A Nest module wrapper for winston logger.

Installation

npm install --save nest-winston winston

Having troubles configuring nest-winston? Clone this repository and cd in a sample:

cd sample/quick-start
npm install
npm run start:dev

Quick start

Import WinstonModule into the root AppModule and use the forRoot() method to configure it. This method accepts the same options object as createLogger() function from the winston package:

import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
import { WinstonModule } from 'nest-winston';
import * as winston from 'winston';

@Module({
  imports: [
    WinstonModule.forRoot({
      // options
    }),
  ],
})
export class AppModule {}

Afterward, the winston instance will be available to inject across entire project (and in your feature modules, being WinstonModule a global one) using the WINSTON_MODULE_PROVIDER injection token:

import { Controller, Inject } from '@nestjs/common';
import { WINSTON_MODULE_PROVIDER } from 'nest-winston';
import { Logger } from 'winston';

@Controller('cats')
export class CatsController {
  constructor(@Inject(WINSTON_MODULE_PROVIDER) private readonly logger: Logger) { }
}

Async configuration

Caveats: because the way Nest works, you can't inject dependencies exported from the root module itself (using exports). If you use forRootAsync() and need to inject a service, that service must be either imported using the imports options or exported from a global module.

Maybe you need to asynchronously pass your module options, for example when you need a configuration service. In such case, use the forRootAsync() method, returning an options object from the useFactory method:

import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
import { WinstonModule } from 'nest-winston';
import * as winston from 'winston';

@Module({
  imports: [
    WinstonModule.forRootAsync({
      useFactory: () => ({
        // options
      }),
      inject: [],
    }),
  ],
})
export class AppModule {}

The factory might be async, can inject dependencies with inject option and import other modules using the imports option.

Alternatively, you can use the useClass syntax:

WinstonModule.forRootAsync({
  useClass: WinstonConfigService,
})

With the above code, Nest will create a new instance of WinstonConfigService and its method createWinstonModuleOptions will be called in order to provide the module options.

Replacing the Nest logger

This module also provides the WinstonLogger class (custom implementation of the LoggerService interface) to be used by Nest for system logging. This will ensure consistent behavior and formatting across both Nest system logging and your application event/message logging.

Change your main.ts as shown below:

import { WINSTON_MODULE_NEST_PROVIDER } from 'nest-winston';

async function bootstrap() {
  const app = await NestFactory.create(AppModule);
  app.useLogger(app.get(WINSTON_MODULE_NEST_PROVIDER));
  await app.listen(3000);
}
bootstrap();

Then inject the logger using the WINSTON_MODULE_NEST_PROVIDER token and the LoggerService typing:

import { Controller, Inject, LoggerService } from '@nestjs/common';
import { WINSTON_MODULE_NEST_PROVIDER } from 'nest-winston';

@Controller('cats')
export class CatsController {
  constructor(@Inject(WINSTON_MODULE_NEST_PROVIDER) private readonly logger: LoggerService) { }
}

Under the hood, the WinstonLogger class uses the configured winston logger instance (through forRoot or forRootAsync), forwarding all calls to it.

Replacing the Nest logger (also for bootstrapping)

Important: by doing this, you give up the dependency injection, meaning that forRoot and forRootAsync are not needed and shouldn't be used. Remove them from your main module.

Using the dependency injection has one minor drawback. Nest has to bootstrap the application first (instantiating modules and providers, injecting dependencies, etc.) and during this process the instance of WinstonLogger is not yet available, which means that Nest falls back to the internal logger.

One solution is to create the logger outside of the application lifecycle, using the createLogger function, and pass it to NestFactory.create. Nest will then wrap our winston logger (the same instance returned by the createLogger method) into the Logger class, forwarding all calls to it:

import { WinstonModule } from 'nest-winston';

async function bootstrap() {
  const app = await NestFactory.create(AppModule, {
    logger: WinstonModule.createLogger({
      // options (same as WinstonModule.forRoot() options)
    })
  });
  await app.listen(3000);
}
bootstrap();

Change your main module to provide the Logger service:

import { Logger, Module } from '@nestjs/common';

@Module({
  providers: [Logger],
})
export class AppModule {}

Then inject the logger simply by type hinting it with Logger from @nestjs/common:

import { Controller, Logger } from '@nestjs/common';

@Controller('cats')
export class CatsController {
  constructor(private readonly logger: Logger) {}
}

Alternative syntax using the LoggerService typing and the @Inject decorator:

import { Controller, Inject, Logger, LoggerService } from '@nestjs/common';

@Controller('cats')
export class CatsController {
  constructor(@Inject(Logger) private readonly logger: LoggerService) {}
}

Injection and usage summary

Here is a summary of the three techniques explained above:

Injection token and typing	Module config	Usage
WINSTON_MODULE_PROVIDER Logger from winston	Yes	+ Your application/message logging
WINSTON_MODULE_NEST_PROVIDER LoggerService from @nestjs/common	Yes	+ Your application/message logging + Nest logger
none Logger from @nestjs/common	No	+ Your application/message logging + Nest logger + Application bootstrapping

Utilities

The module also provides a custom Nest-like special formatter for console transports:

import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
import { utilities as nestWinstonModuleUtilities, WinstonModule } from 'nest-winston';
import * as winston from 'winston';

@Module({
  imports: [
    WinstonModule.forRoot({
      transports: [
        new winston.transports.Console({
          format: winston.format.combine(
            winston.format.timestamp(),
            winston.format.ms(),
            nestWinstonModuleUtilities.format.nestLike('MyApp', { prettyPrint: true }),
          ),
        }),
        // other transports...
      ],
      // other options
    }),
  ],
})
export class AppModule {}

Logger methods

Note: The logger instance has different logger methods, and each takes different arguments. To make sure the logger is being formatted the same way across the board take note of the following:

debug(message: any, context?: string)
log(message: any, context?: string)
error(message: any, stack?: string, context?: string)
verbose(message: any, context?: string)
warn(message: any, context?: string)

Example:

import { Controller, Get, Logger } from '@nestjs/common';
import { AppService } from './app.service';

@Controller()
export class AppController {
  constructor(
    private readonly appService: AppService,
    private readonly logger: Logger,
  ) {}

  @Get()
  getHello(): string {
    this.logger.log('Calling getHello()', AppController.name);
    this.logger.debug('Calling getHello()', AppController.name);
    this.logger.verbose('Calling getHello()', AppController.name);
    this.logger.warn('Calling getHello()', AppController.name);

    try {
      throw new Error()
    } catch (e) {
      this.logger.error('Calling getHello()', e.stack, AppController.name);
    }

    return this.appService.getHello();
  }
}

Contributing

New features and bugfixes are always welcome! In order to contribute to this project, follow a few easy steps:

1. Fork this repository and clone it on your machine
2. Open the local repository with Visual Studio Code with the remote development feature enabled (install the Remote Development extension)
3. Create a branch my-awesome-feature and commit to it
4. Run npm run lint, npm run test and npm run build and verify that they complete without errors
5. Push my-awesome-feature branch to GitHub and open a pull request