# Logging > Log requests and responses, always or when a check fails. In many cases it can be useful to print the response and/or request details in order to help you create the correct expectations and send the correct requests. To do this you can use one of the predefined [filters](/docs/usage/filters/) supplied with REST Assured or you can use one of the shortcuts. ## Request logging `given().log()` logs the [request specification](https://static.javadoc.io/io.rest-assured/rest-assured/7.0.0-RC1/io/restassured/specification/RequestSpecification.html) before it’s sent, using the [RequestLoggingFilter](https://static.javadoc.io/io.rest-assured/rest-assured/7.0.0-RC1/io/restassured/filter/log/RequestLoggingFilter.html). It logs what you specified, which isn’t exactly what’s sent: the HTTP client adds headers such as `Host` and `Content-Length`, and filters that run after the logging filter can still change the request. To see what’s actually sent, turn on the logging of the HTTP client. For the JDK client, the default, start the JVM with `-Djdk.httpclient.HttpClient.log=requests,headers`. For [Apache HttpClient 5](/docs/usage/configuration/#http-client-config), set the logger `org.apache.hc.client5.http.wire` to `DEBUG`. A tool such as [Wireshark](https://www.wireshark.org/) works too. Examples: ```java given().log().all(). .. // Log all request specification details including parameters, headers and body given().log().params(). .. // Log only the parameters of the request given().log().body(). .. // Log only the request body given().log().headers(). .. // Log only the request headers given().log().cookies(). .. // Log only the request cookies given().log().method(). .. // Log only the request method given().log().path(). .. // Log only the request path ``` ## Response logging If you want to print the response body regardless of the status code you can do: ```java get("/x").then().log().body() .. ``` This will print the response body regardless if an error occurred. If you’re only interested in printing the response body if an error occur then you can use: ```java get("/x").then().log().ifError(). .. ``` You can also log all details in the response including status line, headers and cookies: ```java get("/x").then().log().all(). .. ``` as well as only status line, headers or cookies: ```java get("/x").then().log().statusLine(). .. // Only log the status line get("/x").then().log().headers(). .. // Only log the response headers get("/x").then().log().cookies(). .. // Only log the response cookies ``` You can also configure to log the response only if the status code matches some value: ```java get("/x").then().log().ifStatusCodeIsEqualTo(302). .. // Only log if the status code is equal to 302 get("/x").then().log().ifStatusCodeMatches(matcher). .. // Only log if the status code matches the supplied Hamcrest matcher ``` ## Log if validation fails You can log the request or response only if the validation fails. To log the request do: ```java given().log().ifValidationFails(). .. ``` To log the response do: ```java .. .then().log().ifValidationFails(). .. ``` It’s also possible to enable this for both the request and the response at the same time using the [LogConfig](https://static.javadoc.io/io.rest-assured/rest-assured/7.0.0-RC1/io/restassured/config/LogConfig.html): ```java given().config(RestAssured.config().logConfig(logConfig().enableLoggingOfRequestAndResponseIfValidationFails(HEADERS))). .. ``` This will log only the headers if validation fails. There’s also a shortcut for enabling logging of the request and response for all requests if validation fails: ```java RestAssured.enableLoggingOfRequestAndResponseIfValidationFails(); ``` You can also use `onFailMessage` to add a message that’s shown when a test fails. For example: ```java when(). get(). then(). onFailMessage("Some specific message"). statusCode(200); ``` Now “Some specific message” will be shown in the error message. This is good if you want to e.g. distinguish more easily between tests if they fail. ## Blacklist headers from logging You can blacklist headers so that they are not shown in the request or response log. Instead the header value will be replaced with `[ BLACKLISTED ]`. You can enable this per header basis using the [LogConfig](https://www.javadoc.io/doc/io.rest-assured/rest-assured/latest/io/restassured/config/LogConfig.html): ```java given().config(config().logConfig(logConfig().blacklistHeader("Accept"))). .. ``` The response log will the print: ```plaintext Request method: GET Request URI: http://localhost:8080/something Proxy: Request params: Query params: Form params: Path params: Headers: Accept=[ BLACKLISTED ] Cookies: Multiparts: Body: ``` The logging filter of `log()`, as in `given().log().headers()`, and of `RequestSpecBuilder.log(..)`, takes the blacklisted headers, the print stream, the URL encoding of the request URI and pretty printing from the config of the request when it logs. So a blacklist in `RestAssured.config`, in the config of a [client](/docs/usage/parallel-tests/#restassuredclient), or set with `given().config(..)` after `log()`, applies. Pretty printing that you give explicitly, as in `log().body(false)`, still wins. Before REST Assured 7.0.0, `log()` took these settings from the config as it was when `log()` was called. The response log hides the blacklisted headers too, whichever way you log it: `then().log()`, `expect().log()`, `ResponseSpecBuilder.log(..)`, [logging if validation fails](/docs/usage/logging/#log-if-validation-fails), the response logs of form authentication and CSRF, and a `ResponseLoggingFilter` or `ErrorLoggingFilter` that you create without blacklisted headers. They take the blacklist from the config of the request when they log. Before REST Assured 7.0.0, only `then().log()` hid them in the response log. Blacklisted headers that you give to the constructor of a logging filter are matched ignoring case, like those of `blacklistHeader(..)`, so they’re hidden also when the HTTP client gives the header names in lower case, as the JDK client does. To hide `Authorization`, `Proxy-Authorization` and `Cookie`, use `logConfig().blacklistDefaultSensitiveHeaders()`.