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Add documentation for the log configuration #45940

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5 changes: 5 additions & 0 deletions docs/config.json
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -2391,6 +2391,11 @@
"destination": "/admin-guides/management/diagnostics/",
"permanent": true
},
{
"source": "/management/diagnostics/logging/",
"destination": "/admin-guides/management/diagnostics/logging/",
"permanent": true
},
{
"source": "/management/diagnostics/metrics/",
"destination": "/admin-guides/management/diagnostics/metrics/",
Expand Down
72 changes: 72 additions & 0 deletions docs/pages/admin-guides/management/diagnostics/logging.mdx
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
---
title: Logger Configuration
description: Explains how to configure the logger on a Teleport instance.
---

In the configuration file of a Teleport instance, you can configure the logger's behavior by defining the output
destination, severity level, and output format.

```yaml
teleport:
log:
output: stderr
severity: INFO
format:
output: text
extra_fields: [caller, level]
```

If the output parameter is not defined or set as empty, `stderr` (aliases `err` or `2`) is used by default.
Other available options for defining the output include `stdout` (aliases `out` or `1`), `syslog` for writing
to the syslog file, or a filepath for direct writing to a log file destination.

Severity has several levels, which are sorted by decreasing priority:
- `err`, `error` - used for errors that require action from the user.
- `warn`, `warning` - non-critical entries that deserve attention.
- `info` or empty value - general operational entries about what's going on inside the application.
- `debug` - usually only enabled when debugging, verbose logging.
- `trace` - designates more detailed information about actions and events.
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Do we ever use "trace" level in our code? I don't think we do?

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we use, but very limited #45940 (comment), so might be better to remove?


When we choose `info` severity level, `warning` and `error` are also applied by priority rule.

The default format for log output is `text`. Another available format is `json`, which may simplify log
parsing for systems like Logstash, Loki, or other log aggregators.

Format `extra_fields` defines additional fields which must be added to the log output:
- `level` is the log field that stores the verbosity.
- `component` is the log field that stores the calling component.
- `caller` is the log field that stores the calling file and line number.
- `timestamp` is the field that stores the timestamp the log was emitted.

On systemd-based distributions you can watch the log output by running the following command:

```code
$ teleport install systemd -o /etc/systemd/system/teleport.service
$ systemctl enable teleport
$ journalctl -fu teleport
```

## Log rotation support

To store logs as a file, the filepath should be set in the `log.output` configuration.

```yaml
teleport:
log:
output: /var/lib/teleport/log/output.log
```

When Teleport opens or creates a new log file, a filesystem watcher is launched in the background to monitor the file modifications.
If the log file is renamed, moved, or deleted, Teleport automatically creates a new one.
This is useful for implementing log rotation without needing to restart or interrupt the main service.

Using `logrotate` as an example, you may define the following config `/etc/logrotate.d/teleport.conf`
to rotate Teleport log file weekly:

```
/var/lib/teleport/log/output.log {
weekly
compress
notifempty
}
```
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