Logging with Winston or Pino in NestJS

Introduction

Logging helps you see what your app is doing. Winston and Pino are tools that make logging easy and organized.

You want to track errors in your NestJS app.

You need to record important events for debugging.

You want to save logs to files or external services.

You want fast and structured logs for better analysis.

You want to customize log formats and levels.

Syntax

NestJS

import { LoggerModule } from 'nestjs-pino';

@Module({
  imports: [
    LoggerModule.forRoot({
      pinoHttp: {
        level: 'info',
        prettyPrint: true
      },
    }),
  ],
})
export class AppModule {}

Use LoggerModule.forRoot() to set up Pino logging in NestJS.

You can change level to control log detail (e.g., 'error', 'debug').

Examples

Example of setting up Winston with console logging at debug level.

NestJS

import { WinstonModule } from 'nest-winston';
import * as winston from 'winston';

@Module({
  imports: [
    WinstonModule.forRoot({
      transports: [
        new winston.transports.Console({ level: 'debug' }),
      ],
    }),
  ],
})
export class AppModule {}

Using NestJS built-in Logger with custom context.

NestJS

import { Logger } from '@nestjs/common';

const logger = new Logger('MyService');
logger.log('This is an info message');
logger.error('This is an error message');

Pino setup that hides sensitive data like authorization headers.

NestJS

import { LoggerModule } from 'nestjs-pino';

@Module({
  imports: [
    LoggerModule.forRoot({
      pinoHttp: {
        level: 'error',
        redact: ['req.headers.authorization'],
      },
    }),
  ],
})
export class AppModule {}

Sample Program

This NestJS app uses Pino for logging. When you call the root URL, it logs an info message and returns 'Hello World!'.

NestJS

import { Module, Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
import { LoggerModule } from 'nestjs-pino';
import { Controller, Get } from '@nestjs/common';
import { Logger as PinoLogger } from 'nestjs-pino';

@Injectable()
class AppService {
  constructor(private readonly logger: PinoLogger) {}

  getHello(): string {
    this.logger.info('Hello endpoint was called');
    return 'Hello World!';
  }
}

@Controller()
class AppController {
  constructor(private readonly appService: AppService) {}

  @Get()
  getHello(): string {
    return this.appService.getHello();
  }
}

@Module({
  imports: [
    LoggerModule.forRoot({
      pinoHttp: {
        level: 'info',
        prettyPrint: true
      },
    }),
  ],
  controllers: [AppController],
  providers: [AppService],
})
export class AppModule {}

Important Notes

Winston is very flexible and supports many transports (console, files, remote servers).

Pino is very fast and produces JSON logs by default, good for machines to read.

Always avoid logging sensitive data like passwords or tokens.

Summary

Logging helps track app behavior and errors.

Winston and Pino are popular logging tools in NestJS.

Choose Winston for flexibility, Pino for speed and structured logs.

Practice

1.

What is the main purpose of using Winston or Pino in a NestJS application?

easy

A. To handle HTTP requests and responses

B. To log application events and errors for monitoring and debugging

C. To manage database connections efficiently

D. To compile TypeScript code into JavaScript

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand logging role

   Logging tools like Winston or Pino record app events and errors to help developers monitor and debug the app.

2. Step 2: Identify unrelated options

   Database management, HTTP handling, and code compilation are unrelated to logging.

3. Final Answer:

   To log application events and errors for monitoring and debugging -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Logging = Monitoring and debugging [OK]

Hint: Logging tools track app events and errors [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing logging with database or HTTP handling
• Thinking logging compiles code
• Assuming logging manages app logic

2.

Which of the following is the correct way to import and use Logger from @nestjs/common for basic logging?

?

easy

A. import { Logger } from '@nestjs/common'; const logger = new Logger('App'); logger.log('App started');

B. import Logger from 'nestjs'; const logger = Logger(); logger.log('App started');

C. const Logger = require('@nestjs/common'); const logger = new Logger(); logger.info('App started');

D. import { Logger } from 'winston'; const logger = new Logger(); logger.log('App started');

Solution

1. Step 1: Check correct import syntax

   Correct import is from '@nestjs/common' using named import: import { Logger } from '@nestjs/common';

2. Step 2: Verify usage

   Logger is instantiated with a context string, then log method is called. import { Logger } from '@nestjs/common'; const logger = new Logger('App'); logger.log('App started'); matches this.

