Better Stack .NET logging

Start logging in 2 minutes

Which .NET logger do you want to use to send logs to Better Stack?

NLog
Serilog

Send logs to Better Stack using NLog

1. Install

Install NLog.Extensions.Logging and BetterStack.Logs.NLog packages:

Dotnet CLI

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dotnet add package NLog.Extensions.Logging
dotnet add package BetterStack.Logs.NLog

Using Visual Studio?

Install packages in Tools → Manage NuGet Packages....

2. Setup

Set up NLog logging with Better Stack. Save the following config as nlog.config in your project root:

NLog config

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<nlog xmlns="http://www.nlog-project.org/schemas/NLog.xsd"
        xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
        autoReload="true"
        internalLogLevel="Warn"
        internalLogFile="internal.txt">
    <extensions>
        <add assembly="BetterStack.Logs.NLog" />
    </extensions>

    <targets>
        <target xsi:type="BetterStack.Logs"
            name="mybetterstack"
            layout="${message}"
            sourceToken="$SOURCE_TOKEN"
            endpoint="https://$INGESTING_HOST" />
    </targets>

    <rules>
        <logger name="*" minlevel="Trace" writeTo="mybetterstack" />
    </rules>
</nlog>

Add the following configuration to your .csproj file:

Project config

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<ItemGroup>
  <None Update="nlog.config" CopyToOutputDirectory="Always" />
</ItemGroup>

Using Visual Studio?

Right-click file nlog.config → Quick Properties → Copy to Output Directory.

3. Start logging

Use NLog logger as usual:

Send logs to Better Stack

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// Configures NLog to color properties based on their type, you can remove it if you don't want it
NLog.LogManager.Setup().SetupSerialization(
  setupBuilder => setupBuilder.RegisterValueFormatter(new BetterStack.Logs.NLog.ColorValueFormatter())
);

var logger = NLog.LogManager.GetCurrentClassLogger();

logger.Error("Something bad happened.");
logger.Info("Log message with structured logging. {object}", new {
  item="Orange Soda",
  price=100.00,
});
logger.Info("User has bought {item} for {price}.", "Orange Soda", 100.00);

You should see your logs in Better Stack → Live tail.
Find passed structured data under the context.properties field.

.NET Framework 4.6.2+, .NET Core 2.0+, or .NET 5+ is required

Send logs to Better Stack using Serilog

1. Install

Install Serilog.Extensions.Logging and BetterStack.Logs.Serilog packages:

Dotnet CLI

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dotnet add package Serilog.Extensions.Logging
dotnet add package BetterStack.Logs.Serilog

Using Visual Studio?

Install packages in Tools → Manage NuGet Packages....

2. Configure Serilog and start logging

Use Serilog logger with configured .WriteTo.BetterStack() sink:

Send logs to Better Stack

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using Serilog;

Log.Logger = new LoggerConfiguration()
    .WriteTo.BetterStack(
        sourceToken: "$SOURCE_TOKEN",
        betterStackEndpoint: "https://$INGESTING_HOST"
    )
    .MinimumLevel.Information()
    .CreateLogger();

Log.Error("Something bad happened.");
Log.Information("Log message with structured logging. {Object}", new {
  item="Orange Soda",
  price=100.00,
});
Log.Information("User has bought {Item} for {Price}.", "Orange Soda", 100.00);

Log.CloseAndFlush();

You should see your logs in Better Stack → Live tail.
Find passed structured data under the properties field.

.NET Framework 4.6.2+, .NET Core 2.0+, or .NET 5+ is required

Additional information

You can see example projects for both NLog and Serilog integration.

Configure the NLog target

Fine-tune logging with more attributes of the BetterStack.Logs target in nlog.config.

Target attributes

sourceToken

required string

Your Better Stack source token.

endpoint

EU region string

The ingesting URL of your source. Use https:// followed by the ingesting host listed in your source settings. The scheme can be left out since version 1.1.1.

layout

NLog default Layout

NLog layout rendered into the message field, for example ${message}. Exceptions are sent in the exception field on their own.

maxBatchSize

1000 int

Maximum number of logs sent in one batch. A batch is also kept under 5 MB, and a single log over 5 MB is dropped.

flushPeriodMilliseconds

250 int

How often queued logs are sent.

retries

10 int

How many times a batch is retried after its first attempt failed, before it's dropped. 0 sends each batch only once. Logs rejected by Better Stack, for example with a wrong token, are dropped right away and reported in NLog's internal log.

maxFlushTimeMilliseconds

30000 int

Maximum time flushing and closing the target wait for queued logs to be sent, so an unreachable endpoint doesn't hold up shutdown. 0 means no limit. Available since version 1.2.0.

maxQueueSize

100000 int

Maximum number of logs waiting in memory to be sent. Logs over the limit are dropped. Available since version 1.2.0.

captureSourceLocation

true bool

Sends the class, method, file, and line of the log call in context.runtime.

includeGlobalDiagnosticContext

true bool

Sends GlobalDiagnosticsContext values in context.gdc.

includeScopeProperties

false bool

Sends ScopeContext properties in context.properties. Use includeMdlc on NLog 4.

