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syslog-ng.conf(5) The syslog-ng.conf manual page syslog-ng.conf(5) NAME syslog-ng.conf - {{ site.product.short_name }} configuration file Synopsis syslog-ng.conf Description This manual page is only an abstract. The syslog-ng OSE application is a flexible and highly scalable system logging application. Typically, syslog-ng OSE is used to manage log messages and implement centralized logging, where the aim is to collect the log messages of several devices on a single, central log server. The different devices - called syslog-ng OSE clients - all run sys- log-ng OSE, and collect the log messages from the various applications, files, and other sources. The clients send all important log messages to the remote syslog-ng OSE PE server, where the server sorts and stores them. Basic concepts of syslog-ng OSE The syslog-ng OSE application reads incoming messages and forwards them to the selected destinations. The syslog-ng OSE application can receive messages from files, remote hosts, and other sources. Log messages enter syslog-ng OSE in one of the defined sources, and are sent to one or more destinations. Sources and destinations are independent objects, log paths define what syslog-ng OSE does with a message, connecting the sources to the desti- nations. A log path consists of one or more sources and one or more destinations: messages arriving from a source are sent to every desti- nation listed in the log path. A log path defined in syslog-ng OSE is called a log statement. Optionally, log paths can include filters. Filters are rules that se- lect only certain messages, for example, selecting only messages sent by a specific application. If a log path includes filters, syslog-ng OSE sends only the messages satisfying the filter rules to the destina- tions set in the log path. Other optional elements that can appear in log statements are parsers and rewriting rules. Parsers segment messages into different fields to help processing the messages, while rewrite rules modify the messages by adding, replacing, or removing parts of the messages. Configuring syslog-ng OSE • The main body of the configuration file consists of object de- finitions: sources, destinations, logpaths define which log message are received and where they are sent. All identifiers, option names and attributes, and any other strings used in the syslog-ng OSE configuration file are case sensitive. Object definitions (also called statements) have the following syn- tax: type-of-the-object identifier-of-the-object {<parameters>}; • Type of the object: One of source, destination, log, filter, parser, rewrite rule, or template. • Identifier of the object: A unique name identifying the object. When using a reserved word as an identifier, enclose the identifier in quotation marks (\"\"). All identifiers, attributes, and any other strings used in the syslog-ng OSE configuration file are case sensitive. TIP: Use identifiers that refer to the type of the object they identify. For example, prefix source objects with s_, destina- tions with d_, and so on. NOTE: Repeating a definition of an object (that is, defining the same object with the same id more than once) is not allowed, un- less you use the @define allow-config-dups 1 definition in the configuration file. - Parameters: The parameters of the object, enclosed in braces {parameters}. - Semicolon: Object definitions end with a semicolon (;). For example, the following line defines a source and calls it s_internal. source s_internal { internal(); }; The object can be later referenced in other statements using its ID, for example, the previous source is used as a parameter of the following log statement: log { source(s_internal); destination(d_file); }; • The parameters and options within a statement are similar to function calls of the C programming language: the name of the option followed by a list of its parameters enclosed within brackets and terminated with a semicolon. option(parameter1, parameter2); option2(parameter1, parameter2); For example, the file() driver in the following source statement has three options: the filename (/var/log/apache/access.log), follow-freq(), and flags(). The follow-freq() option also has a parameter, while the flags() option has two parameters. source s_tail { file("/var/log/apache/access.log" follow-freq(1) flags(no-parse, validate-utf8)); }; Objects may have required and optional parameters. Required pa- rameters are positional, meaning that they must be specified in a defined order. Optional parameters can be specified in any or- der using the option(value) format. If a parameter (optional or required) is not specified, its default value is used. The para- meters and their default values are listed in the reference sec- tion of the particular object. Example: Using required and optional parameters The unix-stream() source driver has a single required argument: the name of the socket to listen on. Optional parameters follow the socket name in any order, so the following source defini- tions have the same effect: source s_demo_stream1 { unix-stream("<path-to-socket>" max-connections(10) group(log)); }; source s_demo_stream2 { unix-stream("<path-to-socket>" group(log) max-connections(10)); }; • Some options are global options, or can be set globally, for example, whether syslog-ng OSE should use DNS resolution to resolve IP addresses. options { use-dns(no); }; • Objects can be used before definition. • Objects can be defined inline as well. This is useful if you use the object only once (for example, a filter). • To add comments to the configuration file, start a line with # and write your comments. These lines are ignored by syslog-ng OSE. # Comment: This is a stream source source s_demo_stream { unix-stream("<path-to-socket>" max-connections(10) group(log)); }; The syntax of log statements is as follows: log { source(s1); source(s2); ... optional_element(filter1|parser1|rewrite1); optional_element(filter2|parser2|rewrite2); ... destination(d1); destination(d2); ... flags(flag1[, flag2...]); }; The following log statement sends all messages arriving to the local- host to a remote server. source s_localhost { network(ip(127.0.0.1) port(1999)); }; destination d_tcp { network("10.1.2.3" port(1999) localport(999)); }; log { source(s_localhost); destination(d_tcp); }; The syslog-ng OSE application has a number of global options governing DNS usage, the timestamp format used, and other general points. Each option may have parameters, similarly to driver specifications. To set global options add an option statement to the syslog-ng OSE configura- tion file using the following syntax: options { option1(params); option2(params); ... }; Example: Using global options To disable domain name resolving, add the following line to the sys- log-ng OSE configuration file: options { use-dns(no); }; The sources, destinations, and filters available in syslog-ng OSE are listed below. Table 1: Source drivers available in syslog-ng OSE +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Name | Description | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | file() | Opens the specified file and reads messages. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | wildcard-file() | Reads messages from multiple files and directories. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | internal() | Messages generated internally in syslog-ng OSE. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | network() | Receives messages from remote hosts using the BSD-syslog protocol over IPv4 and IPv6. Supports the TCP, UDP, and TLS network protocols. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | nodejs() | Receives JSON messages from nodejs applications. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | mbox() | Read e-mail messages from local mbox files, and convert them to multi-line log messages. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | osquery() | Run osquery queries, and convert their results into log messages. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | pacct() | Reads messages from the process accounting logs on Linux. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | pipe() | Opens the specified named pipe and reads messages. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | program() | Opens the specified application and reads messages from its standard output. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | snmptrap() | Read and parse the SNMP traps of the Net-SNMP\'s snmptrapd application. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | sun-stream(), sun-streams() | Opens the specified STREAMS device on Solaris systems and reads incoming messages. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | syslog() | Listens for incoming messages using the new IETF-standard syslog protocol. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | system() | Automatically detects which platform syslog-ng OSE is running on, and collects the native log messages of that platform. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | systemd-journal() | Collects messages directly from the journal of platforms that use systemd. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | systemd-syslog() | Collects messages from the journal using a socket on platforms that use systemd. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | unix-dgram() | Opens the specified unix socket in SOCK_DGRAM mode and listens for incoming messages. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | unix-stream() | Opens the specified unix socket in SOCK_STREAM mode and listens for incoming messages. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | stdin() | Collects messages from the standard input stream. | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Table 2: Destination drivers available in syslog-ng +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Name | Description | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | amqp() | Publishes messages using the AMQP (Advanced Message Queuing Protocol). | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | elasticsearch-http | Sends messages to an Elasticsearch server. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | file() | Writes messages to the specified file. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | graphite() | Sends metrics to a Graphite server to store numeric time-series data. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | graylog2() | Sends syslog messages to Graylog. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | hdfs() | Sends messages into a file on a Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) node. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | http() | Sends messages over the HTTP protocol. There are two different implementations of this driver: a Java-based http driver, and an http driver without Java. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | kafka() | Publishes log messages to the Apache Kafka message bus, where subscribers can access them. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | loggly() | Sends log messages to the Loggly Logging-as-a-Service provider. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | logmatic() | Sends log messages to the Logmatic.io Logging-as-a-Service provider. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | mongodb() | Sends messages to a MongoDB database. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | network() | Sends messages to a remote host using the BSD-syslog protocol over IPv4 and IPv6. Supports the TCP, UDP, and TLS network protocols. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | pipe() | Writes messages to the specified named pipe. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | program() | Forks and launches the specified program, and sends messages to its standard input. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | redis() | Sends messages as name-value pairs to a Redis key-value store. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | riemann() | Sends metrics or events to a Riemann monitoring system. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | smtp() | Sends e-mail messages to the specified recipients. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | sql() | Sends messages into an SQL database. In addition to the standard syslog-ng OSE packages, the sql() destination requires database-specific packages to be installed. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | stomp() | Sends messages to a STOMP server. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | syslog() | Sends messages to the specified remote host using the IETF-syslog protocol. The IETF standard supports message transport using the UDP, TCP, and TLS networking protocols. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | unix-dgram() | Sends messages to the specified unix socket in SOCK_DGRAM style (BSD). | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | unix-stream() | Sends messages to the specified unix socket in SOCK_STREAM style (Linux). | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | usertty() | Sends messages to the terminal of the specified user, if the user is logged in. | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Table 3: Filter functi|ons available in syslog-ng OSE +-----------------------+-------------+ | Name | Description | +-----------------------+-------------+ | facility() | | +-----------------------+-------------+ | filter() | | +-----------------------+-------------+ | host() | | +-----------------------+-------------+ | inlist() | | +-----------------------+-------------+ | level() or priority() | | +-----------------------+-------------+ | match() | | +-----------------------+-------------+ | message() | | +-----------------------+-------------+ | netmask() | | +-----------------------+-------------+ | program() | | +-----------------------+-------------+ | source() | | +-----------------------+-------------+ | tags() | | +-----------------------+-------------+ Files /usr/local/ /usr/local/etc/syslog-ng.conf NOTE: If you experience any problems or need help with syslog-ng OSE, see the syslog-ng OSE Administration Guide[1], or visit the syslog-ng OSE mailing list[2]. For news and notifications about syslog-ng OSE, visit the syslog-ng OSE blogs[3]. AUTHOR This manual page was generated from the syslog-ng OSE Administration Guide[1], which was written by several contributors to whom we'd like to extend our sincere thanks. COPYRIGHT NOTES [1] syslog-ng OSE Administration Guide <https://syslog-ng.github.io/admin-guide/README> [2] syslog-ng OSE mailing list <https://lists.balabit.hu/mailman/listinfo/syslog-ng> [3] syslog-ng OSE blogs <https://syslog-ng.com/blog/> 4.9.0 03 September 2025 syslog-ng.conf(5)
NAME | Synopsis | Description | Basic concepts of syslog-ng OSE | Configuring syslog-ng OSE | Table 1: Source drivers available in syslog-ng OSE | Table 2: Destination drivers available in syslog-ng | Table 3: Filter functi|ons available in syslog-ng OSE | Files | AUTHOR | COPYRIGHT | NOTES
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