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Streams Laravel application logs in real-time from a running Android application.

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Syntax

php artisan native:tail

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What it does

  1. Connects to running Android app via adb
  2. Tails the Laravel log file from the app’s storage
  3. Displays log entries in real-time
  4. Press Ctrl+C to stop

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Examples

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Tail logs from running app

php artisan native:tail
Output: 
Tailing Android logs for app: com.example.myapp
Press Ctrl+C to stop...

[2024-02-28 10:30:15] local.INFO: User logged in
[2024-02-28 10:30:22] local.DEBUG: Processing order #123
[2024-02-28 10:30:25] local.ERROR: Payment failed: Connection timeout

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Requirements

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ADB (Android Debug Bridge)

Must be installed and in PATH: 
# Check if installed
adb version

# macOS
brew install android-platform-tools

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install android-tools-adb

# Windows - comes with Android Studio

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Running Android app

The app must be:
  • Installed on connected device/emulator
  • Currently running
  • Built with debuggable flag enabled

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App ID

NATIVEPHP_APP_ID must be set in .env: 
NATIVEPHP_APP_ID=com.example.myapp

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How it works

Uses adb shell run-as to access the app’s private storage: 
adb shell run-as com.example.myapp \
  tail -f app_storage/persisted_data/storage/logs/laravel.log
This reads from Laravel’s standard log location within the app’s sandboxed filesystem.

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Common workflows

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Run and monitor logs

# Terminal 1: Run the app
php artisan native:run android

# Terminal 2: Tail logs
php artisan native:tail

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Debug with watch and logs

# Terminal 1: Run with watch
php artisan native:run android --watch

# Terminal 2: Tail logs
php artisan native:tail

# Terminal 3: Edit code
vim app/Http/Controllers/HomeController.php
Now you see:
  • Code changes (Terminal 1)
  • Log output (Terminal 2)
  • Hot reload updates

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Filter logs

Pipe to grep for specific messages: 
php artisan native:tail | grep ERROR
php artisan native:tail | grep "User logged"

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Logging best practices

Use Laravel’s logging in your mobile app: 
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Log;

// Different log levels
Log::debug('Debugging information');
Log::info('User action', ['user_id' => 123]);
Log::warning('Something unusual happened');
Log::error('An error occurred', ['exception' => $e]);

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Add context

Include useful context: 
Log::info('API request', [
    'endpoint' => $url,
    'method' => 'POST',
    'duration' => $duration,
    'response_code' => $response->status(),
]);

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Performance logging

$start = microtime(true);

// Your code here

$duration = microtime(true) - $start;
Log::debug('Operation completed', [
    'operation' => 'process_payment',
    'duration_ms' => round($duration * 1000, 2),
]);

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Troubleshooting

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”NATIVEPHP_APP_ID is not set”

Add to .env: 
NATIVEPHP_APP_ID=com.example.myapp

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“adb: command not found”

Install Android platform tools: 
# macOS
brew install android-platform-tools

# Or add to PATH
export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/Library/Android/sdk/platform-tools

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“device offline” or “no devices”

Check device connection: 
adb devices
Should show: 
List of devices attached
emulator-5554   device
If offline: 
adb kill-server
adb start-server
adb devices

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“run-as: package not debuggable”

App must be built with debug flag. Use: 
php artisan native:run android --build=debug
Release builds are not debuggable.

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No log output

Check:
  1. App is running: adb shell ps | grep your.app.id
  2. Log file exists: Trigger an action that logs
  3. Log level: Check config/logging.php level

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Alternative: Use Logcat

For system-level logs: 
adb logcat | grep "your.app.id"
This shows all Android system logs, not just Laravel logs.

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iOS equivalent

For iOS, use Xcode Console:
  1. Run app with Xcode or native:run ios
  2. Open Xcode
  3. Window > Devices and Simulators
  4. Select your device/simulator
  5. Click “Open Console” button
  6. Filter by app name
Or use command line: 
# iOS Simulator
xcrun simctl spawn booted log stream --predicate 'processImagePath contains "YourApp"'

# Physical device (requires macOS)
log stream --device --predicate 'processImagePath contains "YourApp"'

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See also

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