Using Serilog to send email notification immediately in .NET Framework

Question

I have configured Serilog in my .NET framework solution. I have setup multiple sinks including a sink for email via the Serilog.Sinks.Email package. The sink works correctly. I realized after setting it up that I have to use Logger.FlushAndClose() to actually send the emails in the pipeline. How can I send the email notification / flush the pipeline through Serilog immediately (or shortly after) it is logged?

I am building a windows service that will remain online for extended periods of time, so shutting down & rebuilding the Serilog logging pipeline every time I need to send an email is not going to work.

Ideally, something like Logger.Flush(), but that doesn't seem to exist.

Thanks.

Answer 1

You can band-aid fix this by specifying the batch posting limit.

By setting the batchPostingLimit parameter to 1 when initializing the email sink, emails will be sent after each logging occurs.

Example:

logger = logger.WriteTo.Email(
                    fromEmail: "test@gmail.com",
                    toEmail: toEmail,
                    mailServer: "mailserver.com",                    
                    restrictedToMinimumLevel: LogEventLevel.Error,
                    mailSubject: "Log Notification",
                    batchPostingLimit: 1
                );