#404: #1713: advanced logging

CHANGELOG.adoc

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ This file documents all notable changes to https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy[IDE
 
 Release with new features and bugfixes:
 
+* https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/issues/1713[#1713]: Advanced logging and writing logfiles
 
 The full list of changes for this release can be found in https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/milestone/41?closed=1[milestone 2026.03.001].
 

cli/pom.xml

@@ -49,11 +49,6 @@
       <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
       <!--optional>true</optional-->
     </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>ch.qos.logback</groupId>
-      <artifactId>logback-classic</artifactId>
-      <!--optional>true</optional-->
-    </dependency>
     <dependency>
       <groupId>org.graalvm.sdk</groupId>
       <artifactId>nativeimage</artifactId>

cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/cli/Ideasy.java

@@ -3,12 +3,15 @@
 import java.net.URLEncoder;
 import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
 
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.commandlet.ContextCommandlet;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.context.AbstractIdeContext;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.context.IdeContext;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.context.IdeContextConsole;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.context.IdeStartContextImpl;
-import com.devonfw.tools.ide.log.IdeLogLevel;
+import com.devonfw.tools.ide.log.JulLogLevel;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.property.FlagProperty;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.property.Property;
 
@@ -17,6 +20,8 @@
  */
 public final class Ideasy {
 
+  private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(Ideasy.class);
+
   private AbstractIdeContext context;
 
   /**
@@ -37,15 +42,6 @@ public Ideasy() {
     this.context = context;
   }
 
-  private IdeContext context() {
-
-    if (this.context == null) {
-      // fallback in case of exception before initialization
-      return new IdeContextConsole(IdeLogLevel.INFO, null, false);
-    }
-    return this.context;
-  }
-
   /**
    * Non-static variant of {@link #main(String...) main method} without invoking {@link System#exit(int)} so it can be tested.
    *
@@ -61,7 +57,7 @@ public int run(String... args) {
       exitStatus = error.getExitCode();
       String errorMessage = error.getMessage();
       if ((errorMessage != null) && !errorMessage.isBlank()) {
-        context().error(errorMessage);
+        LOG.error(errorMessage);
       }
     } catch (Throwable error) {
       exitStatus = 255;
@@ -77,7 +73,7 @@ public int run(String... args) {
           + "If the error is not on your end (network connectivity, lack of permissions, etc.) please file a bug:\n" //
           + "https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/issues/new?template=bug_report.yml&title="
           + URLEncoder.encode(title, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
-      context().error(error, message);
+      LOG.error(message, error);
     }
     return exitStatus;
   }
@@ -97,7 +93,11 @@ public int runOrThrow(String... args) {
 
   private void initContext(CliArguments arguments) {
 
-    ContextCommandlet contextCommandlet = new ContextCommandlet();
+    IdeStartContextImpl startContext = null;
+    if (this.context != null) {
+      startContext = this.context.getStartContext();
+    }
+    ContextCommandlet contextCommandlet = new ContextCommandlet(startContext);
     while (arguments.hasNext()) {
       CliArgument current = arguments.next();
       String key = current.getKey();
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ private void initContext(CliArguments arguments) {
     }
     contextCommandlet.run();
     if (this.context == null) {
-      IdeStartContextImpl startContext = contextCommandlet.getStartContext();
+      startContext = contextCommandlet.getStartContext();
       this.context = new IdeContextConsole(startContext);
     }
   }
@@ -130,6 +130,7 @@ private void initContext(CliArguments arguments) {
    */
   public static void main(String... args) {
 
+    JulLogLevel.init();
     int exitStatus = new Ideasy().run(args);
     System.exit(exitStatus);
   }

cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/AbstractUpdateCommandlet.java

@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.stream.Stream;
 
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.cli.CliException;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.context.AbstractIdeContext;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.context.IdeContext;
@@ -38,6 +41,8 @@
  */
 public abstract class AbstractUpdateCommandlet extends Commandlet {
 
