HF PanelLogs
Where to find the installer's, the panel's, the scheduled jobs', the services' and each website's logs on an HF Panel server.
When something goes wrong, the logs say why. This page lists where each part of HF Panel writes.
Tip: remove passwords and keys before you send log lines to anyone.
HF Panel's own logs
| Log | What it records |
|---|---|
/var/log/hostfog-install.log |
everything the installer ran. Each step starts with ==> [n/total] Name |
/var/log/hostfog-selfupdate.log |
updates started from HF Panel updates |
/var/log/hostfog-cron.log |
the scheduled jobs: samples every 5 minutes, the nightly job at 03:20, backup schedules, the licence check |
/var/log/hostfog-autossl.log |
AutoSSL: Let's Encrypt certificate requests |
/var/log/hostfog-health.log |
the one-click fixes run from Server health |
/var/log/hostfog-services.log |
service restarts and repairs from Services |
/var/log/hostfog-updates.log |
system updates installed from Server & updates |
/var/log/hostfog-packages.log |
packages installed or removed under System packages |
/var/log/hostfog-software.log |
installs and upgrades under Software versions |
/var/log/hostfog-php-install.log |
PHP versions installed under PHP & Node.js |
/var/log/hostfog-php-ext.log |
PHP extensions switched on |
/var/log/hostfog-node-install.log |
Node.js versions installed |
/var/log/hostfog-docker-install.log |
Docker installed for Docker apps |
/var/log/hostfog-mongo-install.log |
the MongoDB databases service being installed |
/var/log/hostfog-tunnel.log |
HF Tunnel being switched on and off |
/var/log/hostfog-limits.log |
CPU, memory and process limits being switched on and off |
/var/log/hostfog-isolation-report.log |
the check of the recommended account isolation settings |
Many of these are shown live in the panel while the job runs.
The panel program
hf-api writes to the system journal:
journalctl -u hostfog-api -n 100 --no-pager # the last 100 lines
systemctl status hostfog-api --no-pager # running, restarting, stopped?
Repeated restarts, panic, errors reading /etc/hostfog/config.json or database is locked are not normal. See
Troubleshooting.
Websites
| Log | What it records |
|---|---|
/home/<user>/logs/ |
each website's access log, Apache error log and PHP error log |
/var/log/nginx/error.log |
Nginx's own errors, including problems reaching hf-api |
/var/log/apache2/error.log |
Apache's own errors |
Customers read their logs under Websites › Logs in the Control Panel, and download them there. Website logs are rotated daily and kept for 14 days.
Email, DNS and the rest
| Log | What it records |
|---|---|
/var/log/mail.log |
Postfix and Dovecot: every message received, sent, deferred or bounced |
journalctl -u named |
the DNS server |
journalctl -u fail2ban, /var/log/fail2ban.log |
addresses blocked after failed logins |
/var/log/auth.log |
SSH and SFTP logins |
The Mail delivery log in Server Admin, the Reseller Panel and the Control Panel reads the mail log every 5 minutes and lets people search what happened to each message.
The activity log
Who did what in the panels is not a file: it is the Activity log in the panel database. Server Admin › Security › Activity log shows every administrator's, reseller's and customer's changes and the scheduled jobs' work. Customers see their own account's in the Control Panel under Account › Activity log.
Log rotation
| Logs | Rotated | Kept |
|---|---|---|
/home/*/logs/*.log |
daily | 14 days, compressed |
hostfog-cron.log, hostfog-updates.log, hostfog-packages.log |
weekly | 8 weeks, compressed |