Custom Logging with ResponseStatusExceptionResolver in Spring Boot

Learn how to customize `ResponseStatusExceptionResolver` in Spring Boot to control logging behavior without losing important logs.
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Custom Logging with ResponseStatusExceptionResolver in Spring Boot

When working with APIs in Spring Boot, handling exceptions gracefully is crucial for providing a smooth user experience. However, as your application grows and the number of exceptions increases, excessive logging can clutter your console and make it challenging to identify critical issues. One common scenario is when a requested entity is not found. In these cases, there's a need to prevent unnecessary logging without losing track of other significant exceptions.

In this guide, we will explore how to customize logging behavior for specific exceptions in Spring Boot by overriding the ResponseStatusExceptionResolver. Let’s take a closer look at how we can achieve this.

Understanding the Problem

When making requests to your API, such as GET /api/entity/100, you may encounter exceptions like EntityNotFoundException when the requested entity does not exist. By default, Spring Boot logs these exceptions, resulting in a cluttered console:

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While it’s important to be aware of such issues, logging every occurrence indiscriminately can lead to overwhelming and unhelpful log files. Instead of entirely disabling the logging of ResponseStatusExceptionResolver, which would suppress all logging—including potentially useful ones such as AccessDeniedException—a more tailored approach is warranted.

Solution Overview

To selectively control the logging of specific exceptions, we can extend the ResponseStatusExceptionResolver class and override its logException() method. This way, we can skip logging for specific exceptions, such as EntityNotFoundException, while still retaining the logging for others.

Step-by-Step Implementation

Let’s walk through the steps necessary to implement this solution.

Step 1: Create a Custom Exception Resolver

First, create a new class that extends ResponseStatusExceptionResolver and override the logException() method:

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In this code:

We check if the exception is an instance of EntityNotFoundException.

If it is, we simply return without logging it.

For all other exceptions, we call the parent's logException method to maintain the original logging behavior.

Step 2: Configure the Custom Resolver

Next, configure Spring to use this custom resolver by creating a configuration class:

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In the configuration:

We create an instance of MyResponseStatusExceptionResolver.

We set necessary logging attributes such as the message source and warning log category.

Importantly, we add our custom resolver at the beginning of the existing resolver list, ensuring it handles exceptions first.

Important Considerations

Logging Level: Ensure the logging level for your custom resolver is set to WARN to maintain the intended logging behavior.

Testing: After implementing the custom logging, test various scenarios to ensure that the exceptions are logged appropriately based on your specifications.

Conclusion

By customizing the ResponseStatusExceptionResolver, you can significantly improve the quality of your logs while keeping track of important errors. This selective logging approach allows developers to avoid the noise of unimportant stack traces while maintaining visibility on critical exceptions.

Implementing a clear and thoughtful logging strategy will lead to better maintenance and debugging experiences as your Spring Boot application grows. Now that you have the tools to control logging behavior in Spring Boot, you can keep your logs clean and useful.