PHP Error Log Viewer for ClassicPress

The PHP Error Log Viewer plugin for ClassicPress brings your error log straight into your dashboard. Color-coding helps you to quickly scan even the longest of error logs. Or, just filter out the errors you don't want to see. No more wall-of-text error messages – this plugin turns your PHP error log into an incredibly useful display.

Fast, Lightweight, and User-Friendly

There are lots of debugging plugins out there – debugging suites, really. This plugin isn't intended to become one of them. The PHP Error Log Viewer plugin handles a very specific task and that is to display the PHP error log in a user-friendly, human-readable format that can be easily filtered.

More Debugging, Less Clicking

If you have grown tired of flipping back and forth between screens/browsers/apps/whatever to check and recheck your PHP error log as you're writing code, this will be incredibly handy for you. There's a link to the error log within reach at all times and it doesn't require any special configuration.

Screenshots

Completely Readable Error Messages Hide Unneeded Items

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. My error log is huge…can the plugin handle it?
    The plugin has been successfully tested with error logs up to 20Mb (100,000+ entries). With an error log that huge, it took about 15 seconds to finish rendering the (stylized) error log on the screen. However, for error logs with tens of thousandx of entries (or less,) it only takes a second or two. Of course, your results will vary with your server configuration.

  2. Why don’t I see the purge button?
    If your error log is not writable by web server, the Purge Error Log button will not appear in the interface.

  3. How big should my error log be?
    You should always aim to run a site that produces no notices, warnings, or errors. Your target file size for the error log should be exactly 0 bytes.

  4. How can I change the error colors?
    See the Styling section for specific details.

  5. Why are there sometimes more errors than stack traces?
    While many errors do produce a stack trace, some do not. This is the reason for the difference.

  6. My error log wasn’t found? What now?
    If your error log isn’t automatically detected by the plugin, you will see a screen that offers three possible solutions. Most likely, one of the solutions will work for you.

Changelog

  • 1.3.0 | 2020-01-06

    1. Add alt/title to admin bar menu item which reveals current PHP version.

  • 1.2.0 | 2019-12-24

    1. Remove fx-updater client.
    2. Add Update Manager client.
    3. Fix footer text not returned in all instances.

  • 1.1.0 | 2019-10-28

    1. Fix plugin header to reflect correct text domain.
    2. Add quicklink to admin bar for faster access to the error log on both front and back end.

  • 1.0.1 | 2019-08-17

    1. Fix issue that produces error message, "The plugin does not have a valid header"

  • 1.0.0 | 2019-08-16

    1. Initial release.

License

The PHP Error Log Viewer plugin is released under the General Public License.

Installation Requirements

  1. ClassicPress 1.0.0 – 1.1.2
  2. PHP 5.6 or later

Manual Installation

  1. Download the zip file to your local computer
  2. Login to your ClassicPress website.
  3. Navigate to Dashboard > Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
  4. Upload the plugin zip file to your site
  5. Click to Install the plugin
  6. Click to Activate the plugin
  7. See the documentation for next steps

Standard Installation

  1. Login to your ClassicPress website.
  2. Navigate to Dashboard > Plugins > Add New
  3. Search for Code Potent or PHP Error Log Viewer
  4. Find the PHP Error Log Viewer plugin in the results
  5. Click to Install the plugin
  6. Click to Activate the plugin
  7. See the documentation for next steps

Note: This method will be available when the official ClassicPress plugin directory is ready.

Checksums – Coming Soon

Checksums allow you to verify the integrity of the plugin file.

Conflicts

There are no reported conflicts between the PHP Error Log Viewer plugin and other ClassicPress plugins or themes. If you experience something unexpected, please send an email!

Usage

Viewing the Error Log

Navigate to Dashboard > Tools > PHP Error Log to view the error log.

PHP Error Log Viewer plugin for ClassicPress

Filtering the Error Log

The checkboxes across the top of the display allow you to show and hide each of the various types of errors: Deprecated, Notice, Warning, Error, Stack Trace, and Other. In addition, the Date/Time checkbox can show or hide error meta data such as dates, times, timezones, and IP addresses to further improve readability. Tick your preferred boxes and click the Apply Filters button to update the display.