Using Serilog

For logs to be sent to Better Stack reliably, Serilog must be properly closed by Log.CloseAndFlush(), even when the application ends unexpectedly. Log.CloseAndFlush() waits at most maxFlushTime, 30 seconds by default, for queued logs to be sent. For more information, see Lifecycle of Loggers in Serilog docs.

For more on Serilog configuration, see their official docs.

Configure the Serilog sink

Fine-tune logging with more arguments of .WriteTo.BetterStack().

Sink options

sourceToken

required string

Your Better Stack source token. Logs sent with a wrong token are dropped and reported in Serilog's SelfLog.

betterStackEndpoint

EU region string

The ingesting URL of your source. Use https:// followed by the ingesting host listed in your source settings.

outputTemplate

string

Formats the message field with a Serilog output template, for example [{Level:u3}] {SourceContext} - {Message:lj}. When it's not set or empty, message is the rendered log message. An invalid template throws when the logger is created. Available since version 1.3.0.

formatProvider

IFormatProvider

Culture-specific formatting of values in message, for example CultureInfo.InvariantCulture. Available since version 1.3.0.

restrictedToMinimumLevel

Verbose LogEventLevel

Minimum level of logs sent to Better Stack. Ignored when levelSwitch is set.

levelSwitch

LoggingLevelSwitch

Changes the minimum level of logs sent to Better Stack at runtime.

batchSize

1000 int

Maximum number of logs sent in one batch. A batch is also kept under 5 MB, and a single log over 5 MB is dropped.

batchInterval

1 second TimeSpan

Maximum time logs wait before they're sent to Better Stack.

queueLimitBytes

300 MB long

Maximum size of logs waiting in memory to be sent. Logs over the limit are dropped. Use long.MaxValue for no limit, which was the default before version 1.4.0.

retries

10 int

How many times a batch is retried after its first attempt failed, before it's dropped. 0 sends each batch only once. Available since version 1.4.0.

maxFlushTime

30 seconds TimeSpan

Maximum time Log.CloseAndFlush() waits for queued logs to be sent, so an unreachable endpoint doesn't hold up shutdown. TimeSpan.Zero means no limit. Available since version 1.4.0.

httpClientHandler

HttpClientHandler

Configures the HTTP client, for example to use a proxy.

To configure the sink in appsettings.json instead, install the Serilog.Settings.Configuration package and read the configuration with .ReadFrom.Configuration():

appsettings.json

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{
  "Serilog": {
    "WriteTo": [
      {
        "Name": "BetterStack",
        "Args": {
          "sourceToken": "$SOURCE_TOKEN",
          "betterStackEndpoint": "https://$INGESTING_HOST",
          "outputTemplate": "[{Level:u3}] {SourceContext} - {Message:lj}",
          "maxFlushTime": "00:00:30",
          "retries": 10
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Need help?

Please let us know at hello@betterstack.com.
We're happy to help! 🙏

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Better Stack .NET logging

Start logging in 2 minutes

Send logs to Better Stack using NLog

1. Install

Using Visual Studio?

2. Setup

Using Visual Studio?

3. Start logging

.NET Framework 4.6.2+, .NET Core 2.0+, or .NET 5+ is required

Send logs to Better Stack using Serilog

1. Install

Using Visual Studio?

2. Configure Serilog and start logging

.NET Framework 4.6.2+, .NET Core 2.0+, or .NET 5+ is required

Additional information

Configure the NLog target

Using Serilog

Configure the Serilog sink

Need help?

On this page

Explore documentation

Better Stack .NET logging

Start logging in 2 minutes

Send logs to Better Stack using NLog

1. Install

Using Visual Studio?

2. Setup

Using Visual Studio?

3. Start logging

.NET Framework 4.6.2+, .NET Core 2.0+, or .NET 5+ is required

Send logs to Better Stack using Serilog

1. Install

Using Visual Studio?

2. Configure Serilog and start logging

.NET Framework 4.6.2+, .NET Core 2.0+, or .NET 5+ is required

Additional information

Configure the NLog target

Using Serilog

Configure the Serilog sink

Need help?

On this page

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