Log4j failing to send an email when logging an error

Question

I enabled logging in my application, and I want to send logs error by email (gmail account). I:

1. Set up a java project
2. add activation.jar , log4j.java and mail.jar (java mail)
3. I added those libraries to the project class path
4. I added log4j.properties and I configured it like this :

log4j.rootLogger= mainlogger, Email, dest
log4j.appender.mainlogger=org.apache.log4j.ConsoleAppender
log4j.appender.mainlogger.target=System.out
log4j.appender.mainlogger.layout=org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
log4j.appender.mainlogger.layout.ConversionPattern=%d{dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss,SSS} %p %-4r [%t] %-5p %c %x - %m%n
log4j.appender.dest=org.apache.log4j.FileAppender
log4j.appender.dest.File=log.log
log4j.appender.dest.layout=org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
log4j.appender.dest.layout.ConversionPattern=%d{dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss,SSS} %p %-4r [%t] %-5p %c %x - %m%n

Configuring the SMTP appender

log4j.appender.Email=org.apache.log4j.net.SMTPAppender
log4j.appender.Email.BufferSize=512
log4j.appender.Email.Threshold=ERROR
log4j.appender.Email.SMTPHost=smtp.gmail.com
log4j.appender.Email.SMTPUsername=myusername
log4j.appender.Email.SMTPPassword=mypassword
[email protected] 
[email protected]
log4j.appender.Email.Subject=Error Report
log4j.appender.Email.layout=org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
log4j.appender.Email.layout.ConversionPattern=%d [%t] %-5p %c %x - %m%n

There is nothing that happened no email sent and no error shown , and I do not understand why, Please any idea about that topic ???

Answer 1

The SMTP Appender provided by Log4J does not setup the necessary parameters to support GMail by default. It does not issue the STARTTLS command to initiate a SMTP session. You could rectify this by:

• Either writing your own appender to support sending of messages to the GMail SMTP server.
• Or, by using the Log4j SMTP Appender for Gmail. Disclaimer: I haven't used this project.

Answer 2

Here is a example : (because I tried very hard for a few days,now its works)

the trick is : log4j.appender.gmail.SMTPProtocol=smtps

> log4j.rootLogger= ERROR,gmail
> log4j.appender.gmail=org.apache.log4j.net.SMTPAppender
> log4j.appender.gmail.SMTPProtocol=smtps         
> [email protected]
> log4j.appender.gmail.SMTPPassword=Your gmail password
> log4j.appender.gmail.threshold=error
> log4j.appender.gmail.SMTPHost=smtp.gmail.com
> log4j.appender.gmail.SMTPPort=465
> log4j.appender.gmail.smtp.starttls.enable=true
> log4j.appender.gmail.Subject=Logging Message via Gmail
> [email protected]
> [email protected]
> log4j.appender.gmail.layout=org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
> log4j.appender.gmail.layout.ConversionPattern=%d{MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm:ss}[%M] %-5p %C - %m%n 
>log4j.appender.gmail.BufferSize=5

Answer 3

I faced the same problem with connecting to GMail SMTP server and now I have resolved it. The following piece of Code I used to send email with Log4j.properties file setting.

I am using the Log4j.1.2.16 version with JDK1.6

Please find below the steps to resolve the problem:

First step initialize the System.getProperties(key,value). To connect to GMail, you have to make the following code changes

static
{
     System.setProperty("mail.smtp.auth", "true");
     System.setProperty("mail.smtp.socketFactory.port", "465");
     System.setProperty("mail.smtp.socketFactory.class", "javax.net.ssl.SSLSocketFactory");
     System.setProperty("mail.smtp.socketFactory.fallback", "false");
     System.setProperty("mail.smtp.user","[email protected]");
     System.setProperty("mail.smtp.starttls.enable","true");
     System.setProperty("mail.transport.protocol", "smtp");
     System.setProperty("mail.smtp.starttls.enable", "true");
     System.setProperty("mail.smtp.host", "smtp.gmail.com");
     System.setProperty("mail.smtp.port", "465");
     System.setProperty("mail.smtp.quitwait", "false");
}

