Logging in Selenium Tests with Log4j

Using Log4j for logging in Selenium tests helps you track test execution flow, debug failures, and maintain detailed test reports. Log4j is a popular Java-based logging framework that integrates well with Selenium and test frameworks like TestNG or JUnit.

✅ Step-by-Step Guide to Using Log4j in Selenium Tests

1. Add Log4j Dependencies

If you use Maven, add Log4j dependencies to your pom.xml:

xml

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<dependencies>

    <!-- Selenium -->

    <dependency>

        <groupId>org.seleniumhq.selenium</groupId>

        <artifactId>selenium-java</artifactId>

        <version>4.x.x</version>

    </dependency>

    <!-- Log4j 2 -->

    <dependency>

        <groupId>org.apache.logging.log4j</groupId>

        <artifactId>log4j-api</artifactId>

        <version>2.20.0</version>

    </dependency>

    <dependency>

        <groupId>org.apache.logging.log4j</groupId>

        <artifactId>log4j-core</artifactId>

        <version>2.20.0</version>

    </dependency>

</dependencies>

2. Create Log4j2 Configuration File (log4j2.xml)

Place this file under src/main/resources or src/test/resources.

xml

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<Configuration status="WARN">

  <Appenders>

    <Console name="Console" target="SYSTEM_OUT">

      <PatternLayout pattern="%d{HH:mm:ss.SSS} [%t] %-5level %logger{36} - %msg%n"/>

    </Console>

    <File name="FileLogger" fileName="logs/selenium-tests.log" append="true">

      <PatternLayout pattern="%d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss} %-5p %c{1}:%L - %m%n"/>

    </File>

  </Appenders>

  <Loggers>

    <Root level="info">

      <AppenderRef ref="Console"/>

      <AppenderRef ref="FileLogger"/>

    </Root>

  </Loggers>

</Configuration>

This config logs to console and a file named selenium-tests.log.

Logs include timestamps, thread info, log level, class, line number, and message.

3. Initialize Logger in Your Test Class

java

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import org.apache.logging.log4j.LogManager;

import org.apache.logging.log4j.Logger;

import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;

import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;

import org.testng.annotations.AfterClass;

import org.testng.annotations.BeforeClass;

import org.testng.annotations.Test;

public class GoogleSearchTest {

    private static final Logger logger = LogManager.getLogger(GoogleSearchTest.class);

    private WebDriver driver;

    @BeforeClass

    public void setup() {

        logger.info("Starting browser setup");

        driver = new ChromeDriver();

        logger.info("ChromeDriver initialized");

    }

    @Test

    public void testGoogleSearch() {

        logger.info("Navigating to Google");

        driver.get("https://www.google.com");

        logger.info("Page title: " + driver.getTitle());

        assert driver.getTitle().contains("Google");

        logger.info("Test completed successfully");

    }

    @AfterClass

    public void teardown() {

        if (driver != null) {

            logger.info("Closing browser");

            driver.quit();

        }

    }

}

4. Run Tests and Check Logs

Console output will show logs.

Detailed logs will be saved in logs/selenium-tests.log.

📝 Tips for Effective Logging

Use appropriate log levels:

logger.info() for general info

logger.debug() for detailed debugging

logger.error() for errors and exceptions

Log important actions: navigation, clicks, inputs, validations.

Log exceptions with stack traces using logger.error("message", exception).

Rotate or archive log files in production environments.

✅ Summary

Step Purpose

Add Log4j dependencies Include logging framework

Configure log4j2.xml Define log format and output targets

Initialize logger Use logger in Selenium test code

Add log statements Track test flow and issues

Learn Selenium JAVA Training in Hyderabad

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Creating a Selenium Framework from Scratch Using Java and TestNG

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