PHP Error Log Viewer plugin for ClassicPress

Refreshing the Error Log

When viewing the error log, you will find a button to Refresh Error Log at the right side of the page. Clicking this button has the same effect as clicking your browser’s refresh button. The error log will be re-read and displayed fresh.

PHP Error Log Viewer plugin for ClassicPress

Purging the Error Log

When viewing the error log, you will find a button to Purge Error Log at the right side of the page. Clicking this button will purge all messages from the error log. A confirmation dialog prevents accidental deletion. If your error log is not writable by the PHP process, you will not see this button.

PHP Error Log Viewer plugin for ClassicPress

Settings

Error Filtering

The checkboxes at the top of the error log display allow you to choose which types of messages you want to see. Check any of the boxes and click the Apply Filter button to update the display.

  • Date/Time
    Check this box to show dates, times, and other meta data.
  • Notice
    Check this box to show non-critical PHP notices.
  • Warning
    Check this box to show non-critical PHP warnings.
  • Error
    Check this box to show critical PHP errors.
  • Stack Trace
    Check this box to show stack traces for critical errors. Note that not all critical errors will generate a stack trace.
  • Other
    Check this box to show any other errors that didn’t meet the above criteria.

Styling

Using Custom Error Colors

To override the color-coding for the error messages and legend, copy the following styles into your theme's style.css file and make your changes there.

/* Deprecated code. */
#codepotent-php-error-log-viewer .php-deprecated, 
.codepotent-php-error-log-viewer-legend-box.item-php-deprecated {
	border-left:10px solid #847545;
	}
/* Notices. */
#codepotent-php-error-log-viewer .php-notice,
.codepotent-php-error-log-viewer-legend-box.item-php-notice {
	border-left:10px solid #ccc;
	}
/* Warnings. */
#codepotent-php-error-log-viewer .php-warning,
.codepotent-php-error-log-viewer-legend-box.item-php-warning {
	border-left:10px solid #ffee58;
	}
/* Errors. */
#codepotent-php-error-log-viewer .php-error,
.codepotent-php-error-log-viewer-legend-box.item-php-error {
	border-left:10px solid #e53935;
	}
/* Stack traces. */
#codepotent-php-error-log-viewer .php-stack-trace-title,
#codepotent-php-error-log-viewer .php-stack-trace-step,
#codepotent-php-error-log-viewer .php-stack-trace-origin,
.codepotent-php-error-log-viewer-legend-box.item-php-stack-trace-title {
	border-left:10px solid #ef9a9a;
	}
/* Any other messages. */
#codepotent-php-error-log-viewer .php-other,
.codepotent-php-error-log-viewer-legend-box.item-php-other {
	border-left:10px solid #00bcd4;
	}

Here's what users say about the PHP Error Log Viewer plugin for ClassicPress

“The PHP log viewer is a sweet deal. I troubleshot something for over an hour until I switched on this plugin and voila! In seconds all was fine. ... I love this tool.”

~ Laurence Bahiirwa, Plugin Developer

omukiguy.com

“Your lightweight plugin displays PHP errors/ warnings in an easy to read format. The GUI you added to the text data makes it a user-friendly experience and helpful when troubleshooting.”

~ Leslie Meehan, Owner

catsmeowdesign.com

“The plugin helped me rule out some issues on my site. The initial setup is intuitive and easy, and color coding helps in selectively tackling the various types of log. Really I have to recommend using that on all your sites!”

~ Elisabetta Carrara

elisabettacarrara.eu

“This plugin has saved me countless clicks and makes refreshing my error log super simple. ...and the error filtering has saved my scroll-finger's life!”

~ John Alarcon, Lead Developer

codepotent.com

“This looks like it will be a pretty useful plugin for helping to debug a website in development! I give this plugin a 4 Dragon Rating!”

~ John Overall, Service Provider and Podcaster

wppluginsatoz.com

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