charmbracelet/log Transport

Wraps an existing *charmbracelet/log.Logger. Map metadata flattens to alternating key/value pairs; struct metadata lands under a configurable key.

go get go.loglayer.dev/transports/charmlog/v2
go get github.com/charmbracelet/log

The package name is charmlog (since both the import path's last element and the package itself are log, which would collide with the stdlib).

Basic Usage

import (
    "os"

    clog "github.com/charmbracelet/log"

    "go.loglayer.dev/v2"
    llcharm "go.loglayer.dev/transports/charmlog/v2"
)

cl := clog.NewWithOptions(os.Stderr, clog.Options{
    Level:           clog.InfoLevel,
    ReportTimestamp: true,
})

log := loglayer.New(loglayer.Config{
    Transport: llcharm.New(llcharm.Config{Logger: cl}),
})

log.Info("hello")
// 2026-04-25 12:00:00 INFO hello

If you don't pass a Logger, the transport constructs one writing to Writer (default os.Stderr).

Config

type Config struct {
    transport.BaseConfig

    Logger *charmbracelet/log.Logger // wrap an existing logger
    Writer io.Writer                 // used only when Logger is nil
}

Fatal Behavior

charmbracelet's Logger.Fatal() calls os.Exit(1), but Logger.Log(FatalLevel, msg, keyvals...) does not. This wrapper always dispatches via Log(level, ...), so charmbracelet writes the fatal entry and returns. The core then decides whether os.Exit(1) is called after dispatch. See Fatal Exits the Process.

Metadata Handling

The placement key for non-map metadata is controlled by the core via MetadataFieldName. When unset, this transport defaults to nesting non-map metadata under "metadata".

Map metadata → individual key/value pairs

log.WithMetadata(loglayer.Metadata{"requestId": "xyz", "n": 42}).Info("served")
// INFO served requestId=xyz n=42

Each map entry becomes a (key, value) pair in the variadic keyvals argument to Log.

Struct metadata nests under the metadata key

type User struct {
    ID   int    `json:"id"`
    Name string `json:"name"`
}

log.WithMetadata(User{ID: 7, Name: "Alice"}).Info("user")
// INFO user metadata={ID:7 Name:Alice}

charmbracelet renders the struct via its default formatter. Exact output shape depends on whether you've configured JSONFormatter, TextFormatter, or the default colored output.

To use a different key per call, wrap in a map:

log.WithMetadata(loglayer.Metadata{"user": User{ID: 7, Name: "Alice"}}).Info("user")

Or globally via the core's MetadataFieldName (which also nests map metadata under the same key):

loglayer.New(loglayer.Config{
    Transport:         llcharm.New(llcharm.Config{Logger: cl}),
    MetadataFieldName: "payload",
})

Reaching the Underlying Logger

GetLoggerInstance returns the wrapped *charmbracelet/log.Logger:

cl := log.GetLoggerInstance("charmlog").(*clog.Logger)
cl.SetLevel(clog.DebugLevel)

Level Mapping

LogLayer Level	charmbracelet Level	Note
LogLevelTrace	DebugLevel	charmbracelet has no Trace; mapped to lowest
LogLevelDebug	DebugLevel
LogLevelInfo	InfoLevel
LogLevelWarn	WarnLevel
LogLevelError	ErrorLevel
LogLevelFatal	FatalLevel
LogLevelPanic	FatalLevel	charmbracelet has no Panic; surfaced as Fatal