+  private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(AbstractUpdateCommandlet.class);
+
   private static final String MESSAGE_CODE_REPO_URL = """
       No code repository was given after '--code'.
       Further details can be found here: https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/blob/main/documentation/settings.adoc
@@ -85,7 +90,7 @@ public AbstractUpdateCommandlet(IdeContext context) {
   }
 
   @Override
-  public void run() {
+  protected void doRun() {
 
     IdeStartContextImpl startContext = ((AbstractIdeContext) this.context).getStartContext();
     startContext.setForcePull(forcePull.isTrue());
@@ -116,7 +121,7 @@ private void updateConf() {
       if (Files.exists(legacyTemplatesFolder)) {
         templatesFolder = legacyTemplatesFolder;
       } else {
-        this.context.warning("Templates folder is missing in settings repository.");
+        LOG.warn("Templates folder is missing in settings repository.");
         return;
       }
     }
@@ -141,10 +146,10 @@ private void setupConf(Path template, Path conf) {
         setupConf(child, confPath);
       } else if (Files.isRegularFile(child)) {
         if (Files.isRegularFile(confPath)) {
-          this.context.debug("Configuration {} already exists - skipping to copy from {}", confPath, child);
+          LOG.debug("Configuration {} already exists - skipping to copy from {}", confPath, child);
         } else {
           if (!basename.equals("settings.xml")) {
-            this.context.info("Copying template {} to {}.", child, conf);
+            LOG.info("Copying template {} to {}.", child, conf);
             this.context.getFileAccess().copy(child, conf);
           }
         }
@@ -175,7 +180,7 @@ private void updateSettingsInStep() {
         gitContext.pull(settingsPath);
         this.context.getGitContext().saveCurrentCommitId(settingsPath, this.context.getSettingsCommitIdPath());
       } else {
-        this.context.info("Skipping git pull in settings due to code repository. Use --force-pull to enforce pulling.");
+        LOG.info("Skipping git pull in settings due to code repository. Use --force-pull to enforce pulling.");
       }
     } else {
       GitUrl gitUrl = getOrAskSettingsUrl();
@@ -193,11 +198,11 @@ private GitUrl getOrAskSettingsUrl() {
     if (isCodeRepository()) {
       userPromt = "Code repository URL:";
       defaultUrl = null;
-      this.context.info(MESSAGE_CODE_REPO_URL);
+      LOG.info(MESSAGE_CODE_REPO_URL);
     } else {
       userPromt = "Settings URL [" + IdeContext.DEFAULT_SETTINGS_REPO_URL + "]:";
       defaultUrl = IdeContext.DEFAULT_SETTINGS_REPO_URL;
-      this.context.info(MESSAGE_SETTINGS_REPO_URL, this.context.getSettingsPath());
+      LOG.info(MESSAGE_SETTINGS_REPO_URL, this.context.getSettingsPath());
     }
     GitUrl gitUrl = null;
     if (repository != null) {
@@ -208,7 +213,7 @@ private GitUrl getOrAskSettingsUrl() {
       repository = handleDefaultRepository(repository);
       gitUrl = GitUrl.of(repository);
       if (!gitUrl.isValid()) {
-        this.context.warning("The input URL is not valid, please try again.");
+        LOG.warn("The input URL is not valid, please try again.");
       }
     }
     return gitUrl;
@@ -217,10 +222,10 @@ private GitUrl getOrAskSettingsUrl() {
   private String handleDefaultRepository(String repository) {
     if ("-".equals(repository)) {
       if (isCodeRepository()) {
-        this.context.warning("'-' is found after '--code'. This is invalid.");
+        LOG.warn("'-' is found after '--code'. This is invalid.");
         repository = null;
       } else {
-        this.context.info("'-' was found for settings repository, the default settings repository '{}' will be used.", IdeContext.DEFAULT_SETTINGS_REPO_URL);
+        LOG.info("'-' was found for settings repository, the default settings repository '{}' will be used.", IdeContext.DEFAULT_SETTINGS_REPO_URL);
         repository = IdeContext.DEFAULT_SETTINGS_REPO_URL;
       }
     }
@@ -275,7 +280,7 @@ private void initializeRepository(GitUrl gitUrl) {
   private void updateSoftware() {
 
