Q. How do I find out Apache http server log files location? How do I change the location of Apache log file under Linux / UNIX operating system?
A. There are two type of apache httpd server log files:
Apache Error Log File
All apache errors / diagnostic information other errors found during serving requests are logged to this file. Location of error log is set using ErrorLog directive. If there is any problem, you should first take a look at this file using cat, grep or any other UNIX / Linux text utilities. This apache log file often contain details of what went wrong and how to fix it. Default error log file location:
- RHEL / Red Hat / CentOS / Fedora Linux Apache error file location – /var/log/httpd/error_log
- Debian / Ubuntu Linux Apache error log file location – /var/log/apache2/error.log
- FreeBSD Apache error log file location – /var/log/httpd-error.log
To find exact apache log file location, you can use grep command:
# grep ErrorLog /usr/local/etc/apache22/httpd.conf
# grep ErrorLog /etc/apache2/apache2.conf
# grep ErrorLog /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
Sample output:
# ErrorLog: The location of the error log file. # If you do not specify an ErrorLog directive within aErrorLog "/var/log/httpd-error.log"
Apache Access Log File
Apache server records all incoming requests and all requests processed to a log file. The format of the access log is highly configurable. The location and content of the access log are controlled by the CustomLog directive. Default apache access log file location:
- RHEL / Red Hat / CentOS / Fedora Linux Apache access file location – /var/log/httpd/access_log
- Debian / Ubuntu Linux Apache access log file location – /var/log/apache2/access.log
- FreeBSD Apache access log file location – /var/log/httpd-access.log
To find exact apache log file location, you can use grep command:
# grep CustomLog /usr/local/etc/apache22/httpd.conf
# grep CustomLog /etc/apache2/apache2.conf
# grep CustomLog /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
Sample output:
# a CustomLog directive (see below).
#CustomLog "/var/log/httpd-access.log" common
CustomLog "/var/log/httpd-access.log" combined
How do I change Apache log file location?
Simply edit apache configuration file and change the location. You need define new location using CustomLog or ErrorLog:
ErrorLog "/home/httpd/cyberciti.biz/rawlogs/httpd-error.log" CustomLog "/home/httpd/cyberciti.biz/rawlogs/httpd-access.log" combined
Save and close the file. Restart httpd:
# service httpd restart
🐧 23 comments so far... add one ↓
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Linux Log Files Location And How Do I View Logs…
| Category | List of Unix and Linux commands |
|---|---|
| Disk space analyzers | ncdu • pydf |
| File Management | cat |
| Firewall | Alpine Awall • CentOS 8 • OpenSUSE • RHEL 8 • Ubuntu 16.04 • Ubuntu 18.04 • Ubuntu 20.04 |
| Network Utilities | NetHogs • dig • host • ip • nmap |
| OpenVPN | CentOS 7 • CentOS 8 • Debian 10 • Debian 8/9 • Ubuntu 18.04 • Ubuntu 20.04 |
| Package Manager | apk • apt |
| Processes Management | bg • chroot • cron • disown • fg • jobs • killall • kill • pidof • pstree • pwdx • time |
| Searching | grep • whereis • which |
| User Information | groups • id • lastcomm • last • lid/libuser-lid • logname • members • users • whoami • who • w |
| WireGuard VPN | Alpine • CentOS 8 • Debian 10 • Firewall • Ubuntu 20.04 |
You can also use the following command to find the log files if the apache instance is running.
lsof -p |grep -i logs
This would give the access and the error logs.
Cheers,
rOOtUser
thanks
Disregard the previous command.
lsof -p pid-of-httpd | grep -i logs
Good one r00tUser that is a neat one-liner.
Thank you too much
how to learn the number of requests for a file in apache logs?
thanks.
i want log file formats for server log,access log,user log,browser log,proxy log ,error log ect.
How can I move my /var/log directory to RAM (tmpfs) and not have Apache fail to load because it can’t find “error.log” when I reboot?
Thanks. I didn’t know where the logs were and I just wanted to manually look through the access log.
Thanks for covering the the Apache log file locations for Red Hat, CentOS and Ubuntu. Very useful!
Excellent guide; thank you very much!
Hi,
wat are the different command to retrive the contents of Server LOG file and fhow do it accecc the contens of Serevr LOG file.
Forbidden
You don’t have permission to access / on this server.
Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
Hi,
Please help me out with this Apache Log file settings that i want to achieve:
1. The Log file size should be restricted to 100 MB
2. Once the log file reaches 100 MB, it should create a new log file
3. Maximum we should be backing up 10 log files.
I need this on urgent basis, please help
Is this the same in CentOS, Fedora, and Redhat?
What would a file called _PO.log be?
Thanks mate. I was checking out where to find the error log files of apache and this one solved it for me.
Have you ever had this error after changing access_log file destination folder?
[error] (13)Permission denied: could not open transfer log file /tmp/apache2/access.log
I’ve set chmod of apache2 to 777 and owner to apache, working on new installation of Centos 6.2
good krub
Hello everyone,
please i want to know how i can find and download a search log file ( For example for a Google or Yahoo ) , because i need the log file to study and analysis the queries that made by the user of these search engines.
Best regard
Asaad
Hi,
Please help me out with this maillog Log file settings that i want to achieve:
1. The Log file size should be restricted to 20 GB
2. Once the log file reaches 4GB, it should create a new log file
3. Maximum we should be backing up 10 log files.
I need this on urgent basis, please help
These all above commands are for linux..But where can i find apache log files on windows?
Great stuff thanks for the info, very usefull