Sending Traceability Logs to a Different File Than the Default Keycloak Log File

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have the following:

• Keycloak 10.0 or later installed and configured
• A basic understanding of Keycloak logging and configuration
• A text editor or IDE (we’ll use Visual Studio Code in our examples)

Step 1: Create a New Log Appender

In Keycloak, log appenders are responsible for writing log entries to a file. To send traceability logs to a different file, we need to create a new log appender.

keycloak.log:
  handlers:
  - type: file
    filename: traceability.log
    append: true
    formatter: DEFAULT

In the above code, we’re creating a new log appender that writes log entries to a file named `traceability.log`. The `append` parameter is set to `true`, which means that new log entries will be appended to the end of the file. The `formatter` parameter is set to `DEFAULT`, which uses the default log formatter.

Adding the New Log Appender to the Keycloak Configuration

To add the new log appender to the Keycloak configuration, you’ll need to update the `keycloak.json` file.

cd /path/to/keycloak
vi keycloak.json

Add the following code to the `keycloak.json` file:

{
  "log": {
    "appenders": [
      {
        "type": "file",
        "filename": "traceability.log",
        "append": true,
        "formatter": "DEFAULT"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Step 2: Configure the Log Logger

In Keycloak, log loggers are responsible for filtering log entries based on their level and category. To send traceability logs to the new log appender, we need to configure the log logger.

Create a new file called `log4j2.xml` in the `keycloak/conf` directory:

cd /path/to/keycloak/conf
vi log4j2.xml

Add the following code to the `log4j2.xml` file:

<Configuration>
  <appenders>
    <File name="TRACEABILITY" fileName="traceability.log">
      <PatternLayout pattern="%d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss} [%t] %-5level %logger{36} - %msg%n"/>
    </File>
  </appenders>
  <loggers>
    <logger name="org.keycloak.events" level="TRACE">
      <appender-ref ref="TRACEABILITY"/>
    </logger>
  </loggers>
</Configuration>

In the above code, we’re configuring the log logger to filter log entries with the level `TRACE` and category `org.keycloak.events`. These log entries will be sent to the new log appender we created in Step 1.

Step 3: Restart Keycloak

After updating the `keycloak.json` and `log4j2.xml` files, restart Keycloak to apply the changes:

systemctl restart keycloak

Verifying the Setup

To verify that the setup is working correctly, check the `traceability.log` file for new log entries:

tail -f traceability.log

You should see traceability logs being written to the file in real-time.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you’re not seeing log entries in the `traceability.log` file, check the following:

• Make sure the `keycloak.json` and `log4j2.xml` files are correctly updated and saved.
• Verify that the `traceability.log` file has the correct permissions and access controls.
• Check the Keycloak logs for any errors or warnings related to the log appender or logger configuration.

Conclusion

Sending traceability logs to a different file than the default Keycloak log file is a simple yet powerful way to keep your logs organized and secure. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can create a separate log file for traceability logs and configure Keycloak to write log entries to it.

Remember to regularly review and analyze your traceability logs to identify trends, detect security threats, and optimize your system for better performance.

Happy logging!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Get the most out of Keycloak’s logging capabilities with these frequently asked questions about sending traceability logs to a different file than the default log file!