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Logging

The Logging page provides real-time viewing of system logs, device communication logs, zone state changes, and client logs. It's the primary tool for troubleshooting and monitoring GEM in real-time.

Overview​

Logging capabilities:

  • System Logs: GEM server application logs
  • Device Logs: Device driver communication
  • Zone Logs: Zone state subscription monitoring
  • Client Logs: Browser/client-side logs from remote devices
  • Live Streaming: Real-time log updates
  • Filtering: Search, severity levels, patterns
  • Export: Save logs for analysis

Log Types​

Select log type from dropdown:

System Log​

Server application logs:

  • Startup/shutdown events
  • Errors and warnings
  • Device connections/disconnections
  • Macro executions
  • Trigger activations
  • Database operations
  • Integration events

Severity Levels:

  • ERROR: Critical errors requiring attention
  • WARN: Warnings, potential issues
  • INFO: Informational messages
  • DEBUG: Detailed debugging info (development mode)

Device Log​

Device driver communication logs:

  • Commands sent to devices
  • Responses received
  • Connection events
  • Communication errors
  • Protocol-level debugging

Device Selection: Choose specific device to monitor

Zone Log​

Zone state change monitoring:

  • Power on/off events
  • Level changes
  • Attribute updates
  • Real-time state subscription

Zone Selection: Choose specific zone to monitor

Client Log​

Browser console logs from connected clients:

  • JavaScript errors on client
  • Client-side warnings
  • UI rendering issues
  • Client application logs

Client Selection: Choose connected client to monitor

Use Cases:

  • Debug UI issues
  • Monitor specific user's experience
  • Troubleshoot browser-specific problems

Log Display​

Log Format​

Each log entry shows:

[HH:MM:SS] SEVERITY - Log message content

Example:

[14:32:15] INFO - device connected: living_room_receiver
[14:32:18] WARN - command timeout: bedroom_lights
[14:32:20] ERROR - macro execution failed: good_morning

Color Coding​

  • ERROR: Red background/text
  • WARN: Yellow/orange background/text
  • INFO: White/normal
  • DEBUG: Gray/subdued

Auto-Scroll​

Toggle to enable/disable:

  • Enabled: Automatically scrolls to newest log entries
  • Disabled: Manual scrolling (useful when reviewing specific entries)

Line Limit​

Maximum lines displayed:

  • Default: 1000 lines
  • Older lines removed when limit reached
  • Prevents memory issues on long monitoring sessions

Text Filter​

Filter Input: Search for specific text

  • Case-insensitive search
  • Matches anywhere in log message
  • Updates in real-time

Examples:

  • Search "error" - shows only errors
  • Search "bedroom" - shows bedroom-related logs
  • Search "192.168" - shows logs with IP addresses

Exclude Filter​

Exclude Input: Hide matching entries

  • Opposite of filter
  • Remove noise from logs

Examples:

  • Exclude "polling" - hide routine polling messages
  • Exclude "keepalive" - hide connection keepalives

Severity Filter​

Log Level Dropdown:

  • All: Show all severities
  • ERROR: Only errors
  • WARN: Warnings and errors
  • INFO: Info, warnings, and errors

Advanced Search:

  • Enable regex mode
  • Use regular expressions for complex patterns
  • Example: (error|warn|fail)

Search Panel:

  • Click to open advanced search
  • Configure:
    • Pattern (regex)
    • Context before/after (lines)
    • Max results
    • Time range
  • Results show matching entries with context

Since Dropdown (System Log - Production Mode)​

When viewing System Logs in production mode, a Since dropdown filters log history:

  • Real-time (live stream only)
  • 5 minutes ago
  • 15 minutes ago
  • 30 minutes ago
  • 1 hour ago
  • 4 hours ago
  • 8 hours ago
  • 12 hours ago
  • 1 day ago
  • 2 days ago
  • 1 week ago

This retrieves historical logs from the system journal. In development mode, only live console output is available.

Log Monitoring​

Starting Monitoring​

  1. Select log type (System, Device, Zone, Client)
  2. Select specific target if applicable (device, zone, client)
  3. Click Start or Connect
  4. Logs stream in real-time

Stopping Monitoring​

  1. Click Stop or Disconnect
  2. Streaming stops
  3. Current logs remain visible
  4. Can be exported or cleared

Pausing​

Pause Button:

  • Stops display updates
  • Logging continues in background
  • Useful for reviewing specific entries
  • Paused Count: Shows skipped entries

Resume:

  • Click pause again
  • Displays buffered entries
  • Returns to real-time

Log Navigation​

Severity Navigation​

Jump to next error/warning:

Buttons:

  • Next Error: Jump to next ERROR entry
  • Next Warning: Jump to next WARN entry
  • Next Info: Jump to next INFO entry

Keyboard Shortcuts (if implemented):

  • E: Next error
  • W: Next warning
  • I: Next info

Severity Counts​

Display shows:

  • Error count (red badge)
  • Warning count (yellow badge)
  • Info count (blue badge)

Common Use Cases​

Troubleshooting Device Issues​

Monitor device communication:

  1. Select Device Log
  2. Select problematic device
  3. Start monitoring
  4. Send test command
  5. Review communication:
    • Command sent
    • Response received (or timeout)
    • Errors logged

Debugging Macros​

Monitor macro execution:

  1. Select System Log
  2. Filter: macro name
  3. Run macro
  4. Review execution steps:
    • Macro started
    • Each step execution
    • Completion or error
    • Step-by-step timing

Monitoring Zone State​

Watch zone state changes:

  1. Select Zone Log
  2. Select zone
  3. Start monitoring
  4. Control zone from UI
  5. See real-time state updates

Client-Side Debugging​

Troubleshoot UI issues:

  1. Select Client Log
  2. Select connected client (specific tablet/browser)
  3. Start monitoring
  4. User reproduces issue on their device
  5. Review client-side errors in real-time

Network Troubleshooting​

Identify connectivity problems:

  1. Select System Log
  2. Filter: "disconnect" or "timeout"
  3. Review disconnection events
  4. Identify pattern (all devices, specific network, specific time)

Exporting Logs​

Copy: Select text and copy to clipboard

Save: Use browser save/print to PDF

External Tools: Stream logs to external logging systems:

  • Syslog
  • Splunk
  • ELK Stack
  • CloudWatch

(Requires custom configuration)

Best Practices​

  1. Start Specific: Monitor specific device/zone rather than system-wide

  2. Use Filters: Reduce noise with appropriate filters

  3. Pause to Review: Pause when you see the issue to examine closely

  4. Save Important Logs: Screenshot or export critical error sequences

  5. Clear Between Tests: Clear logs between test runs for clarity

  6. Note Timestamps: Correlate logs with user actions by time

  7. Multiple Windows: Open multiple logging windows for correlation

Troubleshooting​

No Logs Appearing​

Check:

  1. Monitoring started (connected)
  2. Selected device/zone is active
  3. Network connection to GEM server
  4. Browser console for client-side errors

Too Much Noise​

Solutions:

  1. Use exclude filter for routine messages
  2. Increase severity filter (ERROR only)
  3. Monitor specific device instead of system
  4. Disable debug logging (if enabled)

Logs Slow or Laggy​

Causes:

  • Too many log messages per second
  • Browser struggling with updates

Solutions:

  1. Increase line limit (less frequent trimming)
  2. Disable auto-scroll
  3. Use filters to reduce volume
  4. Close other browser tabs

Cannot Find Specific Event​

Techniques:

  1. Use search panel with time range
  2. Search for specific keywords
  3. Use regex for pattern matching
  4. Export logs and use external tool (grep, etc.)