Second see the log4j.properties file setting:

    log4j.rootLogger=DEBUG, FILE, email
    log4j.appender.FILE=org.apache.log4j.RollingFileAppender
    log4j.appender.FILE.maxFileSize=8192KB
    log4j.appender.FILE.maxBackupIndex=5
    log4j.appender.FILE.File=xxx.log
    log4j.appender.FILE.layout=org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
    log4j.appender.FILE.layout.conversionPattern=%d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSS} [%p] %t %c:%L - %m%n
    log4j.appender.email=org.apache.log4j.net.SMTPAppender
    log4j.appender.email.SMTPHost=smtp.gmail.com
    log4j.appender.email.SMTPPort=465
    [email protected]
    log4j.appender.email.SMTPPassword=xyz1234
    [email protected]
    [email protected]
    log4j.appender.email.Subject=Error Alert
    log4j.appender.email.layout=org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
    log4j.appender.email.layout.ConversionPattern=%d [%t] %-5p %c %x - %m%n
    log4j.appender.email.BufferSize=10
    log4j.appender.email.Threshold=ERROR

After doing all the changes at code level as well as at log4j.properties settings, I started getting emails.

Let me know if someone have a better way to doing this.

Answer 4

Not entirely answering your original question, but Logback seems to support GMail out of the box:

<appender name="EMAIL" class="ch.qos.logback.classic.net.SMTPAppender">
    <smtpHost>smtp.gmail.com</smtpHost>
    <smtpPort>465</smtpPort>
    <ssl>true</ssl>
    <username>[email protected]</username>
    <password>YOUR_GMAIL_PASSWORD</password>

    <to>EMAIL-DESTINATION</to>
    <to>ANOTHER_EMAIL_DESTINATION</to> <!-- additional destinations are possible -->
    <from>[email protected]</from>
    <subject>TESTING: %logger{20} - %m</subject>
    <layout class="ch.qos.logback.classic.PatternLayout">
      <pattern>%date %-5level %logger{35} - %message%n</pattern>
    </layout>       
  </appender>

From: Chapter 4: Appenders of Logback documentation.

Answer 5

Your code have some problems:

instead of

System.getProperty("mail.smtp.user","[email protected]");
System.getProperty("mail.smtp.starttls.enable","true");

It should go

 System.setProperty("mail.smtp.user","[email protected]");
 System.setProperty("mail.smtp.starttls.enable","true");

Answer 6

I am using the below log4j  configuration . But There is nothing that happened no email sent and no error shown , and I do not understand why, Please any idea about that topic ???

I am using jdk 1.8 and log4j-1.2.17.jar , activation.jar, java-mail-1.4.jar,mail-api-1-3-1.jar,slf4j-api-1.7.1.jar...



    log4j.appender.MAIL=org.apache.log4j.net.SMTPAppender
log4j.appender.MAIL.SMTPProtocol=smtps
[email protected]
log4j.appender.MAIL.SMTPPassword=password
log4j.appender.MAIL.threshold=error
log4j.appender.MAIL.SMTPHost=smtp.gmail.com
log4j.appender.MAIL.SMTPPort=465
log4j.appender.MAIL.smtp.starttls.enable=true
log4j.appender.MAIL.Subject=Error Alert on server
[email protected]
[email protected]
log4j.appender.MAIL.layout=org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
log4j.appender.MAIL.layout.ConversionPattern=[%d{ISO8601}]%n%n%-5p%n%n%c%n%n%m%n%n`enter code here`
log4j.appender.MAIL.BufferSize=5
log4j.appender.MAIL.LevelRangeFilter.LevelMin=error
log4j.appender.MAIL.LevelRangeFilter.LevelMax=fatal
log4j.appender.MAIL.smtp.auth=true