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cflog

Last update:
May 18, 2026

Description

Writes a message to a log file.

Category

Data output tags

Syntax

<cflog 
text = "text" 
type = "information|warning|error|fatal" 
application = "yes|no" 
file = "filename" 
log = "log type">
Note:
You can specify this tag's attributes in an attributeCollection attribute whose value is a structure. Specify the structure name in the attributeCollection attribute and use the tag's attribute names as structure keys.

See also

cfcol ,  cfcontent ,  cfoutput ,  cftable ,  writeLog

History

ColdFusion MX: Deprecated the thread, date, and time attributes. They might not work, and might cause an error, in later releases. (In earlier releases, these attributes determined whether the respective data items were output to the log. In ColdFusion MX, this data is always output.)

Attributes

AttributeReq/OptDefaultDescription
text
Required
Message text to log.
application
Optional
yes
  • yes: logs the application name, if it is specified in a cfapplication tag or Application.cfc file.
  • no
file
Optional
Message file. Specify only the main part of the filename. For example, to log to the Testing.log file, specify "Testing". The file must be located in the default log directory. You cannot specify a directory path. If the file does not exist, it is created automatically, with the extension .log.
log
Optional
If you omit the file attribute, writes messages to standard log file. Ignored, if you specify file attribute.
  • Application: writes to Application.log, normally used for application-specific messages.
  • Scheduler: writes to Scheduler.log, normally used to log the execution of scheduled tasks.
type
Optional
Information
Type (severity) of the message:
  • Information
  • Warning
  • Error
  • Fatal

Usage

This tag logs custom messages to standard or custom log files. You can specify a file for the log message or send messages to the default application or scheduler log. The log message can include ColdFusion expressions. Log files must have the extension .log and must be located in the ColdFusion log directory. Log entries are written as comma-delimited lists with these fields:
  • type
  • thread
  • date
  • time
  • application
  • textValues are enclosed in double quotation marks. If you specify no for the application attribute, the corresponding entry in the list is empty. You can disable cflogtag execution. For more information, see the ColdFusion Administrator Basic Security page. The following example logs the name of a user that logs on an application. The message is logged to the file myAppLog.log in the ColdFusion log directory. It includes the date, time, and thread ID, but not the application name.
<cflog file="myAppLog" application="no" 
text="User #Form.username# logged on.">
For example, if a user enters "Sang Thornfield" in a form's username field, this entry is added to the myApplog.log file entry:"Information","153","02/28/01","14:53:40",,"User Sang Thornfield logged on."

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