Logging

1. Introduction

The DSF BPE executes distributed workflows and provides three logging channels: Standard Logs,
a Data Logger for introspection purposes, and BPMN Debug Logs for process plugin developers.

---

Standard Logging

Purpose	Property Key	Environment Variable	Default
External Log4j2 config	dev.dsf.log.config	DEV_DSF_LOG_CONFIG	conf/log4j2.xml
Enable stderr logging	dev.dsf.log.console.err.enabled	DEV_DSF_LOG_CONSOLE_ERR_ENABLED	false
Level for stderr	dev.dsf.log.console.err.level	DEV_DSF_LOG_CONSOLE_ERR_LEVEL	INFO
Style for stderr	dev.dsf.log.console.err.style	DEV_DSF_LOG_CONSOLE_ERR_STYLE	TEXT_COLOR
Enable stdout logging	dev.dsf.log.console.out.enabled	DEV_DSF_LOG_CONSOLE_OUT_ENABLED	true
Level for stdout	dev.dsf.log.console.out.level	DEV_DSF_LOG_CONSOLE_OUT_LEVEL	INFO
Style for stdout	dev.dsf.log.console.out.style	DEV_DSF_LOG_CONSOLE_OUT_STYLE	TEXT_COLOR
Enable file logging	dev.dsf.log.file.enabled	DEV_DSF_LOG_FILE_ENABLED	true
File log level	dev.dsf.log.file.level	DEV_DSF_LOG_FILE_LEVEL	DEBUG
File log style	dev.dsf.log.file.style	DEV_DSF_LOG_FILE_STYLE	TEXT_MDC

---

Data Logger

Purpose	Property Key	Environment Variable	Default
Enable data log file	dev.dsf.log.data.file.enabled	DEV_DSF_LOG_DATA_FILE_ENABLED	false
Data file style	dev.dsf.log.data.file.style	DEV_DSF_LOG_DATA_FILE_STYLE	TEXT
Enable data logs on stdout	dev.dsf.log.data.console.out.enabled	DEV_DSF_LOG_DATA_CONSOLE_OUT_ENABLED	false
Style for stdout	dev.dsf.log.data.console.out.style	DEV_DSF_LOG_DATA_CONSOLE_OUT_STYLE	TEXT
Enable data logs on stderr	dev.dsf.log.data.console.err.enabled	DEV_DSF_LOG_DATA_CONSOLE_ERR_ENABLED	false
Style for stderr	dev.dsf.log.data.console.err.style	DEV_DSF_LOG_DATA_CONSOLE_ERR_STYLE	TEXT

---

BPMN Debug Logging

Purpose	Property Key	Environment Variable	Default
Log current DSF user	dev.dsf.bpe.debug.log.message.currentUser	DEV_DSF_BPE_DEBUG_LOG_MESSAGE_CURRENTUSER	false
Log SQL statements	dev.dsf.bpe.debug.log.message.dbStatement	DEV_DSF_BPE_DEBUG_LOG_MESSAGE_DBSTATEMENT	false
Log activity start	dev.dsf.bpe.debug.log.message.onActivityStart	DEV_DSF_BPE_DEBUG_LOG_MESSAGE_ONACTIVITYSTART	false
Log activity end	dev.dsf.bpe.debug.log.message.onActivityEnd	DEV_DSF_BPE_DEBUG_LOG_MESSAGE_ONACTIVITYEND	false
Log all variables	dev.dsf.bpe.debug.log.message.variables	DEV_DSF_BPE_DEBUG_LOG_MESSAGE_VARIABLES	false
Log local variables only	dev.dsf.bpe.debug.log.message.variablesLocal	DEV_DSF_BPE_DEBUG_LOG_MESSAGE_VARIABLESLOCAL	false
Log webservice requests	dev.dsf.bpe.debug.log.message.webserviceRequest	DEV_DSF_BPE_DEBUG_LOG_MESSAGE_WEBSERVICEREQUEST	false

Logging Styles

The DSF logging system supports multiple output styles that can be selected independently for each logging channel (console, file, audit, data).
Every logger exposes a *.style property and a corresponding environment variable.

Text-Based Logging Styles

TEXT

Plain, unformatted text output (default for console output, used before DSF 2).

Use when:

• You want minimal overhead and simple logging
• Logs are read directly on the system

Avoid when:

• A log aggregation system is used

TEXT_MDC

Plain text with MDC (Mapped Diagnostic Context) fields, such as:

• correlationId
• processInstanceId
• user
• requestId

Use when:

• You want to log production environments without aggregation systems
• You want to debug distributed workflows with correlation IDs

Avoid when:

• A log aggregation system is used

TEXT_COLOR and TEXT_COLOR_MDC

ANSI-colored text output for terminals.

Use when:

• You want to develop locally
• You want to view docker logs directly with docker logs command
• You want a fast visual distinction between INFO/WARN/ERROR

Avoid when:

• A log aggregation system is used
• Consoles without ANSI escape code support are used

JSON-Based Logging Styles

We support the structured logging formats JSON_LOGSTASH, JSON_ECS(Elastic Common Schema), JSON_GELF(Graylog Extended Log Format), and JSON_GCP (Google Cloud Platform Logging). They all include Mapped Diagnostic Context information (e.g., process names, ids, ...) and should be used in combination with the log aggreation system of your choice.