     if (this.skipTools.isTrue()) {
-      this.context.info("Skipping installation/update of tools as specified by the user.");
+      LOG.info("Skipping installation/update of tools as specified by the user.");
       return;
     }
     Step step = this.context.newStep("Install or update software");
@@ -303,7 +308,7 @@ private void doUpdateSoftwareStep(Step step) {
         ToolCommandlet toolCommandlet = commandletManager.getToolCommandlet(regularTool);
         if (toolCommandlet == null) {
           String displayName = (regularTool == null || regularTool.isBlank()) ? "<empty>" : "'" + regularTool + "'";
-          this.context.error("Cannot install or update tool '{}''. No matching commandlet found. Please check your IDE_TOOLS configuration.", displayName);
+          LOG.error("Cannot install or update tool '{}''. No matching commandlet found. Please check your IDE_TOOLS configuration.", displayName);
         } else {
           toolCommandlets.add(toolCommandlet);
         }
@@ -324,7 +329,7 @@ private void doUpdateSoftwareStep(Step step) {
     ExtraTools extraTools = ExtraToolsMapper.get().loadJsonFromFolder(this.context.getSettingsPath());
     if (extraTools != null) {
       List<String> toolNames = extraTools.getSortedToolNames();
-      this.context.info("Found extra installation of the following tools: {}", toolNames);
+      LOG.info("Found extra installation of the following tools: {}", toolNames);
       for (String tool : toolNames) {
         List<ExtraToolInstallation> installations = extraTools.getExtraInstallations(tool);
         this.context.newStep("Install extra version(s) of " + tool).run(() -> installExtraToolInstallations(tool, installations));
@@ -358,9 +363,9 @@ private void updateRepositories() {
 
     if (this.skipRepositories.isTrue()) {
       if (this.forceRepositories.isTrue()) {
-        this.context.warning("Options to skip and force repositories are incompatible and should not be combined. Ignoring --force-repositories to proceed.");
+        LOG.warn("Options to skip and force repositories are incompatible and should not be combined. Ignoring --force-repositories to proceed.");
       }
-      this.context.info("Skipping setup of repositories as specified by the user.");
+      LOG.info("Skipping setup of repositories as specified by the user.");
       return;
     }
     RepositoryCommandlet repositoryCommandlet = this.context.getCommandletManager().getCommandlet(RepositoryCommandlet.class);
@@ -372,13 +377,13 @@ private void createStartScripts() {
 
     List<String> ides = IdeVariables.CREATE_START_SCRIPTS.get(this.context);
     if (ides == null) {
-      this.context.info("Variable CREATE_START_SCRIPTS is undefined - skipping start script creation.");
+      LOG.info("Variable CREATE_START_SCRIPTS is undefined - skipping start script creation.");
       return;
     }
     for (String ide : ides) {
       ToolCommandlet tool = this.context.getCommandletManager().getToolCommandlet(ide);
       if (tool == null) {
-        this.context.error("Undefined IDE '{}' configured in variable CREATE_START_SCRIPTS.");
+        LOG.error("Undefined IDE '{}' configured in variable CREATE_START_SCRIPTS.", ide);
       } else {
         createStartScript(ide);
       }
@@ -387,7 +392,7 @@ private void createStartScripts() {
 
   private void createStartScript(String ide) {
 
-    this.context.info("Creating start scripts for {}", ide);
+    LOG.info("Creating start scripts for {}", ide);
     Path workspaces = this.context.getIdeHome().resolve(IdeContext.FOLDER_WORKSPACES);
     try (Stream<Path> childStream = Files.list(workspaces)) {
       Iterator<Path> iterator = childStream.iterator();

cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/AbstractVersionOrEditionGetCommandlet.java

