Read container logs

Use the Logs tab in Admin > Platform to read, search and download the container logs of the platform, and to follow new lines while you investigate a problem. The tab opens when your role can read container logs.

On an installation DataMind manages for you, Services and Updates are hidden and only Logs remains, so you can still read the platform's logs. For the other tabs, see Platform services and Update DataMind OS. For the area itself and who can open it, see Platform.

Choose what to read

1. Open Admin > Platform > Logs.
2. Pick containers in the picker. Until you choose, it reads All readable containers. Type in Filter containers… to find a name in the list. The list holds only the containers your role can read, and only those that logged in the selected window; when none logged, it reads "No container has logged in this window".
3. Choose the stream: All covers "stdout and stderr", stdout is "Standard output only" and stderr is "Standard error only".
4. Choose a time range: 15m, 1h (the default), 6h, 24h, 7d or 30d. For another window, click Custom, pick the start and end, and click Apply. The picker opens on the window you are viewing and stops 30 days back.
5. Type in Search message text… to keep only lines whose message matches. The search applies as you type.

The page keeps your filters in its address. Copy the address to share or bookmark the exact view; opening it restores the same containers, stream, range and search.

Read the lines and move through history

Each line shows the time, the container name while more than one container is in view, and the message. Times read like 13:04:05.123 in your device's time zone, and long messages wrap instead of scrolling sideways. Lines from the error stream are tinted.

To move through the window:

• The chart above the list counts lines per period. Click a bar to zoom into just that period; clicking bars zooms step by step, from days to hours to minutes to seconds.
• Zoom out widens the view one step, and Back to last 1h returns to the default window.
• Scroll up to load older lines, in pages of 500. The footer counts the lines on screen; with Live off it appends "scroll up for older lines" or "line limit reached", and it shows how many containers the window queried on the right. While you follow, the right side reads "live tail".
• At the top of the window, the list reads "Start of the selected time range". If an older page cannot load, it reads "Could not load older lines:" with the reason and offers Retry.

The page keeps up to 10,000 lines for scrolling. Past it, it reads "10,000-line limit reached - narrow the range or click a bar in the chart above for older lines". Narrow the range or click a bar to reach further back; a download is not limited by this point.

While lines load, the list reads "Loading logs". An empty window reads "No log lines in this window." and, while Live is on, "Waiting for new lines…".

Follow new lines with Live

1. Turn on Live to follow new lines as they arrive. The dot beside it shows the state: green and pulsing while lines are arriving, amber while the connection is reconnecting on its own, and grey while nothing is arriving yet, or while Live is off.
2. Stay at the newest line to follow along; the view keeps to the end while you are there.
3. Once you scroll up, new lines are counted in a pill, like "12 new lines". Click the pill to jump back to the newest line.
4. While Live is on there is no Refresh button. Turn Live off and use Refresh to reload the current window by hand.

Download logs

1. Click Download and choose Plain text (.txt) or ND-JSON (.ndjson).
2. Your browser saves the file as container-logs- plus a timestamp, ending in .txt or .ndjson. The text file carries one line per entry: the time, the container in brackets and the message. The ND-JSON file carries the raw records, one JSON object per line.
3. A download is not limited to the lines on screen, and it is not bound by the 10,000-line point.

Download needs Export Container Logs. If a download fails, a notice titled Download failed shows the reason; try again.

Who can read which logs

Reading and downloading are granted separately, so a role can read logs and still not download them. A download follows what you can read: Export Container Logs alone covers the application containers, and the data tier needs View Sensitive Container Logs as well. That permission reads every container, including the data tier and any container that is not part of the application set. The data-tier logs can contain connection strings, credentials and query text, which is why they sit behind their own permission. If an address names a container your role cannot read, the page refuses it with "Access denied. You do not have permission to read logs for <container>".

Platform Administrator holds all of these permissions; Platform Viewer reads application logs, without the data tier and without downloads. Assign permissions on a role, as described in Roles and permissions; the full list is in the permission reference.

Limits and edge cases

• Logs are kept for 30 days, and the range picker stops there.
• A Custom window is a slice of the past, so it switches Live off. Turning Live on returns to a range preset.
• The picker lists what has logged, not everything installed: a container that wrote nothing in the window is absent until you widen the range.
• If nothing readable has logs in the window, the page says "No readable containers have logs in the selected window".
• For the messages this area can show and what to do about them, see Administration troubleshooting.

Questions, answered

Why can't I see the Logs tab?

Your role needs View Container Logs or View Sensitive Container Logs. If the whole Platform area is missing, your installation does not include the platform controls. Ask an administrator; see Platform.

How long are container logs kept?

30 days. The range picker stops 30 days back, and a window shows the newest lines it has for that period.

How do I read only errors?

Choose stderr in the stream options. The view then shows only the error stream, and its lines are tinted.

Why can't I scroll further back than 10,000 lines?

The page keeps up to 10,000 lines for scrolling, so the view stays fast. Narrow the range, or click a bar in the chart to zoom into a smaller period; a download is not limited by this point.

Does a download stop at the lines I can see?

No. A download is not limited to the lines loaded on screen, and it is not bound by the 10,000-line point. It uses the filters you have set, and it covers the containers you can read; exporting the data tier needs View Sensitive Container Logs as well.

What do the colours of the Live dot mean?

Green and pulsing: lines are arriving. Amber: the connection dropped and the page is reconnecting on its own. Grey: nothing is arriving yet, or Live is off.

Why did the view stop following the newest lines?

You scrolled up, so the page stopped moving under you on purpose. New lines are counted in a pill, like "12 new lines"; click it to jump back to the newest line and follow again.

Why is the Download button missing?

Downloading needs Export Container Logs, which is granted separately from reading logs. Ask an administrator to add it to your role. See the permission reference.

Can I share a filtered log view?

Yes. The page keeps the filters in its address, so sharing or bookmarking the address shares the exact view; opening it restores the same containers, stream, range and search.

Why is a container missing from the picker?

The picker lists only the containers your role can read and only those that logged in the selected window. If a container is missing, it wrote nothing in the window, or your role does not cover it: reading the data tier needs View Sensitive Container Logs.

What time zone are the timestamps in?

Your device's. Times read like 13:04:05.123 in your own zone, down to the millisecond.