Can log4j inherit xml from a base/root element?
I'm trying to reduce duplication in my log4j configuration and wanted to know if I could push similar config down to a root.xml file and inherit from it in each of the child log4j.xml files? Thank you! AFAIK there's no "native" inheritance mechanism, but you may achieve the same result using an entity to reference and include an external xml fragment (see this nabble thread ). If you just want to modify certain properties, a similar solution is described here . An Example using external entities: Main Config (log4j.xml): <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> <!DOCTYPE log4j:configuration