Configuration Logs

Logs & Diagnostics

FindRomCover uses Serilog for structured logging. Logs are written to rolling files and can be viewed live inside the application.

The log window

Open the log window with Settings > Show/Hide Log Window. It shows a live stream of log entries with:

• timestamp
• severity level
• message
• optional exception details

The window is the fastest way to understand what the application is doing and why an operation failed. It can stay open while you work.

Log files

File	Contents
app<yyyyMMdd>.log	Full application log, rolling daily, 7-day retention
ApiLogError.txt	Error entries sent to the automatic bug-report API
UserLogError.txt	Simplified error list intended for user reference
InternalLog.txt	Internal diagnostics from the error logger

All four are written to %LocalAppData%\FindRomCover (the same folder as Settings.dat), not next to the executable.

Severity levels

Level	Meaning	Examples
Verbose / Debug	Fine-grained diagnostics	File watcher events, conversion skips
Information	Normal operations	Application start, settings saved
Warning	Recoverable problems	AI request failure, file disappeared after wait, access denied on the watched folder
Error	Failed operations	Image conversion failure, API errors, unhandled dispatcher exceptions
Fatal	Application cannot continue	Startup failure, unhandled AppDomain exception

What is logged

• Application startup, shutdown, and version information.
• Folder scans and missing-cover counts.
• Image conversions, retries, and watcher activity.
• API errors with provider messages (never API keys).
• AI request failures as warnings.
• Unhandled exceptions from the UI thread, background tasks, and the application domain.

What is not logged

• API keys. Secret values are masked or omitted from every log entry.
• Image contents. Only filenames and paths are logged.
• Settings database contents.

The error reporting pipeline

Error-level events are collected and can be sent to the Pure Logic Code bug-report API, which helps the developer fix crashes.

• Only Error-level events trigger reports; warnings are not sent.
• AI failures are logged as warnings and never trigger the pipeline.
• Reports contain the exception, a stack trace, and environment information — no personal files.

Reading a log entry

Typical entry:

2026-09-20 18:35:12.481 [Warning] AI batch fill: item 'Some Game (USA)' failed.
System.Net.Http.HttpRequestException: Connection refused

The timestamp and level tell you when and how serious the problem is; the message usually names the exact operation and item.

Sharing logs when reporting an issue

1. Reproduce the problem.
2. Open the log window and note the error entries.
3. Attach the rolling app<yyyyMMdd>.log (or the relevant part) to your GitHub issue.
4. Remove any information you do not want to share — logs contain file paths.

Troubleshooting logging itself

Symptom	Solution
No log files	The %LocalAppData%\FindRomCover folder could not be created; check permissions for your user profile
Log window is empty	Logging initializes on startup; restart the application
Log grows very large	Files roll over automatically and are kept for 7 days

Related pages

• Troubleshooting
• AI Troubleshooting
• Data Storage