.. redirect-from:: Logging-and-logger-configuration Tutorials/Logging-and-logger-configuration
Table of Contents
See the logging page <../../Concepts/Intermediate/About-Logging> for details on available functionality.
The following code will output a log message from a ROS 2 node at DEBUG
severity:
.. tabs:: .. group-tab:: C++ .. code-block:: C++ // printf style RCLCPP_DEBUG(node->get_logger(), "My log message %d", 4); // C++ stream style RCLCPP_DEBUG_STREAM(node->get_logger(), "My log message " << 4); .. group-tab:: Python .. code-block:: python node.get_logger().debug('My log message %d' % (4))
Note that in both cases, no trailing newline is added, as the logging infrastructure will automatically add one.
The following code will output a log message from a ROS 2 node at INFO
severity, but only the first time it is hit:
.. tabs:: .. group-tab:: C++ .. code-block:: C++ // printf style RCLCPP_INFO_ONCE(node->get_logger(), "My log message %d", 4); // C++ stream style RCLCPP_INFO_STREAM_ONCE(node->get_logger(), "My log message " << 4); .. group-tab:: Python .. code-block:: python num = 4 node.get_logger().info(f'My log message {num}', once=True)
The following code will output a log message from a ROS 2 node at WARN
severity, but not the very first time it is hit:
.. tabs:: .. group-tab:: C++ .. code-block:: C++ // printf style RCLCPP_WARN_SKIPFIRST(node->get_logger(), "My log message %d", 4); // C++ stream style RCLCPP_WARN_STREAM_SKIPFIRST(node->get_logger(), "My log message " << 4); .. group-tab:: Python .. code-block:: python num = 4 node.get_logger().warning('My log message {0}'.format(num), skip_first=True)
The following code will output a log message from a ROS 2 node at ERROR
severity, but no more than once per second.
The interval parameter specifying milliseconds between messages should have an integer data type so it can be converted to a rcutils_duration_value_t
(an int64_t
):
.. tabs:: .. group-tab:: C++ .. code-block:: C++ // printf style RCLCPP_ERROR_THROTTLE(node->get_logger(), *node->get_clock(), 1000, "My log message %d", 4); // C++ stream style RCLCPP_ERROR_STREAM_THROTTLE(node->get_logger(), *node->get_clock(), 1000, "My log message " << 4); // For now, use the nanoseconds() method to use an existing rclcpp::Duration value, see https://github.com/ros2/rclcpp/issues/1929 RCLCPP_ERROR_STREAM_THROTTLE(node->get_logger(), *node->get_clock(), msg_interval.nanoseconds()/1000000, "My log message " << 4); .. group-tab:: Python .. code-block:: python num = 4 node.get_logger().error(f'My log message {num}', throttle_duration_sec=1)
The following code will output a log message from a ROS 2 node at DEBUG
severity, no more than once per second, skipping the very first time it is hit:
.. tabs:: .. group-tab:: C++ .. code-block:: C++ // printf style RCLCPP_DEBUG_SKIPFIRST_THROTTLE(node->get_logger(), *node->get_clock(), 1000, "My log message %d", 4); RCLCPP_DEBUG_SKIPFIRST_THROTTLE(node->get_logger(), *node->get_clock(), 1000, "My log message " << 4); .. group-tab:: Python .. code-block:: python num = 4 node.get_logger().debug(f'My log message {num}', skip_first=True, throttle_duration_sec=1.0)
In this demo, different types of log calls are shown and the severity level of different loggers is configured locally and externally.
Start the demo with:
ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main
Over time you will see output from various log calls with different properties.
To start with you will only see output from log calls with severity INFO
and above (WARN
, ERROR
, FATAL
).
Note that the first message will only be logged once, though the line is reached on each iteration, as that is a property of the log call used for that message.
The logging directory can be configured through two environment variables: ROS_LOG_DIR
and ROS_HOME
.
The logic is as follows:
- Use
$ROS_LOG_DIR
ifROS_LOG_DIR
is set and not empty. - Otherwise, use
$ROS_HOME/log
, using~/.ros
forROS_HOME
if not set or if empty.
