Emit Structured JSON Logs for Parsing
Replace console.log with a JSON logger so logs are machine-parseable and queryable in the aggregation system.
Task
Instrument logger.info({ event: 'request', path, status, durationMs }); so on-call engineers can diagnose an incident without guessing at log lines.
When to use this
An outage lasts 47 minutes because the team cannot correlate logger.info({ event: 'request', path, status, durationMs }); across services without structured traces.
Prerequisites
- An application with structured logging available
- A metrics or tracing backend configured
Steps
1. Configure logger.info({ event: 'request', path, status, durationMs }); in the project configuration file with the recommended defaults.
logger.info({ event: 'request', path, status, durationMs });
Expected output: The configuration is accepted and logger.info({ event: 'request', path, status, durationMs }); runs without errors on the first invocation.
2. Run the check locally to verify logger.info({ event: 'request', path, status, durationMs }); produces the expected result before pushing.
pnpm test
Expected output: Local run matches CI behavior; no surprises after push.
3. Add the gate to the CI pipeline so logger.info({ event: 'request', path, status, durationMs }); blocks merge on failure.
- name: Run add structured logging json
run: pnpm test
Expected output: Pull requests with failing logger.info({ event: 'request', path, status, durationMs }); are blocked from merging.
Troubleshooting
Problem
The check passes locally but fails in CI
Solution
Pin dependency versions and the runtime to match CI exactly; reproduce with the same Docker image or act.
Problem
Configuration is rejected with a schema error
Solution
Check the tool version matches the config schema; older versions may not support newer fields.
Limitations
- The gate only runs on events that trigger the workflow; locally pushed commits bypass it.
- Configuration drift is possible if someone edits settings outside version control.
Make the system observable
Start by measuring the problem. Replace console.log with a JSON logger so logs are machine-parseable and queryable in the aggregation system. The most common mistake is adding the gate without first confirming it catches the issue you care about. Run logger.info({ event: ‘request’, path, status, durationMs }); against the current codebase and inspect the output before wiring it into CI.
logger.info({ event: 'request', path, status, durationMs });Correlate across services
Once the gate is in place, make failures actionable. A failing logger.info({ event: ‘request’, path, status, durationMs }); should point to the exact file and line, not a generic error. Pin the tool version in the lockfile so a upstream release does not silently change behavior. Review the gate output in every pull request just like a test result.