correct order:
app.use(function (req, res, next) {
	logger.info(`[${req.method}] ${req.baseUrl}${req.url}`);
	next();
});

createExpressLogger({
	/* config */
});

// Incorrect order (may cause issues):
createExpressLogger({
	/* config */
});
app.use(function (req, res, next) {
	logger.info(`[${req.method}] ${req.baseUrl}${req.url}`);
	next();
});

Security

• All dashboard routes are protected by JWT authentication
• First-time login creates an admin account
• Subsequent logins create dev accounts
• Session tokens expire after 1 hour
• Secure cookie-based authentication

Roadmap

• Add support for NestJS applications
• Add support for other Node.js frameworks
• Implement real-time WebSocket updates
• Add custom alert configurations
• Support for multiple database types

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.