Logging

Novadesk provides a simple, familiar logging API modelled after the browser console object. All logging functions are global with no import needed. There is also a set of app module methods that let you control logging behavior (log level, file output, and whether logging is enabled at all) from within your scripts.

Availability

All console.* methods and the print shorthand are globals available in both the Main script and the UI script. No import is needed.

The app.enableDebugging(), app.disableLogging(), app.saveLogToFile(), and app.getLogPath() methods require import { app } from "novadesk" and are intended for the Main script.

Log Output Format

Every message written through the logging API follows this format:

[YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.mmm] [Novadesk] [LEVEL] message

Part	Description
`[YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.mmm]`	Local timestamp including milliseconds
`[Novadesk]`	Product name (always `Novadesk`)
`[LEVEL]`	One of `[LOG]`, `[WARN]`, `[ERROR]`, or `[DEBUG]`
`message`	The log message with all arguments joined by spaces

Example output:

[2026-08-08 14:23:01.042] [Novadesk] [LOG] Widget ready
[2026-08-08 14:23:01.043] [Novadesk] [WARN] Config missing, using defaults
[2026-08-08 14:23:01.044] [Novadesk] [ERROR] Failed to load config: file not found
[2026-08-08 14:23:01.045] [Novadesk] [DEBUG] tick {"frame":42,"elapsed":16.7}

Console color coding

When a console window is attached, each log level is rendered in a distinct color: Debug in white, Info/Log in cyan, Warn in yellow, and Error in bright red. This only applies to an attached console, not to debug output viewers.

Log Levels

Novadesk has four log levels, ordered from most verbose to most severe:

Level	Label	Visible by default	Method(s)
Debug	`[DEBUG]`	No ( requires debugging enabled )	`console.debug()`
Info	`[LOG]`	Yes	`console.log()`, `console.info()`, `print()`
Warn	`[WARN]`	Yes	`console.warn()`
Error	`[ERROR]`	Yes	`console.error()`

console.info uses the [LOG] label

console.info() and console.log() are functionally identical. Both map to the Info log level and produce the [LOG] prefix in output. There is no [INFO] label.

The minimum visible level defaults to Info. Messages below the current minimum are silently dropped. Calling app.enableDebugging(true) lowers the minimum to Debug, making console.debug() output visible.

Console Methods

Writes a general-purpose message to the log at the Info level. This is the most common method for everyday logging.

PARAMETERS

...args any

One or more values to log. Multiple values are joined with a single space.

javascript

console.log("Widget ready");
console.log("State:", "loaded =", true, "count =", 3);

Output

[2026-08-08 14:23:01.042] [Novadesk] [LOG] Widget ready
[2026-08-08 14:23:01.043] [Novadesk] [LOG] State: loaded = true count = 3

Writes a message at the Info level. Functionally identical to console.log() - both produce the [LOG] prefix in output.

PARAMETERS

...args any

One or more values to log.

javascript

console.info("Widget loaded successfully");

Output

[2026-08-08 14:23:01.042] [Novadesk] [LOG] Widget loaded successfully

Writes a warning message at the Warn level. Use this for non-fatal problems: conditions that are unexpected or likely to cause issues but do not stop execution.

PARAMETERS

...args any

One or more values to log.

javascript

console.warn("Config key 'refreshRate' is missing. Using default: 5000ms");

Output

[2026-08-08 14:23:01.042] [Novadesk] [WARN] Config key 'refreshRate' is missing. Using default: 5000ms

Writes an error message at the Error level. Use this for failures that require attention: failed network requests, missing required files, invalid data, or unexpected exceptions.

PARAMETERS

...args any

One or more values to log.

javascript

try {
  const data = JSON.parse(rawText);
} catch (err) {
  console.error("Failed to parse config:", err.message);
}

Output

[2026-08-08 14:23:01.042] [Novadesk] [ERROR] Failed to parse config: Unexpected token } in JSON

Writes a diagnostic message at the Debug level. Debug messages are silently dropped at runtime unless debugging has been enabled, so they have zero output cost in normal use.

Requires debugging to be enabled

console.debug() output only appears when app.enableDebugging(true) has been called, or when debugging is toggled on via the Manage window settings panel. See app.enableDebugging().

PARAMETERS

...args any

One or more values to log.

javascript

import { app } from "novadesk";

app.enableDebugging(true);

console.debug("tick", "frame=42", "elapsed=16.7ms");

Output (only when debugging is enabled)

[2026-08-08 14:23:01.042] [Novadesk] [DEBUG] tick frame=42 elapsed=16.7ms

A shorthand alias for console.log(). Produces identical output at the Info / [LOG] level. Convenient for quick one-liners during development.

