[[logging]] === Logging configuration Elasticsearch uses https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/[Log4j 2] for logging. Log4j 2 can be configured using the log4j2.properties file. Elasticsearch exposes three properties, `${sys:es.logs.base_path}`, `${sys:es.logs.cluster_name}`, and `${sys:es.logs.node_name}` (if the node name is explicitly set via `node.name`) that can be referenced in the configuration file to determine the location of the log files. The property `${sys:es.logs.base_path}` will resolve to the log directory, `${sys:es.logs.cluster_name}` will resolve to the cluster name (used as the prefix of log filenames in the default configuration), and `${sys:es.logs.node_name}` will resolve to the node name (if the node name is explicitly set). For example, if your log directory (`path.logs`) is `/var/log/elasticsearch` and your cluster is named `production` then `${sys:es.logs.base_path}` will resolve to `/var/log/elasticsearch` and `${sys:es.logs.base_path}${sys:file.separator}${sys:es.logs.cluster_name}.log` will resolve to `/var/log/elasticsearch/production.log`. [source,properties] -------------------------------------------------- appender.rolling.type = RollingFile <1> appender.rolling.name = rolling appender.rolling.fileName = ${sys:es.logs.base_path}${sys:file.separator}${sys:es.logs.cluster_name}.log <2> appender.rolling.layout.type = PatternLayout appender.rolling.layout.pattern = [%d{ISO8601}][%-5p][%-25c{1.}] %marker%.-10000m%n appender.rolling.filePattern = ${sys:es.logs.base_path}${sys:file.separator}${sys:es.logs.cluster_name}-%d{yyyy-MM-dd}-%i.log.gz <3> appender.rolling.policies.type = Policies appender.rolling.policies.time.type = TimeBasedTriggeringPolicy <4> appender.rolling.policies.time.interval = 1 <5> appender.rolling.policies.time.modulate = true <6> appender.rolling.policies.size.type = SizeBasedTriggeringPolicy <7> appender.rolling.policies.size.size = 256MB <8> appender.rolling.strategy.type = DefaultRolloverStrategy appender.rolling.strategy.fileIndex = nomax appender.rolling.strategy.action.type = Delete <9> appender.rolling.strategy.action.basepath = ${sys:es.logs.base_path} appender.rolling.strategy.action.condition.type = IfFileName <10> appender.rolling.strategy.action.condition.glob = ${sys:es.logs.cluster_name}-* <11> appender.rolling.strategy.action.condition.nested_condition.type = IfAccumulatedFileSize <12> appender.rolling.strategy.action.condition.nested_condition.exceeds = 2GB <13> -------------------------------------------------- <1> Configure the `RollingFile` appender <2> Log to `/var/log/elasticsearch/production.log` <3> Roll logs to `/var/log/elasticsearch/production-yyyy-MM-dd-i.log`; logs will be compressed on each roll and `i` will be incremented <4> Use a time-based roll policy <5> Roll logs on a daily basis <6> Align rolls on the day boundary (as opposed to rolling every twenty-four hours) <7> Using a size-based roll policy <8> Roll logs after 256 MB <9> Use a delete action when rolling logs <10> Only delete logs matching a file pattern <11> The pattern is to only delete the main logs <12> Only delete if we have accumulated too many compressed logs <13> The size condition on the compressed logs is 2 GB NOTE: Log4j's configuration parsing gets confused by any extraneous whitespace; if you copy and paste any Log4j settings on this page, or enter any Log4j configuration in general, be sure to trim any leading and trailing whitespace. Note than you can replace `.gz` by `.zip` in `appender.rolling.filePattern` to compress the rolled logs using the zip format. If you remove the `.gz` extension then logs will not be compressed as they are rolled. If you want to retain log files for a specified period of time, you can use a rollover strategy with a delete action. [source,properties] -------------------------------------------------- appender.rolling.strategy.type = DefaultRolloverStrategy <1> appender.rolling.strategy.action.type = Delete <2> appender.rolling.strategy.action.basepath = ${sys:es.logs.base_path} <3> appender.rolling.strategy.action.condition.type = IfFileName <4> appender.rolling.strategy.action.condition.glob = ${sys:es.logs.cluster_name}-* <5> appender.rolling.strategy.action.condition.nested_condition.type = IfLastModified <6> appender.rolling.strategy.action.condition.nested_condition.age = 7D <7> -------------------------------------------------- <1> Configure the `DefaultRolloverStrategy` <2> Configure the `Delete` action for handling rollovers <3> The base path to the Elasticsearch logs <4> The condition to apply when handling rollovers <5> Delete files from the base path matching the glob `${sys:es.logs.cluster_name}-*`; this is the glob that log files are rolled to; this is needed to only delete the rolled Elasticsearch logs but not also delete the deprecation and slow logs <6> A nested condition to apply to files matching the glob <7> Retain logs for seven days Multiple configuration files can be loaded (in which case they will get merged) as long as they are named `log4j2.properties` and have the Elasticsearch config directory as an ancestor; this is useful for plugins that expose additional loggers. The logger section contains the java packages and their corresponding log level. The appender section contains the destinations for the logs. Extensive information on how to customize logging and all the supported appenders can be found on the http://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/configuration.html[Log4j documentation]. [float] [[configuring-logging-levels]] === Configuring logging levels There are four ways to configuring logging levels, each having situations in which they are appropriate to use. 1. Via the command-line: `-E =` (e.g., `-E logger.org.elasticsearch.transport=trace`). This is most appropriate when you are temporarily debugging a problem on a single node (for example, a problem with startup, or during development). 2. Via `elasticsearch.yml`: `: ` (e.g., `logger.org.elasticsearch.transport: trace`). This is most appropriate when you are temporarily debugging a problem but are not starting Elasticsearch via the command-line (e.g., via a service) or you want a logging level adjusted on a more permanent basis. 3. Via <>: + -- [source,js] ------------------------------- PUT /_cluster/settings { "transient": { "": "" } } ------------------------------- // NOTCONSOLE For example: [source,js] ------------------------------- PUT /_cluster/settings { "transient": { "logger.org.elasticsearch.transport": "trace" } } ------------------------------- // CONSOLE This is most appropriate when you need to dynamically need to adjust a logging level on an actively-running cluster. -- 4. Via the `log4j2.properties`: + -- [source,properties] -------------------------------------------------- logger..name = logger..level = -------------------------------------------------- For example: [source,properties] -------------------------------------------------- logger.transport.name = org.elasticsearch.transport logger.transport.level = trace -------------------------------------------------- This is most appropriate when you need fine-grained control over the logger (for example, you want to send the logger to another file, or manage the logger differently; this is a rare use-case). -- [float] [[deprecation-logging]] === Deprecation logging In addition to regular logging, Elasticsearch allows you to enable logging of deprecated actions. For example this allows you to determine early, if you need to migrate certain functionality in the future. By default, deprecation logging is enabled at the WARN level, the level at which all deprecation log messages will be emitted. [source,properties] -------------------------------------------------- logger.deprecation.level = warn -------------------------------------------------- This will create a daily rolling deprecation log file in your log directory. Check this file regularly, especially when you intend to upgrade to a new major version. The default logging configuration has set the roll policy for the deprecation logs to roll and compress after 1 GB, and to preserve a maximum of five log files (four rolled logs, and the active log). You can disable it in the `config/log4j2.properties` file by setting the deprecation log level to `error`.