@@ -2,10 +2,12 @@
 
 import java.util.Objects;
 
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.cli.CliException;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.context.IdeContext;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.log.IdeLogLevel;
-import com.devonfw.tools.ide.log.IdeSubLogger;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.property.FlagProperty;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.property.ToolProperty;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.ToolCommandlet;
@@ -17,6 +19,8 @@
  */
 public abstract class AbstractVersionOrEditionGetCommandlet extends Commandlet {
 
+  private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(AbstractVersionOrEditionGetCommandlet.class);
+
   /** The tool to get the version of. */
   public final ToolProperty tool;
 
@@ -68,10 +72,10 @@ public boolean isProcessableOutput() {
   protected abstract Object getInstalledValue(ToolCommandlet commandlet);
 
   @Override
-  public void run() {
+  protected void doRun() {
 
     ToolCommandlet commandlet = this.tool.getValue();
-    IdeSubLogger logger = this.context.level(IdeLogLevel.PROCESSABLE);
+    IdeLogLevel level = IdeLogLevel.PROCESSABLE;
     Object configuredValue = getConfiguredValue(commandlet);
     Object installedValue = getInstalledValue(commandlet);
     boolean getInstalledValue = this.installed.isTrue();
@@ -81,42 +85,43 @@ public void run() {
     }
     if (getInstalledValue == getConfiguredValue) {
       if (getInstalledValue) { // both --configured and --installed
-        logToolInfo(logger, commandlet, configuredValue, installedValue);
-      } else if (this.context.debug().isEnabled()) {
-        logToolInfo(logger, commandlet, configuredValue, installedValue);
+        logToolInfo(commandlet, configuredValue, installedValue);
+      } else if (LOG.isDebugEnabled()) {
+        logToolInfo(commandlet, configuredValue, installedValue);
       } else {
         if (installedValue == null) {
-          logger.log(configuredValue.toString());
+          level.log(LOG, configuredValue.toString());
         } else {
-          logger.log(installedValue.toString());
+          level.log(LOG, installedValue.toString());
         }
       }
     } else {
       if (getInstalledValue) {
         if (installedValue == null) {
-          logToolInfo(logger, commandlet, configuredValue, null);
+          logToolInfo(commandlet, configuredValue, null);
         } else {
-          logger.log(installedValue.toString());
+          level.log(LOG, installedValue.toString());
         }
       } else {
-        logger.log(configuredValue.toString());
+        level.log(LOG, configuredValue.toString());
       }
     }
   }
 
-  private void logToolInfo(IdeSubLogger logger, ToolCommandlet commandlet, Object configuredValue, Object installedValue) {
+  private void logToolInfo(ToolCommandlet commandlet, Object configuredValue, Object installedValue) {
 
     String property = getPropertyToGet();
     String toolName = commandlet.getName();
+    IdeLogLevel level = IdeLogLevel.PROCESSABLE;
     if (installedValue == null) {
-      logger.log("No installation of tool {} was found.", toolName);
+      level.log(LOG, "No installation of tool {} was found.", toolName);
     } else {
-      logger.log("The installed {} for tool {} is {}", property, toolName, installedValue);
+      level.log(LOG, "The installed {} for tool {} is {}", property, toolName, installedValue);
     }
-    logger.log("The configured {} for tool {} is {}", property, toolName, configuredValue);
+    level.log(LOG, "The configured {} for tool {} is {}", property, toolName, configuredValue);
     if (!Objects.equals(configuredValue, installedValue)) {
-      logger.log("To install the configured {} call the following command:", property);
-      logger.log("ide install {}", toolName);
+      level.log(LOG, "To install the configured {} call the following command:", property);
+      level.log(LOG, "ide install {}", toolName);
     }
   }
 

cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java

@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ public String getName() {
   }
 
   @Override
-  public void run() {
+  protected void doRun() {
 
     Path buildPath = this.context.getCwd();