@metreeca/tape

Simplified facade for the LogTape logging framework.

@metreeca/tape provides an opinionated, easy-to-use logging facade for TypeScript/JavaScript applications. It streamlines LogTape configuration with automatic zero-code logger setup for local codebase modules and built-in error handling for safe function execution. Key features include:

• Simplified Configuration: sensible defaults with easy level management
• Hierarchical Categories: automatic category derivation from import.meta.url
• Zero-Code Setup: auto-configures console logging for internal project modules
• Function Guarding: automatic error logging with safe fallback to undefined
• Task Timing: elapsed-time monitoring for synchronous and asynchronous tasks
• Value Reporting: readable value formatting, with invisible characters surfaced as escapes

Installation

npm install @metreeca/tape
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Usage

Every logger is identified by a category, that is, a path locating the emitting module inside LogTape's hierarchical category system. @metreeca/tape derives categories automatically from import.meta.url: internal project modules are rooted at "/", modules loaded from node_modules/ at their package name.

Categories are written either as arrays, when looking up loggers, or in label form, when configuring levels: "/" for all internal code, "/module" for a specific internal module, "lodash" for a non-scoped package, and "@scope/name" for a scoped one.

Configuring LogTape

Configure logging levels using simple category-to-LogLevel mappings.

Keys are category labels, with a trailing / targeting the index module specifically (for instance, "/name/" matches only src/name/index.ts). Values are type-safe LogLevel strings ("trace", "debug", "info", "warning", "error", "fatal"):

import { log } from '@metreeca/tape';

log({
	"/": "info",               // All internal code
	"/utils": "debug",         // Specific internal module
	"lodash": "trace",         // Specific non-scoped package
	"@metreeca/flow": "debug"  // Specific scoped package
});
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For advanced use cases, pass a complete LogTape Config object:

import { getFileSink } from '@logtape/file';
import { getConsoleSink, log } from '@metreeca/tape';

log({
	sinks: {
		console: getConsoleSink(),
		file: getFileSink("app.log")
	},
	loggers: [
		{
			category: ["/"],
			lowestLevel: "debug",
			sinks: ["console", "file"]
		}
	]
});
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The file sink lives in the separate @logtape/file package; only LogTape's core exports are re-exported by @metreeca/tape.

Both configuration forms are idempotent: repeated calls with a deep-equal configuration are silently accepted, while applying a different configuration throws unless the full Config form is used with reset set to true.

Getting Loggers

Retrieve logger instances for different scopes.

Category arrays are generated from import.meta.url, distinguishing between internal project code and external dependencies:

• Internal modules (project code):

  • First segment is "/", followed by the package directory and the path after src/ (e.g., ["/", "project", "utils", "helper"])
  • The package directory (the folder enclosing src/) keeps sibling packages in a monorepo distinct
  • Auto-configures console logging at "info" level on first use

• External modules (from node_modules/):

  • Non-scoped packages: bare package name (e.g., ["lodash", "map"])
  • Scoped packages: scope + name (e.g., ["@metreeca", "flow", "feeds"])
  • Skips build directories (dist, lib, build, out)

File Path	Category
file:///project/src/utils/logger.ts	["/", "project", "utils", "logger"]
file:///project/src/utils/index.ts	["/", "project", "utils", "index"]
node_modules/lodash/map.js	["lodash", "map"]
node_modules/@metreeca/flow/dist/index.js	["@metreeca", "flow", "index"]

"index" is preserved as an explicit segment so that name.ts and name/index.ts resolve to distinct categories (["/", "project", "name"] vs ["/", "project", "name", "index"]). LogTape's hierarchical matching means a filter at /project/name or @metreeca/flow still applies to nested index loggers.

import { log } from '@metreeca/tape';

// Get logger for current module (auto-configures console logging on first use)

const logger = log(import.meta.url);

logger.info("Application started");
logger.debug("Processing request", { id: 123 });
logger.error("Failed to connect", error);

// Use category arrays directly for more control

const custom = log(["/", "custom", "category"]);

custom.info("Message from custom category");

// Access the root logger without any category

const root = log();

root.info("Message from root logger");
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Guarding Functions

Wrap functions with automatic error logging and safe fallback to undefined:

// Wrap async functions

const safeOperation = log(async (data: string) => {
	return await riskyOperation(data); // This might throw
});

// Returns undefined if error occurs, logs error automatically

const result = await safeOperation("input");

// Also works with synchronous functions

const safeParse = log((json: string) => JSON.parse(json));

const data = safeParse("invalid json"); // Returns undefined, logs error
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Timing Tasks

Measure the execution time of synchronous or asynchronous tasks, reporting the result value and the elapsed milliseconds to a monitor callback:

import { log, time } from '@metreeca/tape';

const logger = log(import.meta.url);

// Async tasks are timed until the promise resolves

const users = await time(
	() => fetchUsers(),
	(value, elapsed) => logger.info(`fetched ${value.length} users in ${elapsed} ms`)
);

// Sync tasks are timed until the call returns

const summary = time(
	() => render(users),
	(value, elapsed) => logger.debug(`rendered summary in ${elapsed} ms`)
);
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The task's return value is passed through unchanged. Errors propagate to the caller and the monitor is not invoked.

Reporting Values

Format values for inclusion in log messages, bounding their extent and surfacing the characters that wouldn't otherwise be visible in the log:

import { log, report } from '@metreeca/tape';

const logger = log(import.meta.url);

// Numbers are formatted with grouped digits

logger.info(`imported ${report(1234567)} records`); // imported 1,234,567 records

// Strings are quoted, bounding whitespace and surfacing invisible characters as escapes

logger.warning(`unknown tag ${report("tag\n")}`); // unknown tag "tag\n"

// Overlong content is clipped to a maximum number of code points

logger.debug(`request body ${report(body, 40)}`);

// Errors are reported through their message

logger.error(`import failed / ${report(error)}`); // import failed / connection refused

// Functions are reported through their name

logger.debug(`retrying ${report(fetchUsers)}`); // retrying fetchUsers()
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Numbers are formatted with grouped digits, strings are reported as quoted literals, errors through their message, functions through their name, and any other value through its string representation.

Digit grouping follows the en-US locale, whatever the ambient locale, so that reports of the same value are comparable across systems.

Quotation marks bound leading and trailing whitespace, so the extent of the reported string content is unambiguous. Every character that would otherwise close the literal or reach the log without a visible glyph of its own is escaped, so that nothing in the content can hide or corrupt it: escapes take the two-character JSON form where one is defined (\", \\, \b, \f, \n, \r, \t) and the \uXXXX / \UXXXXXXXX numeric form otherwise. Characters that render as part of a neighbouring glyph, like the combining marks and the variation selectors, are reported as they are.

The optional length argument clips overlong string content to a maximum number of code points, counted before escaping, replacing the last retained one with an ellipsis.

Error messages are reported without the class name their string representation would prefix them with, as the level and the context of the log entry already state that a failure is being reported. They are reported as they are, neither delimited, escaped nor clipped: report the offending values separately where their extent or their invisible content matters.

Functions are reported through their name followed by an empty argument list, classes and other callable values included, rather than through the source text their string representation would expose. Names are reported as they are, neither escaped nor clipped; anonymous functions take the function keyword in place of a name and are reported as function().

Support

• open an issue to report a problem or to suggest a new feature
• start a discussion to ask a how-to question or to share an idea

License

This project is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License – see LICENSE file for details.