switch to alloy for logging by andyshinn · Pull Request #154 · austinmesh/bridger

andyshinn · 2025-09-13T04:04:39Z

No description provided.

Copilot

Pull Request Overview

This PR switches the logging system from Promtail to Alloy for collecting and processing logs from the Bridger application. The change modernizes the logging pipeline while maintaining compatibility with Loki for log storage.

Replaces Promtail with Grafana Alloy for log collection and processing
Adds new Alloy configuration files for both Docker and systemd journal-based deployments
Updates Grafana dashboard and datasource configurations to support the new logging setup

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 11 out of 12 changed files in this pull request and generated 5 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
config/quadlet/alloy.container	New container configuration for running Alloy in systemd
config/alloy/config-journal.alloy	Alloy configuration for collecting logs from systemd journal
config/alloy/config-docker.alloy	Alloy configuration for collecting logs from Docker containers
config/deploy.sh	Updated deployment script to copy Alloy configuration files
compose.yaml	Replaced Promtail service with Alloy service and updated volume mounts
config/grafana/provisioning/datasources/grafana-datasources.yaml	Made Loki datasource editable
config/grafana/provisioning/dashboards/file-dashboards.yaml	New dashboard provisioning configuration
config/grafana/dashboards/updated/Bridger-1757731649448.json	New Grafana dashboard for Bridger logs
bridger/gateway.py	Added command-line interface for MQTT gateway user management

_{Tip: Customize your code reviews with copilot-instructions.md. Create the file or learn how to get started.}

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 11 out of 12 changed files in this pull request and generated 10 comments.

💡 Add Copilot custom instructions for smarter, more guided reviews. Learn how to get started.

Copilot · 2026-04-18T06:41:36Z

+      "datasource": {
+        "type": "loki",
+        "uid": "P982945308D3682D1"
+      },


This dashboard references Loki datasource UID P982945308D3682D1, which won’t exist when datasources are provisioned (no uid is set for Loki). Either provision Loki with this exact UID or update the dashboard to reference the UID you provision.

Copilot · 2026-04-18T06:41:36Z

+
+  labels = {
+    job = "bridger-services",
+  }
+}


All logs are labeled with job = "bridger-services" here, but existing/added dashboards query Loki with {job="bridger"} (and the prior promtail config used job: bridger). Unless dashboards are updated everywhere, this label change will make log queries return empty results; consider keeping job stable (e.g., bridger) and adding a separate label (like source="journal" or unit).

Copilot · 2026-04-18T06:41:36Z

+Exec = run --server.http.listen-addr=0.0.0.0:12345 --storage.path=/var/lib/alloy/data /mnt/config/config-journal.alloy
+Image = docker.io/grafana/alloy:v1.10.2
+Network = bridger.network
+HostName = alloy
+PublishPort = 12345:12345


This runs Alloy’s HTTP server on 0.0.0.0:12345 and publishes it to the host. Alloy’s HTTP endpoints typically expose metrics/config/debug info; unless you explicitly need remote access, bind to localhost and/or avoid publishing the port to reduce exposure.

Suggested change

Exec = run --server.http.listen-addr=0.0.0.0:12345 --storage.path=/var/lib/alloy/data /mnt/config/config-journal.alloy

Image = docker.io/grafana/alloy:v1.10.2

Network = bridger.network

HostName = alloy

PublishPort = 12345:12345

Exec = run --server.http.listen-addr=127.0.0.1:12345 --storage.path=/var/lib/alloy/data /mnt/config/config-journal.alloy

Image = docker.io/grafana/alloy:v1.10.2

Network = bridger.network

HostName = alloy

Copilot · 2026-04-18T06:41:37Z

+SecurityLabelDisable = true
+Volume = %t/podman/podman.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
+Volume = /home/andy/.config/bridger:/mnt/config
+Volume = alloy-data.volume:/var/lib/alloy


config-journal.alloy uses loki.source.journal, but this container unit doesn’t mount the host journal (e.g., /run/log/journal, /var/log/journal) or /etc/machine-id. Without those, Alloy inside the container typically can’t read journald and will ship no logs; add the required read-only mounts (and any needed group/capability) or switch to scraping file/stdout logs instead.

Suggested change

Volume = alloy-data.volume:/var/lib/alloy

Volume = alloy-data.volume:/var/lib/alloy

Volume = /run/log/journal:/run/log/journal:ro

Volume = /var/log/journal:/var/log/journal:ro

Volume = /etc/machine-id:/etc/machine-id:ro

Copilot · 2026-04-18T06:41:37Z

      - GF_SERVER_ROOT_URL
      - GF_SERVER_PROTOCOL
      # - GF_INSTALL_PLUGINS=influxdb
+      - INFLUXDB_V2_TOKEN
      - GF_PATHS_PROVISIONING=/etc/grafana/provisioning
    volumes:
+      - ./config/grafana/provisioning:/etc/grafana/provisioning
+      - ./config/grafana/dashboards:/mnt/dashboards


Grafana provisioning uses $INFLUXDB_V2_ORG / $INFLUXDB_V2_BUCKET (and token) from the container environment, but the Grafana service only passes INFLUXDB_V2_TOKEN here. This will provision an InfluxDB datasource with missing org/bucket and break dashboards on a fresh start; pass the required env vars (and ensure names match the provisioning file).

