Overview

This project is designed as a learning exercise to understand how logging works in Django applications. It includes:

Simple DRF endpoints

Custom middleware that logs:

HTTP request method and path

Response status code

Request duration in milliseconds

The goal is to demonstrate how to capture, format, and view logs in a Django project.

Features

Minimal DRF API endpoint (/api/home)

Custom middleware for request/response logging

Configurable logging with Python's logging module

Structured log messages including timestamps and log levels

Setup

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/kalt/django-logging-custom-middleware.git cd django-logging-custom-middleware

Create a virtual environment and activate it:

python -m venv venv source venv/bin/activate # Linux/Mac venv\Scripts\activate # Windows

Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Apply migrations and create a superuser:

python manage.py migrate python manage.py createsuperuser

Run the server:

python manage.py runserver

Usage

Access the API endpoint: http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/home

Use tools like curl, Postman, or a .http file to make GET/POST requests.

Observe the console for logs generated by the custom middleware.

Logging Details

Logging configuration is in settings.py

Uses Python’s standard logging module with:

Handlers (console)

Formatter for structured output (timestamp, level, logger name, message)

Middleware captures:

request.method

request.path

response.status_code

Duration in milliseconds

Example Logs Successful Request: 2026-01-07 14:32:11,842 | INFO | api.middleware | Request handled | GET /api/home | status: 200 | duration: 12.34ms

Failed Request (Method Not Allowed): 2026-01-07 14:35:22,110 | WARNING | django.request | Method Not Allowed: /api/home

Note: Middleware logs are always safe; Django internal logs may appear for 404/405 errors.

License

This project is for learning purposes. You can freely use and adapt it.