Log4j2.xml with springboot is not generating log file - spring-boot

Question

I am upgrading log4j1 to logj42 in one of the springBoot porject (maven, Java 1.8) with log4j-core,log4j-api as maven dependency.
Log file mentioned in log4j2.xml as Rolling file appender is not creating log file, I am able to see the logs in console but no log file. Please reply if anyone has faced same issue.

Answer 1

By default spring boot contains an integration with logback logging library.
So you'll have to exclude the "default" and add a special starter that will handle the integration:
In the pom.xml make sure you have the following:
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter</artifactId>
<exclusions>
<exclusion>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-logging</artifactId>
</exclusion>
</exclusions>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-log4j2</artifactId>
</dependency>
Optional: If you want to use an asynchronous logging, add also the following dependency:
<dependency>
<groupId>com.lmax</groupId>
<artifactId>disruptor</artifactId>
<version>3.3.6</version> <!-- check the actual version it might be different -->
</dependency>
After this step you can start configuring the log4j2. There are plenty of sample configurations and tutorials about this, examples: here and here.
I won't dive into possible configurations of log4j2, but from the spring boot's standpoint I'll mention that you should place the log4j2's configurations into src/main/resources/log4j2.xml

Answer 2

You can try with the below log4j2.xml. This is working for me.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Configuration xmlns="http://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.0/config">
<Properties>
<Property name="basePath">/home/user/myapp/logs</Property>
</Properties>
<Appenders>
<!-- File Appender -->
<File name="FILE" fileName="${basePath}/my-app.log" append="true">
<PatternLayout pattern="%-5p | %d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss} | [%t] %C{2} (%F:%L) - %m%n" />
</File>
<!-- Console Appender -->
<Console name="STDOUT" target="SYSTEM_OUT">
<PatternLayout pattern="%-5p | %d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss} | [%t] %C{2} (%F:%L) - %m%n" />
</Console>
</Appenders>
<Loggers>
<Logger name="com.abc.xyz" level="debug" />
<Root level="info">
<AppenderRef ref="STDOUT" />
<AppenderRef ref="FILE" />
</Root>
</Loggers>
</Configuration>
Change the log file name and path accordingly.
Also change the package for the logger. <Logger name="com.abc.xyz" level="debug" />