Crystal Request Logging

Introduction to Crystal Request Logging

In the world of API development, tracking requests is crucial for monitoring and debugging. Crystal, with its elegant syntax and powerful capabilities, offers a robust way to log requests using the Kemal web framework. This post will guide you through setting up request logging in a Crystal application using Kemal middleware.

Setting Up Kemal for Request Logging

Kemal is a fast, simple web framework for Crystal. To get started with request logging, ensure you have Kemal installed in your Crystal project. You can add it to your shard.yml file:

Run shards install to install the Kemal dependency. Once installed, you can set up request logging.

Implementing Request Logging Middleware

To log requests, you need to create middleware. Middleware in Kemal allows you to execute code before and after a request is processed. Here's how you can implement basic request logging middleware:

In the above code, the RequestLogger class logs the HTTP method and path of each request, as well as the status of the response. The call_next method ensures that the request is passed along to the next handler.

Enhancing Request Logging

For more detailed logging, you might want to include additional information such as headers, query parameters, or the request body. Here's an enhanced version of the logger:

This enhanced logger provides a comprehensive view of each request, which is extremely valuable for debugging and monitoring.

Conclusion

Crystal's Kemal framework makes request logging straightforward and effective. By setting up middleware, you can capture essential request and response data, aiding in both development and production monitoring. In the next post, we will explore testing techniques to ensure your Crystal applications are robust and reliable.