Copilot · 2026-04-18T06:41:37Z

  - name: loki
    type: loki
+    editable: true
    url: http://loki:3100
  - name: influxdb


The new Loki dashboard JSON pins a datasource UID, but this provisioning file doesn’t set a stable uid for the loki (or influxdb) datasource. With provisioning enabled, Grafana will generate new UIDs and the dashboards will fail to resolve their datasources; set explicit uid values here and update dashboards to match (or change dashboards to reference the provisioned uid).

Suggested change

- name: loki

type: loki

editable: true

url: http://loki:3100

- name: influxdb

- name: loki

uid: loki

type: loki

editable: true

url: http://loki:3100

- name: influxdb

uid: influxdb

Copilot · 2026-04-18T06:41:37Z

+          },
+          "direction": "backward",
+          "editorMode": "builder",
+          "expr": "{job=\"bridger\"} | json | label_format level=record_level_name",


The Loki query is unlikely to return anything with the current Alloy configs: Alloy sets job to bridger-services / bridger-docker, but this query filters on {job="bridger"}. Also, label_format level=record_level_name doesn’t correspond to any extracted field/label in the Alloy pipeline (it extracts level and then promotes it to a level label). Update the query (or Alloy labels) so they match.

Suggested change

"expr": "{job=\"bridger\"} | json | label_format level=record_level_name",

"expr": "{job=~\"bridger-(services|docker)\"} | json",

Copilot · 2026-04-18T06:41:38Z

+  forward_to = [loki.process.bridger_parsing.receiver]
+  relabel_rules = loki.relabel.docker_labels.rules
+
+  labels = { "job" = "bridger-docker" }


Similarly, this config sets job = "bridger-docker", which won’t match dashboards/alerts that expect job="bridger" (and it differs from the journal config). If you want to keep a single query surface, keep job consistent and add another label to distinguish docker vs journal sources.

Suggested change

labels = { "job" = "bridger-docker" }

labels = {

"job" = "bridger"

"source" = "docker"

}

Copilot · 2026-04-18T06:41:38Z

+    disableDeletion: false
+    allowUiUpdates: true
+    options:
+      path: /mnt/dashboards/updated


The dashboard provider path points at /mnt/dashboards/updated, so none of the existing dashboards committed under config/grafana/dashboards/*.json will be provisioned. If those dashboards are still intended to ship, either point the provider at /mnt/dashboards or add an additional provider for the non-updated directory.

Suggested change

path: /mnt/dashboards/updated

path: /mnt/dashboards/updated

- name: bridger-default

type: file

disableDeletion: false

allowUiUpdates: true

options:

path: /mnt/dashboards

Copilot · 2026-04-18T06:41:38Z

+discovery.docker "containers" {
+  host = "unix:///var/run/docker.sock"
+  refresh_interval = "5s"
+
+  filter {
+    name   = "label"
+    values = ["com.docker.compose.project=bridger"]


discovery.docker is filtered to com.docker.compose.project=bridger, which depends on the compose project name (by default it’s derived from the directory name). If the project name differs, Alloy will discover zero targets and no logs will be shipped; consider making the project name configurable (env var) or filtering by a more stable label/pattern.

Suggested change

discovery.docker "containers" {

host = "unix:///var/run/docker.sock"

refresh_interval = "5s"

filter {

name = "label"

values = ["com.docker.compose.project=bridger"]

compose_project_name = coalesce(env("BRIDGER_COMPOSE_PROJECT"), "bridger")

discovery.docker "containers" {

host = "unix:///var/run/docker.sock"

refresh_interval = "5s"

filter {

name = "label"

values = ["com.docker.compose.project=" + compose_project_name]

andyshinn requested a review from Copilot September 13, 2025 04:04

Copilot AI reviewed Sep 13, 2025

View reviewed changes

Comment thread config/alloy/config-journal.alloy

Comment thread config/alloy/config-docker.alloy

Comment thread config/alloy/config-journal.alloy Outdated

Comment thread config/grafana/dashboards/updated/Bridger-1757731649448.json Outdated

Comment thread config/alloy/config-docker.alloy Outdated

andyshinn and others added 4 commits April 18, 2026 01:06

switch out promtail for alloy since promtail is deprecated

ff1041e

basic dashboard provisioning for local

16a309c

basic tests for cli

64efde1

Apply suggestions from code review

d710936

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

andyshinn force-pushed the ashinn/promtail-deprecated branch from 31e442e to d710936 Compare April 18, 2026 06:06

sentry Bot reviewed Apr 18, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread bridger/gateway.py Outdated

andyshinn added 2 commits April 18, 2026 01:25

fixup matching a bit

cc2535b

fix some CLI tests and remove old CLI

55a99a0

andyshinn requested a review from Copilot April 18, 2026 06:35

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of andyshinn April 18, 2026 06:36 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Apr 18, 2026

View reviewed changes

-Volume = alloy-data.volume:/var/lib/alloy
+Volume = alloy-data.volume:/var/lib/alloy
+Volume = /run/log/journal:/run/log/journal:ro
+Volume = /var/log/journal:/var/log/journal:ro
+Volume = /etc/machine-id:/etc/machine-id:ro

	"expr": "{job=\"bridger\"} \| json \| label_format level=record_level_name",
	"expr": "{job=~\"bridger-(services\|docker)\"} \| json",

Conversation

andyshinn commented Sep 13, 2025

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Pull Request Overview

Reviewed Changes

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Pull request overview

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Apr 18, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Apr 18, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Apr 18, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Apr 18, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Apr 18, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Apr 18, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Apr 18, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Apr 18, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Apr 18, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Apr 18, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

2 participants