3. Final Answer:

   import { Logger } from '@nestjs/common'; const logger = new Logger('App'); logger.log('App started'); -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Correct import and usage = import { Logger } from '@nestjs/common'; const logger = new Logger('App'); logger.log('App started'); [OK]

Hint: Use named import from '@nestjs/common' for Logger [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using default import instead of named import
• Calling wrong method like info instead of log
• Importing Logger from wrong package

3.

Given this NestJS code using Pino logger, what will be the output in the console?

import { Logger } from 'nestjs-pino';
const logger = new Logger();
logger.info('Server started');
logger.error('Failed to connect');

medium

A. {"level":30,"msg":"Server started"} followed by {"level":50,"msg":"Failed to connect"}

B. Plain text logs: 'Server started' and 'Failed to connect' without JSON

C. SyntaxError due to missing import from '@nestjs/common'

D. No output because logger is not instantiated correctly

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand Pino output format

   Pino logs output JSON strings with level numbers (30=info, 50=error) and message keys.

2. Step 2: Analyze code behavior

   Logger instance calls info and error methods, producing JSON logs with messages.

3. Final Answer:

   {"level":30,"msg":"Server started"} followed by {"level":50,"msg":"Failed to connect"} -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Pino logs JSON with level and msg [OK]

Hint: Pino logs JSON with level numbers and message keys [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting plain text logs instead of JSON
• Confusing Pino with NestJS Logger
• Assuming no output due to import confusion

4.

Identify the error in this NestJS Winston logger setup:

import { WinstonModule } from 'nest-winston';
import * as winston from 'winston';

const logger = WinstonModule.forRoot({
  transports: [
    new winston.transports.Console({ level: 'info' })
  ]
});

logger.error('Error occurred');

medium

A. Incorrect transport name; should be winston.Console instead of winston.transports.Console

B. Missing import of Logger from '@nestjs/common'

C. The logger instance does not have an error method directly; it returns a module, not a logger

D. Level 'info' is invalid for Console transport

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand WinstonModule.forRoot return

   This method returns a NestJS module, not a direct logger instance with methods like error.

2. Step 2: Identify correct usage

   To log, you must inject the logger service or use winston.createLogger directly, not call error on the module.

3. Final Answer:

   The logger instance does not have an error method directly; it returns a module, not a logger -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   WinstonModule.forRoot returns module, not logger instance [OK]

Hint: WinstonModule.forRoot returns module, not logger instance [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Calling error method on module instead of logger instance
• Confusing transport names
• Assuming level 'info' is invalid

5.

You want to configure NestJS to use Pino for logging with JSON output and also log HTTP requests. Which setup is correct?

?

hard

A. import * as pino from 'pino';

const logger = pino({ prettyPrint: true });
logger.info('HTTP request logged');

B. import { WinstonModule } from 'nest-winston';

WinstonModule.forRoot({
transports: [new winston.transports.File({ filename: 'log.json' })]
});

C. import { Logger } from '@nestjs/common';

const logger = new Logger();
logger.log('HTTP request logged');

D. import { LoggerModule } from 'nestjs-pino';

LoggerModule.forRoot({
pinoHttp: {
level: 'info'
}
});

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify Pino module usage in NestJS

   Use LoggerModule from 'nestjs-pino' with forRoot and pinoHttp config for HTTP logging and JSON output.

2. Step 2: Check options for JSON and pretty printing

   import { LoggerModule } from 'nestjs-pino'; LoggerModule.forRoot({ pinoHttp: { level: 'info' } }); configures nestjs-pino LoggerModule with pinoHttp for HTTP request logging at info level, producing JSON output by default, matching requirements.

3. Final Answer:

   import { LoggerModule } from 'nestjs-pino'; LoggerModule.forRoot({ pinoHttp: { level: 'info' } }); -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   nestjs-pino with pinoHttp config = import { LoggerModule } from 'nestjs-pino'; LoggerModule.forRoot({ pinoHttp: { level: 'info' } }); [OK]

Hint: Use nestjs-pino LoggerModule with pinoHttp config for HTTP logs [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using WinstonModule instead of nestjs-pino for Pino logging
• Using Logger from '@nestjs/common' for HTTP logs
• Using pino directly without NestJS integration