How can I change the default location of log4j2.xml in Java Spring Boot?

Question

Log4j2 is working nicely with Spring Boot through the log4j2.xml configuration file in the root classpath, exactly as the documentation states.

When try

Answer 1

The answer of micpalmia is absolutely correct.

I needed to put the configuration outside the classpath I didn't want to pass the config file as a parameter. So i put a very simple logging configuration in the classpath resources and had the spring boot application reconfigure logging upon start, like so:

@SpringBootApplication
public class Application implements CommandLineRunner {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        SpringApplication.run(Application.class, args);
    }

    @Override
    public void run(String... param) throws UnsupportedEncodingException {
        Configurator.initialize(null, "config/log4j2.xml");
        // ...
    }
}

This approach has a significant disadvantage: The whole application boot process will not be logged as externally configured. But once the custom code is run the logger works as intended. While you may not, I find this to be a compromise I can live with.