Com.H.Extensions.Logging.File 1.3.0

Com.H.Extensions.Logging.File

A simple, lightweight file logger for .NET applications that automatically organizes logs by date in a hierarchical directory structure (YYYY/MM/DD) with optional auto-cleanup of old logs. Perfect for IIS web gardens and multi-process environments.

For source code and documentation, kindly visit the project's github page https://github.com/H7O/Com.H.Extensions.Logging.File

Features

• Simple Integration: Implements ILogger and ILoggerProvider interfaces
• Automatic Date Organization: Logs are stored in YYYY/MM/DD directory structure
• Auto-Cleanup: Optional automatic deletion of old log directories based on retention period
• Multi-Process Safe: Uses global mutex for cross-process synchronization (perfect for IIS web gardens)
• Thread-Safe: Safe for concurrent writes from multiple threads and processes
• Customizable Location: Specify your own base directory or use the application's base directory by default
• Zero Configuration: Works out of the box with sensible defaults
• UTC Timestamps: All log entries are timestamped in UTC with ISO 8601 format
• Production Ready: Handles abandoned mutexes, file locking conflicts, and process crashes gracefully

Sample 1

Basic usage with default settings (logs to application base directory)

using Com.H.Extensions.Logging.File;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;

// Create logger provider
ILoggerProvider loggerProvider = new SimpleFileLoggerProvider();

// Create logger
ILogger logger = loggerProvider.CreateLogger("MyApp");

// Log messages
logger.LogInformation("Application started");
logger.LogWarning("This is a warning message");
logger.LogError("This is an error message");

// Logs will be written to:
// <AppBaseDirectory>/YYYY/MM/DD/log.txt

Sample 2

Specifying a custom log directory

using Com.H.Extensions.Logging.File;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;

// Specify custom base directory for logs
string logBasePath = @"C:\MyLogs";

ILoggerProvider loggerProvider = new SimpleFileLoggerProvider(logBasePath);
ILogger logger = loggerProvider.CreateLogger("MyApp");

logger.LogInformation("This will be logged to C:\\MyLogs\\YYYY\\MM\\DD\\log.txt");

Sample 3

Using with Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection

using Com.H.Extensions.Logging.File;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;

var services = new ServiceCollection();

services.AddLogging(builder =>
{
    builder.ClearProviders();
    builder.AddProvider(new SimpleFileLoggerProvider(@"C:\MyLogs"));
});

var serviceProvider = services.BuildServiceProvider();
var logger = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<ILogger<Program>>();

logger.LogInformation("Hello from dependency injection!");

Sample 4

Using with ASP.NET Core

In your Program.cs (ASP.NET Core 6+):

using Com.H.Extensions.Logging.File;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Clear default logging providers
builder.Logging.ClearProviders();

// Add file logging
builder.Logging.AddProvider(new SimpleFileLoggerProvider(@"C:\WebAppLogs"));

var app = builder.Build();

// Use ILogger in your controllers/services as usual
app.MapGet("/", (ILogger<Program> logger) =>
{
    logger.LogInformation("Hello from ASP.NET Core!");
    return "Hello World!";
});

app.Run();

Sample 5

Auto-cleanup of old logs (retain last 30 days)

using Com.H.Extensions.Logging.File;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;

// Keep only the last 30 days of logs
// Older log directories will be automatically deleted once per day
ILoggerProvider loggerProvider = new SimpleFileLoggerProvider(
    baseDirectoryPath: @"C:\MyLogs",
    maxDaysToKeepLogs: 30
);

ILogger logger = loggerProvider.CreateLogger("MyApp");

logger.LogInformation("This log will be kept for 30 days");
// Cleanup happens automatically on the first log call each day

Auto-Cleanup Features:

• Runs once per day on first log write
• Efficient: Deletes entire year/month folders when possible
• Production-safe: Silently ignores locked files, retries next day
• Disabled by default: Pass null (default) or a value <= 0 to disable

Log Directory Structure

Logs are automatically organized in the following structure:

<BaseDirectory>
└── 2025
    └── 10
        └── 08
            └── log.txt

Log Entry Format

Each log entry is formatted as:

<ISO8601-UTC-Timestamp> [LogLevel] <Message>

Example:

2025-10-08T14:23:45.1234567Z [Information] Application started
2025-10-08T14:23:46.7891234Z [Warning] This is a warning message
2025-10-08T14:23:47.1122334Z [Error] This is an error message