Logs - Dokploy

Dokploy provides comprehensive logging capabilities for applications, containers, and deployment operations. Access logs through the dashboard to troubleshoot issues, monitor application behavior, and track deployment progress.

Log Types

Application Logs

View real-time logs from running applications and services:

Container stdout/stderr: Standard output and error streams from running containers
Docker Compose logs: Aggregated logs from multi-container applications
Database logs: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, and Redis logs

Deployment Logs

Track the progress and outcome of deployment operations:

Build logs: Docker image build output, including layer creation and dependency installation
Deploy logs: Container startup, health checks, and initialization
Git operations: Clone, pull, and repository sync messages
Error logs: Failed deployments, build errors, and validation issues

System Logs

Monitor Dokploy infrastructure operations:

Docker cleanup: Automated cleanup of unused images, containers, and volumes
Backup operations: Database backup and restore processes
Server operations: Remote server deployment and configuration
Stats collection: Monitoring service operations

Viewing Logs

Application Logs

Access logs for a running application:

Navigate to your Project
Select the Application or Service
Click the Logs tab
View real-time log output with automatic scrolling

Log Features

Auto-refresh: Logs update automatically as new entries are added
Search: Filter logs by keyword or pattern
Timestamps: View exact time of each log entry
Color coding: Differentiate log levels (info, warning, error)
Download: Export logs for offline analysis

Deployment Logs

Track deployment progress in real-time:

Navigate to Application > Deployments
Select a deployment from the list
Click View Logs to see the complete deployment process
Monitor build, test, and deploy stages

Deployment Log Stages

Build Stage:

[Building] Pulling source code...
[Building] Running npm install...
[Building] Creating Docker image...
[Building] ✅ Build completed successfully

Deploy Stage:

[Deploying] Stopping old containers...
[Deploying] Starting new containers...
[Deploying] Running health checks...
[Deploying] ✅ Deployment completed

Database Logs

View logs for managed databases:

Navigate to Project > Database (Postgres, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, or Redis)
Click the Logs tab
View database-specific logs including queries, connections, and errors

Database Log Examples

PostgreSQL:

2024-01-19 10:30:45.123 UTC [1] LOG:  database system is ready to accept connections
2024-01-19 10:31:12.456 UTC [123] ERROR:  relation "users" does not exist at character 15

MySQL:

2024-01-19T10:30:45.123456Z 0 [System] [MY-010931] /usr/sbin/mysqld: ready for connections.
2024-01-19T10:31:12.456789Z 8 [Warning] [MY-013360] Plugin mysql_native_password is not loaded

MongoDB:

{"t":{"$date":"2024-01-19T10:30:45.123Z"},"s":"I","c":"NETWORK","msg":"Waiting for connections","attr":{"port":27017}}
{"t":{"$date":"2024-01-19T10:31:12.456Z"},"s":"E","c":"COMMAND","msg":"Command failed"}

Log Retention

Application Logs

Application logs are stored in Docker containers and follow Docker’s logging driver configuration:

Default driver: json-file with automatic rotation
Retention: Logs are retained as long as the container exists
Size limits: Configurable per container (default: 10MB per file, 3 files)

Deployment Logs

Deployment logs are stored in the Dokploy database:

Retention: All deployment logs are kept indefinitely
Access: Available through the Deployments tab
Storage: Database records include deployment status, timestamps, and full logs

System Logs

System operation logs are stored in designated paths:

Path: /home/dokploy/logs/ (configurable)
Retention: Managed by log cleanup cron job
Cleanup schedule: Configurable via logCleanupCron (default: daily at midnight)

Log Cleanup

Configure Cleanup Schedule

Set up automatic log cleanup to manage disk space:

Navigate to Settings > Server
Enable Docker Cleanup
Set Log Cleanup Cron: Cron expression for cleanup schedule

{
  "enableDockerCleanup": true,
  "logCleanupCron": "0 0 * * *"  // Daily at midnight
}

Manual Cleanup

Clean up logs manually:

# Remove old Docker container logs
docker system prune -a --volumes

# Clean up specific application logs
docker logs --tail 1000 container-name > container-name.log
docker rm container-name

# Remove deployment logs (database query)
DELETE FROM deployments WHERE createdAt < NOW() - INTERVAL '30 days';

Log Analysis

Searching Logs

Use the built-in search functionality:

Open the Logs tab
Use the search box to filter by keyword
Search supports:
- Simple text matching
- Regular expressions
- Case-sensitive/insensitive options

Log Patterns

Common patterns to search for: Errors:

error|ERROR|Error|exception|Exception|failed|Failed

Performance Issues:

timeout|slow|latency|delayed

Security Events:

unauthorized|forbidden|authentication|permission denied

Exporting Logs

Export logs for external analysis:

Click the Download button in the Logs tab
Choose format: Plain text or JSON
Save to local file system

