envoyproxy/envoy

Side request access logging

Open

#39,946 opened on Jun 18, 2025

View on GitHub
 (2 comments) (0 reactions) (0 assignees)C++ (5,373 forks)batch import
area/access_logenhancementhelp wanted

Repository metrics

Stars
 (27,997 stars)
PR merge metrics
 (Avg merge 8d) (378 merged PRs in 30d)

Description

(apologies if this was filed earlier, but I can't find it)

Many of existing extensions issue side requests (e.g. fetching JWKs, ext_*, telemetry export). When those requests fail, it's difficult to find out the root cause, since we only observe the effects on the extension behavior (e.g. failure to authenticate JWT, missing telemetry). It would be good to have a direct observation of the failed side requests, via a log entry which could provide the exact failure. We could also make this configurable independently of the extension, to allow dynamic troubleshooting (e.g. runtime override, admin endpoint, or regular xDS separate from filter config).

Contributor guide

Research direction
Identify all places in Envoy's source code where side requests (e.g., JWKs, ext *, telemetry export) are made. Understand the existing logging infrastructure and propose a way to add configurable logging for these requests. Look for existing patterns in other parts of Envoy that log external requests.
Tech stack
cpp
Domain
backend
Issue type
Feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
C++EnvoyLogging
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
60