JBoss WildFly 8 : log4j not logging

For a newly installed JBoss WildFly 8 if your application is using log4j , there would not be any log in the file or console.

1. WHAT happened ?

 There is no log printed in the console from deployed application in JBoss WildFly 8 which powered by log4j.

2. WHY it happened ?

Because JBoss WildFly 8 is using its own log configuration as below not your application ones.

	<module name="org.jboss.as.logging" xmlns="urn:jboss:module:1.3">
	<properties>
	<property name="jboss.api" value="private">
	</property>
	</properties>
	<resources>
	<resource-root path="wildfly-logging-8.2.0.Final.jar">
	</resource-root></resources>
	<dependencies>
	<module name="javax.api"></module>
	<module name="org.apache.log4j"></module>
	<module name="org.jboss.as.controller"></module>
	<module name="org.wildfly.security.manager"></module>
	<module name="org.jboss.as.server"></module>
	<module name="org.jboss.common-core"></module>
	<module name="org.jboss.staxmapper"></module>
	<module name="org.jboss.msc"></module>
	<module name="org.jboss.logging"></module>
	<module name="org.jboss.logmanager"></module>
	<module name="org.jboss.modules"></module>
	<module name="org.jboss.stdio"></module>
	<module name="org.jboss.vfs"></module>
	</dependencies>
	</module>

view raw module.xml hosted with ❤ by GitHub

	<subsystem xmlns="urn:jboss:domain:logging:2.0">
	<console-handler name="CONSOLE">
	<level name="DEBUG">
	<formatter>
	<named-formatter name="COLOR-PATTERN">
	</named-formatter></formatter>
	</level></console-handler>
	<periodic-rotating-file-handler autoflush="true" name="FILE">
	<formatter>
	<named-formatter name="PATTERN">
	</named-formatter></formatter>
	<file path="server.log" relative-to="jboss.server.log.dir">
	<suffix value=".yyyy-MM-dd">
	<append value="true">
	</append></suffix></file></periodic-rotating-file-handler>
	<logger category="com.arjuna">
	<level name="WARN">
	</level></logger>
	<logger category="org.apache.tomcat.util.modeler">
	<level name="WARN">
	</level></logger>
	<logger category="org.jboss.as.config">
	<level name="DEBUG">
	</level></logger>
	<logger category="sun.rmi">
	<level name="WARN">
	</level></logger>
	<logger category="jacorb">
	<level name="WARN">
	</level></logger>
	<logger category="jacorb.config">
	<level name="ERROR">
	</level></logger>
	<root-logger>
	<level name="INFO">
	<handlers>
	<handler name="CONSOLE">
	<handler name="FILE">
	</handler></handler></handlers>
	</level></root-logger>
	<formatter name="PATTERN">
	<pattern-formatter pattern="%d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss,SSS} %-5p [%c] (%t) %s%E%n">
	</pattern-formatter></formatter>
	<formatter name="COLOR-PATTERN">
	<pattern-formatter pattern="%K{level}%d{HH:mm:ss,SSS} %-5p [%c] (%t) %s%E%n">
	</pattern-formatter></formatter>
	</subsystem>

view raw standalone.xml hosted with ❤ by GitHub

 

3. HOW to resolve it 

Step 1 : let JBoss WildFly 8 to load log4j.xml or log4j.properties from deployed application not standalone.xml by adding : <use-deployment-logging-config value="false"/> as below :

	<subsystem xmlns="urn:jboss:domain:logging:2.0">
	<use-deployment-logging-config value="false">
	<console-handler name="CONSOLE">
	<level name="DEBUG">
	<formatter>
	<named-formatter name="COLOR-PATTERN">
	</named-formatter></formatter>
	</level></console-handler>
	<periodic-rotating-file-handler autoflush="true" name="FILE">
	<formatter>
	<named-formatter name="PATTERN">
	</named-formatter></formatter>
	<file path="server.log" relative-to="jboss.server.log.dir">
	<suffix value=".yyyy-MM-dd">
	<append value="true">
	</append></suffix></file></periodic-rotating-file-handler>
	<logger category="com.arjuna">
	<level name="WARN">
	</level></logger>
	<logger category="org.apache.tomcat.util.modeler">
	<level name="WARN">
	</level></logger>
	<logger category="org.jboss.as.config">
	<level name="DEBUG">
	</level></logger>
	<logger category="sun.rmi">
	<level name="WARN">
	</level></logger>
	<logger category="jacorb">
	<level name="WARN">
	</level></logger>
	<logger category="jacorb.config">
	<level name="ERROR">
	</level></logger>
	<root-logger>
	<level name="INFO">
	<handlers>
	<handler name="CONSOLE">
	<handler name="FILE">
	</handler></handler></handlers>
	</level></root-logger>
	<formatter name="PATTERN">
	<pattern-formatter pattern="%d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss,SSS} %-5p [%c] (%t) %s%E%n">
	</pattern-formatter></formatter>
	<formatter name="COLOR-PATTERN">
	<pattern-formatter pattern="%K{level}%d{HH:mm:ss,SSS} %-5p [%c] (%t) %s%E%n">
	</pattern-formatter></formatter>
	</use-deployment-logging-config></subsystem>

view raw standalone.xml hosted with ❤ by GitHub

Step 2 : use the logging function from deployed application not JBoss WildFly 8 by adding WEB-INF/classes/jboss-deployment-structure.xml

	<jboss-deployment-structure xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="urn:jboss:deployment-structure:1.2">
	<deployment>
	<module-alias name="test">
	<exclusions>
	<module name="org.apache.log4j">
	</module></exclusions>
	</module-alias></deployment>
	</jboss-deployment-structure>

view raw jboss-deployment-structure.xml hosted with ❤ by GitHub

You may refer to below for details on JBoss WildFly 8 logging configuration :

https://docs.jboss.org/author/display/WFLY8/Logging+Configuration#LoggingConfiguration-PerdeploymentLogging