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Alex Aslam
Alex Aslam

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The Hidden Cost of console.log() in Production: How We Lost 40% Performance

#webdev #programming #javascript #beginners

The Mystery of the Slow API

Our monitoring dashboard showed something strange: 40% slower response times during peak hours. The odd part? CPU and memory looked fine.

After days of profiling, we discovered the culprit:

console.log() statements left in production.

Here’s why they’re dangerous—and how to fix them.

1. Why console.log() is Worse Than You Think

🚨 Problem #1: It’s Synchronous (Yes, Really!) 

console.log('Logging data:', largeObject); // Blocks the event loop!
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✅ Proof:

console.time('sync');
for (let i = 0; i < 1e5; i++) console.log(i); // ~3 seconds!
console.timeEnd('sync');
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🚨 Problem #2: Memory Leaks in Logging Libraries

Some logging frameworks buffer logs in memory before writing to disk/network.

  • Example: Unstructured console.log → uncontrolled growth in long-running processes.

🚨 Problem #3: Security Risks 

console.log('User token:', req.headers.authorization); // 😱 Logs secrets!
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2. How We Fixed It

✅ Switch to Async Logging (Winston/Pino) 

// Before (Dangerous)
console.log(`User ${userId} logged in`);

// After (Safe)
const logger = require('pino')();
logger.info({ userId }, 'User logged in'); // Async + structured
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Performance Boost:
| Logger | Req/sec | Latency (p99) |
|--------------|---------|--------------|
| console.log | 8,000 | 120ms |
| Pino | 14,000 | 45ms |

✅ Use Log Levels (Avoid Spam in Prod) 

if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development') {
  console.log('Debug info'); // Only in dev
}
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✅ Automatically Strip Logs in Production 

# Use Babel/ESBuild to remove console.* in prod
esbuild app.js --drop:console
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3. When console.log is Actually Okay

✔ CLI tools (short-lived processes)
✔ Early prototyping (before proper logging is set up)
✔ Browser debugging (but use debugger instead)

Key Takeaways

🔇 console.log blocks the event loop (yes, even in Node.js!)
📉 Uncontrolled logging tanks performance (we lost 40% throughput)
🔒 Logs can leak secrets (check for sensitive data)
🚀 Use Pino/Winston for async, structured logging

Further Reading

Have you been burned by logging in prod? Share your story!

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