elasticsearch/docs/reference/setup/logging-config.asciidoc

[[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.}] [%node_name]%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 <name of logging hierarchy>=<level>` (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`: `<name of logging hierarchy>: <level>` (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 <<cluster-logger,cluster settings>>:
+
--
[source,js]
-------------------------------
PUT /_cluster/settings
{
  "transient": {
    "<name of logging hierarchy>": "<level>"
  }
}
-------------------------------
// 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.<unique_identifier>.name = <name of logging hierarchy>
logger.<unique_identifier>.level = <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`.