For example, to set the logging directory to ~/my_logs
:
.. tabs:: .. group-tab:: Linux .. code-block:: bash export ROS_LOG_DIR=~/my_logs ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main .. group-tab:: macOS .. code-block:: bash export ROS_LOG_DIR=~/my_logs ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main .. group-tab:: Windows .. code-block:: bash set "ROS_LOG_DIR=~/my_logs" ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main
You will then find the logs under ~/my_logs/
.
Alternatively, you can set ROS_HOME
and the logging directory will be relative to it ($ROS_HOME/log
).
ROS_HOME
is intended to be used by anything that needs a base directory.
Note that ROS_LOG_DIR
has to be either unset or empty.
For example, with ROS_HOME
set to ~/my_ros_home
:
.. tabs:: .. group-tab:: Linux .. code-block:: bash export ROS_HOME=~/my_ros_home ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main .. group-tab:: macOS .. code-block:: bash export ROS_HOME=~/my_ros_home ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main .. group-tab:: Windows .. code-block:: bash set "ROS_HOME=~/my_ros_home" ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main
You will then find the logs under ~/my_ros_home/log/
.
After 10 iterations the level of the logger will be set to DEBUG
, which will cause additional messages to be logged.
Some of these debug messages cause additional functions/expressions to be evaluated, which were previously skipped as DEBUG
log calls were not enabled.
See the source code of the demo for further explanation of the calls used, and see the rclcpp logging documentation for a full list of supported logging calls.
ROS 2 nodes have services available to configure the logging level externally at runtime. These services are disabled by default. The following code shows how to enable the logger service while creating the node.
.. tabs:: .. group-tab:: C++ .. code-block:: C++ // Create a node with logger service enabled auto node = std::make_shared<rclcpp::Node>("NodeWithLoggerService", rclcpp::NodeOptions().enable_logger_service(true)) .. group-tab:: Python .. code-block:: python # Create a node with logger service enabled node = Node('NodeWithLoggerService', enable_logger_service=True)
If you run one of the nodes as configured above, you will find 2 services when running ros2 service list
:
$ ros2 service list
...
/NodeWithLoggerService/get_logger_levels
/NodeWithLoggerService/set_logger_levels
...
get_logger_levels
Use this service to get logger levels for specified logger names.
Run
ros2 service call
to get logger levels forNodeWithLoggerService
andrcl
.$ ros2 service call /NodeWithLoggerService/get_logger_levels rcl_interfaces/srv/GetLoggerLevels '{names: ["NodeWithLoggerService", "rcl"]}' requester: making request: rcl_interfaces.srv.GetLoggerLevels_Request(names=['NodeWithLoggerService', 'rcl']) response: rcl_interfaces.srv.GetLoggerLevels_Response(levels=[rcl_interfaces.msg.LoggerLevel(name='NodeWithLoggerService', level=0), rcl_interfaces.msg.LoggerLevel(name='rcl', level=0)])
set_logger_levels
Use this service to set logger levels for specified logger names.
Run
ros2 service call
to set logger levels forNodeWithLoggerService
andrcl
.$ ros2 service call /NodeWithLoggerService/set_logger_levels rcl_interfaces/srv/SetLoggerLevels '{levels: [{name: "NodeWithLoggerService", level: 20}, {name: "rcl", level: 10}]}' requester: making request: rcl_interfaces.srv.SetLoggerLevels_Request(levels=[rcl_interfaces.msg.LoggerLevel(name='NodeWithLoggerService', level=20), rcl_interfaces.msg.LoggerLevel(name='rcl', level=10)]) response: rcl_interfaces.srv.SetLoggerLevels_Response(results=[rcl_interfaces.msg.SetLoggerLevelsResult(successful=True, reason=''), rcl_interfaces.msg.SetLoggerLevelsResult(successful=True, reason='')])
There is also demo code showing how to set or get the logger level via the logger service.
Warning
Currently, there is a limitation that get_logger_levels
and set_logger_levels
services are not thread-safe.
This means that you need to ensure that only one thread is calling the services at a time.
Please see the details in ros2/rcutils#397
The server that responds to the logger configuration requests has been developed as a component so that it may be added to an existing composition-based system.
For example, if you are using a container to run your nodes <../Intermediate/Composition>, to be able to configure your loggers you only need to request that it additionally load the logging_demo::LoggerConfig
component into the container.
