Skip to main content

How To Create a Log in Python 3

In this article, we will add logging to a simple Python script.

  • Import the logging library import logging
  • Configure the logging settings
logging.basicConfig(level=logging.DEBUG,  # Set the logging level to DEBUG for all messages
                    format='%(asctime)s - %(levelname)s - %(message)s',
                    filename='example.log')  # Log messages to a file named example.log
  • Create an infomation log logging.info("Script started.")
  • Create an error log logging.error(f"An error occurred: {e}")

Full script​

import logging

# Configure the logging settings
logging.basicConfig(level=logging.DEBUG,  # Set the logging level to DEBUG for all messages
                    format='%(asctime)s - %(levelname)s - %(message)s',
                    filename='example.log')  # Log messages to a file named example.log

def main():
    logging.info("Script started.")
    
    # Your script code here
    
    try:
        result = 10 / 0  # Simulating an error for demonstration
    except Exception as e:
        logging.error(f"An error occurred: {e}")

    # More script code
    
    logging.info("Script finished.")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Example of the log file created by the script​

2023-12-23 18:32:33,383 - INFO - Script started.
2023-12-23 18:32:33,383 - ERROR - An error occurred: division by zero
2023-12-23 18:32:33,383 - INFO - Script finished.
Adverts