Logging in .NET Core using Serilog/NLog

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Logging in .NET Core Using Serilog/NLog

In modern .NET Core applications, effective logging is essential for monitoring, diagnosing, and maintaining healthy software systems. Two popular and powerful logging libraries in the .NET ecosystem are Serilog and NLog. Both offer rich features, flexibility, and performance, making them top choices for developers aiming to build maintainable and observable applications.

Why Use Serilog or NLog?

While .NET Core comes with built-in logging via Microsoft.Extensions.Logging, it lacks advanced features such as structured logging, log file management, or third-party integrations. Serilog and NLog fill this gap with powerful features like:

Asynchronous logging

File/database/console/sink support

Log filtering and formatting

Structured (JSON) logging for analytics

Using Serilog in .NET Core

Install Packages

bash

dotnet add package Serilog.AspNetCore

dotnet add package Serilog.Sinks.File

Configure in Program.cs

csharp

public class Program

{

    public static void Main(string[] args)

    {

        Log.Logger = new LoggerConfiguration()

            .WriteTo.Console()

            .WriteTo.File("logs/log.txt", rollingInterval: RollingInterval.Day)

            .Enrich.FromLogContext()

            .CreateLogger();

        CreateHostBuilder(args).Build().Run();

    }

    public static IHostBuilder CreateHostBuilder(string[] args) =>

        Host.CreateDefaultBuilder(args)

            .UseSerilog() // Integrate Serilog

            .ConfigureWebHostDefaults(webBuilder =>

            {

                webBuilder.UseStartup<Startup>();

            });

}

Usage

csharp

private readonly ILogger<HomeController> _logger;

public HomeController(ILogger<HomeController> logger)

{

    _logger = logger;

    _logger.LogInformation("HomeController initialized.");

}

Using NLog in .NET Core

Install Packages

bash

dotnet add package NLog.Web.AspNetCore

Add nlog.config

Create an XML configuration file for sinks and rules:

xml

<nlog>

  <targets>

    <target name="file" xsi:type="File" fileName="logs/nlog.txt" />

  </targets>

  <rules>

    <logger name="*" minlevel="Info" writeTo="file" />

  </rules>

</nlog>

Configure in Program.cs

csharp

public class Program

{

    public static void Main(string[] args)

    {

        var logger = NLog.Web.NLogBuilder.ConfigureNLog("nlog.config").GetCurrentClassLogger();

        try

        {

            CreateHostBuilder(args).Build().Run();

        }

        catch (Exception ex)

        {

            logger.Error(ex, "Stopped program due to exception");

            throw;

        }

        finally

        {

            NLog.LogManager.Shutdown();

        }

    }

    public static IHostBuilder CreateHostBuilder(string[] args) =>

        Host.CreateDefaultBuilder(args)

            .ConfigureWebHostDefaults(webBuilder =>

            {

                webBuilder.UseStartup<Startup>();

            })

            .UseNLog();  // Integrate NLog

}

Final Thoughts

Both Serilog and NLog are mature and production-ready. Serilog is preferred for structured logging and extensibility, while NLog is great for performance-focused file and database logging. Choosing between them depends on project needs, but either offers a huge improvement over default logging mechanisms.

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