When working with the ASP.NET Command Line Interface (CLI), you may encounter issues or need more information about the execution of commands. The CLI provides options to view detailed logs that can help you diagnose problems and understand the behavior of your commands. This guide will explain how to enable and view detailed logs when running commands in the ASP.NET CLI.

Using the --verbosity Option

The --verbosity option allows you to control the level of detail in the output of your CLI commands. You can specify different verbosity levels, including:

  • quiet: Only show errors.
  • minimal: Show minimal output.
  • normal: Show normal output (default).
  • detailed: Show detailed output, including additional information about the build process.
  • diagnostic: Show diagnostic output, which includes all available information for troubleshooting.

Step 1: Open Your Command Line Interface

Open your terminal (macOS/Linux) or command prompt (Windows).

Step 2: Run a Command with Verbosity

To view detailed logs, you can run a command with the --verbosity option. For example, if you want to build your project with detailed output, you can use the following command: 

dotnet build --verbosity detailed

This command will provide detailed information about the build process, including which files are being compiled and any warnings or errors encountered.

Example of Using Diagnostic Verbosity

If you need even more information for troubleshooting, you can use the diagnostic verbosity level: 

dotnet build --verbosity diagnostic

This command will output extensive logs that can help you identify issues in the build process, including detailed information about dependencies and project configurations.

Viewing Logs in a File

If the output is too verbose for the terminal, you can redirect the output to a log file for easier analysis. You can do this by using the following command: 

dotnet build --verbosity diagnostic > build.log

This command will save the detailed logs to a file named build.log in the current directory. You can then open this file in a text editor to review the logs.

Conclusion

Viewing detailed logs when running commands in the ASP.NET CLI is essential for diagnosing issues and understanding the behavior of your applications. By using the --verbosity option, you can control the level of detail in the output and redirect logs to a file for easier analysis. This approach will help you troubleshoot problems effectively and improve your development workflow.