Phalcon Logger throws 'Log directory does not exist' when target directory missing

Direct answer

The error is thrown when the Stream (or File in older releases) adapter is constructed and the target directory does not exist. The exception occurs before any log message is written, so the application must catch it at the point of adapter creation.

Likely explanation

During construction the adapter checks that the directory part of the configured path is a real directory and is writable. If the directory is missing the constructor raises a Phalcon\Logger\Exception with the message “Log directory does not exist”.

Confirmed facts

• Phalcon 4+ uses the Stream adapter for file logging; older versions use File.
• Both adapters perform the directory check in their constructor, not during a log() call.
• When the directory is absent, the logger cannot be instantiated and the application may crash if the exception is not handled.

Minimal steps for this case

1. Wrap the adapter construction in a try / catch (\Phalcon\Logger\Exception $e) block.
2. If the exception is caught, resolve the absolute target path, extract its parent directory, and test is_writable() for the PHP process user.
3. If the parent is writable, attempt mkdir($parent, 0750, true) and retry creating the primary adapter.
4. If creation fails or the parent is not writable, instantiate a fallback adapter (e.g., Syslog or, if available, a no‑op adapter) and log a single error‑level notice explaining the missing directory.
5. Configure the fallback to accept only error‑level or higher messages and use a simple flag or time‑based cache to emit the notice only once per request or per hour to avoid duplicate alerts.

Diagnostic detail that may change the recommendation

Is the parent directory of the configured log path writable by the PHP process user? If not, automatic creation is not viable and a fallback adapter is the appropriate path.