Stop Using Logrus!

Logrus has long been a popular choice for logging in Go applications, but as the logging library landscape continues to evolve, it's time to reconsider its place in your projects. In this post, I will list several reasons why you should stop using Logrus and introduce better alternatives that can enhance your logging experience.

Performance is Poor

One of the primary reasons I've moved away from Logrus is its performance. While it offers a wide array of features, the overhead it introduces can be significant, especially in high-throughput applications.

Logrus generates new maps for every logging operation, which is extremely bad in terms of performance. This is something that should never be done, and in fact, a single logging library can severely degrade application performance.

Lack of Active Maintenance

Another significant drawback of Logrus is that it's not actively maintained. While it has been a popular choice for logging in Go applications, the pace of development has slowed down, raising concerns about its long-term viability.

What Should I Use Instead?

If you're considering moving away from Logrus, I highly recommend using Zerolog. It stands out as one of the fastest logging libraries in Go, making it an excellent choice for performance-conscious developers.

Zerolog has a very ergonomic API design that allows for easy integration into your applications without the complexities often associated with logging libraries. Its simple syntax makes it easy to implement structured logging, allowing you to effortlessly log rich, contextual information.

One of the standout features of Zerolog is its zero-allocation logging. This means it doesn't allocate any memory on hot paths during logging operations, which is crucial for high-performance applications. By reducing the pressure on the garbage collector, Zerolog helps maintain the responsiveness of your application even under heavy logging load.

It's not only performant but also very easy to use and highly extensible, allowing you to tailor it to your specific logging needs.