console_logger

console_logger is a small, dependency free C++ logging library with ANSI color support. It's designed to be an include-and-use logger that helps to create uniform output for you and your users. No objects are created, meaning that logging is as simple as:

logger::input("Please enter a file path");
logger::info("File created successfuly!");

No global state and no configuration to get started.

Documentation

Requirements

• C++17 or newer
• CMake ≥ 3.2
• ANSI-capable terminal (using the logger::init() function will set up the terminal for colors or disable them if the terminal does not support colors)

Installation

Option 1: Install system-wide with Cmake

gh repo clone BroDudeGuyMan/console_logger
cd console_logger
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
cmake --build .
sudo cmake --install .

This installs:

• headers to /usr/local/include
• the library to /usr/local/lib
• CMake config files to /usr/local/lib/cmake/console_logger

Option 2: Use as a subproject.

Add it to your project:

git submodule add https://github.con/BroDudeGuyMan/console_logger.git

Then in CMakeLists.txt

add_subdirectory(external/console_logger)
target_Link_libraries(<your_target> console_logger::console_logger)

Option 3: Use CMake FetchContent (My favorite)

This option is nice, because CMake will bring it locally into the project directory, and you can specify versions of specific dependencies.

include(FetchContent)

FetchContent_Declare(
        console_logger
        GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/BroDudeGuyMan/console_logger.git
        GIT_TAG v1.0.3
        # See releases page for version tags you can use.
)

You can then link the library as usual:

target_link_libraries(<your_target>
        PRIVATE
         console_logger
)

ANSI Color Support on Windows

The logger by default will use colors, and Linux machines should have no issues with colors. Windows command prompts may have issues with ANSI codes, so using logger::init() may be useful. It will check whether the current Windows command prompt has support for colors, and if not will disable them.

Usage with CMake (find_package)

After installation:

find_package(console_logger REQUIRED)
target_link_libraries(<your_target> PRIVATE console_logger::console_logger)

You do not need to manually add include directories.

Usage in Code

Include the header:

#include <console_logger/console_logger.hpp>

Log from anywhere:

logger::info("Application started");
logger::warning("Low memory");
logger::error("Failed to open file");

ANSI color support

• Colors are enabled by default on Linux and MacOS
• Windows has patchy support
• `logger::init()' automatically detects color support for terminals and is safe to call on all platforms.
• Colors are autamatically disabled if support is not detected
• Colors remain on if supported by the console

Guaranteed Behavior

• Never prints raw ANSI codes when color is disabled
• Never fails if colors are not supported
• Never requires global objects or macros
• Safe for projects of any kind: other libraries, tools, and small utilities