As an example, if you want to debug the composition::Talker
demo, you can start the talker as normal with:
Shell 1:
ros2 run rclcpp_components component_container
Shell 2:
ros2 component load /ComponentManager composition composition::Talker
And then when you want to enable debug logging, load the LoggerConfig
component with:
Shell 2
ros2 component load /ComponentManager logging_demo logging_demo::LoggerConfig
And finally, configure all unset loggers to the debug severity by addressing the empty-named logger. Note that loggers that have been specifically configured to use a particular severity will not be affected by this call.
Shell 2:
ros2 service call /config_logger logging_demo/srv/ConfigLogger "{logger_name: '', level: DEBUG}"
You should see debug output from any previously unset loggers in the process start to appear, including from the ROS 2 core.
As of the Bouncy ROS 2 release, the severity level for loggers that have not had their severity set explicitly can be configured from the command line. Restart the demo including the following command line argument:
ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main --ros-args --log-level debug
This configures the default severity for any unset logger to the debug severity level. You should see debug output from loggers from the demo itself and from the ROS 2 core.
The severity level for individual loggers can be configured from the command-line. Restart the demo including the following command line arguments:
ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main --ros-args --log-level logger_usage_demo:=debug
If you would like more or less verbose formatting, you can use RCUTILS_CONSOLE_OUTPUT_FORMAT environment variable. For example, to additionally get the timestamp and location of the log calls, stop the demo and restart it with the environment variable set:
.. tabs:: .. group-tab:: Linux .. code-block:: bash export RCUTILS_CONSOLE_OUTPUT_FORMAT="[{severity} {time}] [{name}]: {message} ({function_name}() at {file_name}:{line_number})" ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main .. group-tab:: macOS .. code-block:: bash export RCUTILS_CONSOLE_OUTPUT_FORMAT="[{severity} {time}] [{name}]: {message} ({function_name}() at {file_name}:{line_number})" ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main .. group-tab:: Windows .. code-block:: bash set "RCUTILS_CONSOLE_OUTPUT_FORMAT=[{severity} {time}] [{name}]: {message} ({function_name}() at {file_name}:{line_number})" ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main
You should see the timestamp in seconds and the function name, filename and line number additionally printed with each message. The ``time`` option is only supported as of the ROS 2 Bouncy release.
By default, the output is colorized when it's targeting a terminal.
If you would like to force enabling or disabling it, you can use the RCUTILS_COLORIZED_OUTPUT
environment variable.
For example:
.. tabs:: .. group-tab:: Linux .. code-block:: bash export RCUTILS_COLORIZED_OUTPUT=0 # 1 for forcing it ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main .. group-tab:: macOS .. code-block:: bash export RCUTILS_COLORIZED_OUTPUT=0 # 1 for forcing it ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main .. group-tab:: Windows .. code-block:: bash set "RCUTILS_COLORIZED_OUTPUT=0" :: 1 for forcing it ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main
You should see that debug, warn, error and fatal logs aren't colorized now.
Note
In Linux and MacOS forcing colorized output means that if you redirect the output to a file, the ansi escape color codes will appear on it. In windows the colorization method relies on console APIs. If it is forced you will get a new warning saying that colorization failed. The default behavior already checks if the output is a console or not, so forcing colorization is not recommended.
In Foxy and later, the output from all debug levels goes to stderr by default. It is possible to force all output to go to stdout by setting the RCUTILS_LOGGING_USE_STDOUT
environment variable to 1
.
For example:
.. tabs:: .. group-tab:: Linux .. code-block:: bash export RCUTILS_LOGGING_USE_STDOUT=1 .. group-tab:: macOS .. code-block:: bash export RCUTILS_LOGGING_USE_STDOUT=1 .. group-tab:: Windows .. code-block:: bash set "RCUTILS_LOGGING_USE_STDOUT=1"
By default, all logging output is unbuffered.
You can force it to be buffered by setting the RCUTILS_LOGGING_BUFFERED_STREAM
environment variable to 1.
For example:
.. tabs:: .. group-tab:: Linux .. code-block:: bash export RCUTILS_LOGGING_BUFFERED_STREAM=1 .. group-tab:: macOS .. code-block:: bash export RCUTILS_LOGGING_BUFFERED_STREAM=1 .. group-tab:: Windows .. code-block:: bash set "RCUTILS_LOGGING_BUFFERED_STREAM=1"
Then run:
ros2 run logging_demo logging_demo_main