A Guide to: Ubuntu Logs
Oct 13, 2022 
Tony Perez (@perezbox)
Ubuntu is one of the more popular Linux distributions. Like most systems, it generates a tremendous amount of logs. But what are they? And where are they located? This article will help you find them, and help you make sense of them.
Ubuntu Logs
By design, Ubuntu generates a lot of logs. Each is tailored to record specific problems as they pertain to specific system applications.
Authorization log
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Location | /var/log/auth.log |
| Details | Keeps track of authorization systems, such as password prompts, the sudo command and remote logins. |
Daemon log
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Location | /var/log/daemon.log |
| Details | Daemons are programs that run in the background, usually without user interaction. For example, display server, SSH sessions, printing services, bluetooth, and more. |
Debug log
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Location | /var/log/debug |
| Details | Provides debugging information from the Ubuntu system and applications. |
Kernel log
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Location | /var/log/kern.log |
| Details | Logs from the Linux kernel. |
System log
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Location | /var/log/syslog |
| Details | Contains more information about your system. If you can’t find anything in the other logs, it’s probably here. |
Login failures log
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Location | /var/log/faillog |
| Details | Contains info about login failures. You can view it with the faillog command. |
Last logins log
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Location | /var/log/lastlog |
| Details | Contains info about last logins. You can view it with the lastlog command. |
Logging Guides
We love logs. In this section we will share some articles from our team to help you get better at logging.
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