upstart logging output enabled

Question

Except doing explicit logging instructions like suggested in http://upstart.ubuntu.com/wiki/Debugging, is there a way to enable output of what is happening with upstart?

What event is raised
What service changed its status (started/stopped/dead)
What signal were emmited
what output a service produced while starting

Perhaps this question might be more appropriate on http://serverfault.com/ — mr.b, Dec 02 '10 at 13:14
It's relative to both server and desktop... Should I close this one and re-open in serverfault? — samb, Dec 02 '10 at 15:44

score 36 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 03 '10 at 10:44

36

Ok, I've found one way to get it :

$ sudo initctl log-priority        # gives the actual (default) logging level
$ sudo initctl log-priority --help # gives available logging levels
$ sudo initctl log-priority info # is enough to get :
$ tail -f /var/log/syslog        # - log of upstart events
$ tail -f /var/log/boot.log      # - log of services output

answered Dec 03 '10 at 10:44

samb

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hey! Ubuntu 11.10 here and there is no /var/log/boot.log for me, just /var/log/boot. That doesn't produce any process output though, i tried `echo 'hi'` and it's not showing up in /var/log/boot. Any tips? – rdrey Mar 28 '12 at 16:09
@rdrey: /var/log/kern.log maybe? – Atila Romero Aug 02 '12 at 20:16
@AtilaRomero maybe ;) I actually don't remember this question/comment at all, sorry. – rdrey Aug 02 '12 at 22:30
2

I am using Ubuntu 12.10 now, why I still cannot get the log following your steps? – Yishu Fang Apr 16 '13 at 02:57
You may need to add `$KLogPermitNonKernelFacility on` to rsyslogd's config, as detailed here: http://askubuntu.com/a/490900/297973 – Vanessa Phipps Jul 02 '14 at 17:16

score 19 · Answer 2 · answered May 01 '14 at 05:25

19

In newer versions, you can find the upstart logs at:

/var/log/upstart

It has a log for each process it tries to start.

answered May 01 '14 at 05:25

Travis Reeder

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FTR: That is true for 12.04 and 14.04 but not for 10.04. – tlo Jun 12 '14 at 08:56

score 8 · Answer 3 · edited Mar 30 '16 at 08:32

8

initctl log-priority info logs events, but ignores the program output.

If the program output is important to you, I think the complementary solution is to use logger in your init script:

script
    myawesomeprog 2>&1 | logger -t myawesomeprog
end script

Because it's better to use syslog than manually manage /var/log, like http://upstart.ubuntu.com/wiki/Debugging suggests (in 08/2012).

edited Mar 30 '16 at 08:32

Aminah Nuraini

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answered Aug 02 '12 at 20:15

Atila Romero

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Doesn't give any output for me using: `su -c "$DAEMON $DAEMON_OPTS" $ES_USER 2>&1 | logger -t elasticsearch` – Rob Nov 08 '12 at 12:02

upstart logging output enabled

3 Answers3