PARAMETERS

...args any

One or more values to log.

javascript

print("Hello from Novadesk");
// exactly the same as:
console.log("Hello from Novadesk");

Output

[2026-08-08 14:23:01.042] [Novadesk] [LOG] Hello from Novadesk

Controlling Logging Behavior

The app module exposes four methods for controlling logging at runtime. They are fully documented on the app module reference page. The table below is a quick summary with direct links.

Method	Summary
`app.enableDebugging(enable)`	Lowers the minimum log level to Debug (`true`) so `console.debug()` output becomes visible, or raises it back to Info (`false`). Persisted to `settings.json`.
`app.disableLogging(disable)`	Silences all log output (console and file) when `true`. Overrides `saveLogToFile`. Persisted to `settings.json`.
`app.saveLogToFile(enable)`	Appends all log output to `logs.log` in the AppData directory when `true`. Persisted to `settings.json`.
`app.getLogPath()`	Returns the absolute path to `logs.log`, or `""` if file logging is not enabled.

disableLogging overrides everything

app.disableLogging(true) silences all output regardless of the saveLogToFile setting.

Log file behavior

Logs are appended to the file and existing entries are never cleared automatically. There is no rotation or size limit, so clear the file manually if needed.

Settings File

Logging behavior can also be configured directly in settings.json under the global settings object. These values are applied at startup before any script runs.

Key	Type	Default	Effect
`enableDebugging`	`boolean`	`false`	`true` lowers the minimum log level to Debug, making `console.debug()` output visible
`disableLogging`	`boolean`	`false`	`true` silences all log output (console and file)
`saveLogToFile`	`boolean`	`false`	`true` appends all log output to `logs.log` in the AppData directory

Prefer the script API

Use app.enableDebugging(), app.disableLogging(), and app.saveLogToFile() from your scripts rather than editing settings.json directly. The API methods update the file automatically and take effect immediately.

Priority: disableLogging wins

If disableLogging is true, no output is produced regardless of the saveLogToFile setting.

Manage Window

All three logging settings can also be toggled in the Settings tab of the Novadesk Manage window without writing any code. Changes take effect immediately.

Manage Window Logs Settings

Practical Examples

Logging at different levels

javascript

console.log("Widget starting up");
console.info("Data fetched successfully");    // identical output to console.log
console.warn("Rate limit approaching: 90%");
console.error("Fetch failed: status 503");

Debug logging during development

javascript

import { app } from "novadesk";

app.enableDebugging(true);  // see app module docs for full details

console.log("Widget starting up");
console.debug("Config loaded, theme=dark refreshRate=5000");

setTimeout(() => {
  console.debug("First update tick fired");
}, 5000);

Toggling debug output from a context menu

javascript

import { app, widgetWindow } from "novadesk";

let debugEnabled = false;

const myWindow = new widgetWindow({
  id: "Window",
  x: 10,
  y: 10,
  width: 500,
  height: 500,
  backgroundColor: "white"
})

myWindow.setContextMenu([
  {
    text: "Toggle Debug Logging",
    action: () => {
      debugEnabled = !debugEnabled;
      app.enableDebugging(debugEnabled);
      console.log("Debug logging:", debugEnabled ? "ON" : "OFF");
    }
  }
]);

Structured error logging

javascript

import * as fs from "fs";

async function loadConfig(path) {
  try {
    const raw = await fs.readFile(path, "utf8");
    const config = JSON.parse(raw);
    console.log("Config loaded from", path);
    return config;
  } catch (err) {
    console.error("Failed to load config:", err.message);
    return null;
  }
}

loadConfig("./config.json")

General Options

UI Elements

Modules

novadesk

system

Logging

Table of Contents

Log Output Format

Log Levels

Console Methods

PARAMETERS

PARAMETERS

PARAMETERS

PARAMETERS

PARAMETERS

PARAMETERS

Controlling Logging Behavior

Settings File

Manage Window

Practical Examples

Logging ​

Table of Contents ​

Log Output Format ​

Log Levels ​

Console Methods ​

PARAMETERS

PARAMETERS

PARAMETERS

PARAMETERS

PARAMETERS

PARAMETERS

Controlling Logging Behavior ​

Settings File ​

Manage Window ​

Practical Examples ​

Logging

Table of Contents

Log Output Format

Log Levels

Console Methods

Controlling Logging Behavior

Settings File

Manage Window

Practical Examples