Server log pipe drops printf-style format substitution, leaks raw `%s` into browser console
Nobody has claimed this yet.
- Dominant language
- TypeScript
- Stars
- 499
- Forks
- 100
- Avg merge
- 1d 17h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 4
Description
When server-side logs that use printf-style formatting (e.g. Nitro's request logger calling console.log('%s - %s info GET %s %d in %dms', ts, level, method, status, ms)) are piped to the browser via the virtual-console SSE bridge, the format substitution is lost and the literal %s tokens appear in the browser console.
Example output in browser:
[Server] %s - %s info GET /build-version 200 in 1ms
Cause
In packages/devtools-vite/src/virtual-console.ts, the browser-side handler reconstructs the call as:
var prefix = '%c[Server]%c';
logMethod.apply(console, [prefix, prefixStyle, resetStyle].concat(transformedArgs));
The browser console only treats the first argument as a format string. Since the prefix '%c[Server]%c' is now in position 0, the original server-side format string (which is at transformedArgs[0]) is no longer interpreted — its %s tokens print literally and the remaining args are appended as separate values rather than substituted.
Reproduction
Any TanStack Start app with devtools() in the Vite plugins. Hit any route while the dev server is running; the Nitro request log lands in the browser console with literal %s.
Suggested fix
Either:
- (a) Pre-format the server args with
util.formaton the server before serializing, so the browser receives a single already-formatted string; or - (b) On the browser side, if
transformedArgs[0]is a string containing format specifiers, merge it into the prefix format string (e.g.'%c[Server]%c ' + transformedArgs[0]) and shift the remaining args accordingly.
Environment
@tanstack/devtools-vite@0.6.0- Vite 8
- TanStack Start
- Node 18+
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start in packages/devtools-vite/src/virtual-console.ts and inspect the browser-side handler that calls logMethod.apply with the server prefix and transformedArgs. Reproduce the issue with a Nitro request log in a TanStack Start app using the devtools Vite plugin. Done means printf-style placeholders are substituted correctly in the browser console instead of appearing as literal tokens.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- typescript, vite
- Domain
- devtools
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 72/100