feat: add UTC timestamps to all console log entries#3709
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JerryNixon with Copilot wants to merge 3 commits into
Open
feat: add UTC timestamps to all console log entries#3709JerryNixon with Copilot wants to merge 3 commits into
JerryNixon with Copilot wants to merge 3 commits into
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Copilot
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changed the title
[WIP] Add timestamp to logs for better tracking
feat: add UTC timestamps to all console log entries
Jul 8, 2026
JerryNixon
requested review from
Alekhya-Polavarapu,
Aniruddh25,
RubenCerna2079,
aaronburtle,
anushakolan,
rusamant,
sourabh1007,
souvikghosh04,
stuartpa and
vadeveka
as code owners
JerryNixon
approved these changes
Jul 8, 2026
JerryNixon
added
cli
telemetry
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Pull request overview
This PR aims to make console logs easier to correlate by prepending an ISO 8601 UTC timestamp (millisecond precision) to console output emitted by both the Service host and the CLI custom logger.
Changes:
- Updated Service logging to use the console “simple” formatter with UTC timestamp settings (including MCP stdio stderr routing for the startup logger factory).
- Updated the CLI custom console logger to prepend a UTC timestamp before the abbreviated log level label.
- Adjusted CLI unit tests for the new timestamp-prefixed output (but the updated assertion is now too permissive).
Reviewed changes
Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| src/Service/Program.cs | Switches console logging to include UTC timestamps; MCP stdio path continues to keep stdout clean. |
| src/Cli/CustomLoggerProvider.cs | Prepends UTC timestamps to CLI log prefixes for both standard and MCP stdio modes. |
| src/Cli.Tests/CustomLoggerTests.cs | Updates assertions to account for timestamps in log output. |
| // Apply colors so the abbreviation matches the visual style of engine logs. | ||
| // try/finally guarantees the original colors are restored even if Write throws, | ||
| // otherwise the console would be left tinted (e.g. red on error) for subsequent output. | ||
| string mcpTimestamp = DateTime.UtcNow.ToString(UtcTimestampFormat); |
| } | ||
|
|
||
| TextWriter writer = logLevel >= LogLevel.Error ? Console.Error : Console.Out; | ||
| string timestamp = DateTime.UtcNow.ToString(UtcTimestampFormat); |
Comment on lines
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to
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| Assert.IsTrue(actual.Contains(expectedPrefix), | ||
| $"Expected output to contain '{expectedPrefix}' but got: '{actual}'"); |
Comment on lines
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| logging.AddSimpleConsole(options => | ||
| { | ||
| options.TimestampFormat = "yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.fff'Z' "; | ||
| options.UseUtcTimestamp = true; | ||
| }); |
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Why make this change?
Console log output lacks timestamps, making it difficult to correlate events or determine when entries occurred — especially under high request volume.
What is this change?
Prepends an ISO 8601 UTC timestamp with millisecond precision to every console log entry:
src/Service/Program.cs— ReplacesAddConsole()withAddSimpleConsole(TimestampFormat, UseUtcTimestamp)in bothGetLoggerFactoryForLogLevel(startup logger) andCreateHostBuilder.ConfigureLogging(web host logger). MCP stdio path additionally usesServices.Configure<ConsoleLoggerOptions>for stderr routing, keeping a single registered provider.src/Cli/CustomLoggerProvider.cs— PrependsDateTime.UtcNow.ToString(UtcTimestampFormat)before the abbreviated level label in the CLI's custom console logger (both standard and MCP stdio paths). Timestamp format extracted to a named constant.src/Cli.Tests/CustomLoggerTests.cs— UpdatesLogOutput_UsesAbbreviatedLogLevelLabelsassertion fromStartsWithtoContainssince the timestamp now precedes the level label.How was this tested?
Sample Request(s)
No REST/GraphQL/CLI request changes — output-only behavioral change visible when running
dab start.