Does AdonisJS Include Stack Traces in Production Logs When LOG_LEVEL Is Set to Error?

Answer

Yes – when LOG_LEVEL is set to error, AdonisJS will still include stack traces in the log output, but only for values that are actual Error instances. The log level controls which severity levels are emitted; it does not strip the stack property from Error objects that are logged at those levels.

Confirmed Facts

• AdonisJS’ default logger is Winston (configured in config/logger.js).
• The Winston json() format (used for production by default) serializes any Error object passed to a logger method, preserving its stack property.
• Changing LOG_LEVEL to error merely filters out info, warn, and debug entries; it does not alter the format or remove stack data.
• If you log a plain string or a non‑Error object (e.g., logger.error('something failed')), no stack trace will appear because there is none to include.

Steps to Verify / Enable

1. Check the logger configuration:

   cat config/logger.js
   

   Look for a production block that uses format: json() (or combine(json(), ...)). This format preserves Error.stack.
2. In your code, ensure you pass an Error instance when you want a stack trace:

   try {
     // …
   } catch (err) {
     Logger.error(err); // err is an Error → stack included
   }
   

3. Test in a production‑like environment:

   NODE_ENV=production LOG_LEVEL=error node ace invoke -- --test-error
   

   (Replace the invoke command with whatever triggers your error path.)
4. Inspect the resulting log (console or file) and confirm the presence of a stack field in the JSON output.

Missing Diagnostic Detail

To give a definitive recommendation, please confirm whether you are logging Error instances or plain strings/objects in the paths where you expect stack traces. If you are logging non‑Error values, the minimal change is to pass the caught Error object (or create one) to the logger instead of a plain message.