Command-line export:

# Export container logs via Docker
docker logs container-name > logs.txt

# Export with timestamps
docker logs --timestamps container-name > logs-timestamped.txt

# Export last 1000 lines
docker logs --tail 1000 container-name > logs-recent.txt

Integration with External Tools

Forwarding to Log Aggregators

Configure Docker logging drivers to forward logs: Syslog:

{
  "log-driver": "syslog",
  "log-opts": {
    "syslog-address": "tcp://192.168.1.100:514"
  }
}

Fluentd:

{
  "log-driver": "fluentd",
  "log-opts": {
    "fluentd-address": "localhost:24224",
    "tag": "dokploy.{{.Name}}"
  }
}

JSON File with Rotation:

{
  "log-driver": "json-file",
  "log-opts": {
    "max-size": "10m",
    "max-file": "3"
  }
}

Monitoring Integration

Integrate logs with monitoring tools:

Configure log shipping: Use Docker logging drivers or log forwarders
Set up alerts: Configure notification rules based on log patterns
Create dashboards: Visualize log metrics and trends

Troubleshooting

Logs Not Appearing

Check container status:

docker ps -a
docker inspect container-name

Verify logging driver:

docker inspect --format='{{.HostConfig.LogConfig.Type}}' container-name

Check disk space:

df -h

Logs Growing Too Large

Configure log rotation in Docker daemon:

{
  "log-opts": {
    "max-size": "10m",
    "max-file": "5"
  }
}

Enable Docker cleanup in Dokploy settings
Set up regular log cleanup cron jobs

Missing Historical Logs

Container logs: Lost when container is removed
Deployment logs: Check database for records
System logs: Verify log cleanup schedule hasn’t removed needed logs

Performance Issues

If logging impacts performance:

Reduce log verbosity in application configuration
Use asynchronous logging in applications
Configure appropriate log rotation limits
Consider using a dedicated logging driver

Best Practices

Set Log Rotation: Configure max-size and max-file to prevent disk exhaustion
Enable Timestamps: Always include timestamps for accurate troubleshooting
Use Structured Logging: Output JSON logs for easier parsing and analysis
Monitor Log Volume: Track log growth and adjust retention policies
Implement Log Levels: Use appropriate severity levels (debug, info, warn, error)
Secure Sensitive Data: Never log passwords, API keys, or personal information
Regular Cleanup: Schedule automatic cleanup of old logs
Centralize Logs: Consider log aggregation for multi-container applications

Log Format Examples

Application Log Format

JSON Format (Recommended):

{
  "timestamp": "2024-01-19T10:30:45.123Z",
  "level": "error",
  "message": "Failed to connect to database",
  "service": "api",
  "error": {
    "code": "ECONNREFUSED",
    "stack": "..."
  }
}

Plain Text Format:

[2024-01-19 10:30:45] ERROR: Failed to connect to database

Deployment Log Format

=== Deployment Started ===
Timestamp: 2024-01-19T10:30:00.000Z
Application: my-app
Commit: abc123

[Build] Cloning repository...
[Build] ✅ Clone completed
[Build] Building Docker image...
[Build] ✅ Build completed

[Deploy] Stopping old containers...
[Deploy] Starting new containers...
[Deploy] ✅ Deployment successful

=== Deployment Completed ===
Duration: 2m 34s
Status: Success

Next Steps

Configure Real-Time Metrics for performance tracking
Set Up Notifications for log-based alerts
Monitor Overview for complete observability setup

​Log Types

​Application Logs

​Deployment Logs

​System Logs

​Viewing Logs

​Application Logs

​Log Features

​Deployment Logs

​Deployment Log Stages

​Database Logs

​Database Log Examples

​Log Retention

​Application Logs

​Deployment Logs

​System Logs

​Log Cleanup

​Configure Cleanup Schedule

​Manual Cleanup

​Log Analysis

​Searching Logs

​Log Patterns

​Exporting Logs

​Integration with External Tools

​Forwarding to Log Aggregators

​Monitoring Integration

​Troubleshooting

​Logs Not Appearing

​Logs Growing Too Large

​Missing Historical Logs

​Performance Issues

​Best Practices

​Log Format Examples

​Application Log Format

​Deployment Log Format

​Next Steps

Log Types

Application Logs

Deployment Logs

System Logs

Viewing Logs

Application Logs

Log Features

Deployment Logs

Deployment Log Stages

Database Logs

Database Log Examples

Log Retention

Application Logs

Deployment Logs

System Logs

Log Cleanup

Configure Cleanup Schedule

Manual Cleanup

Log Analysis

Searching Logs

Log Patterns

Exporting Logs

Integration with External Tools

Forwarding to Log Aggregators

Monitoring Integration

Troubleshooting

Logs Not Appearing

Logs Growing Too Large

Missing Historical Logs

Performance Issues

Best Practices

Log Format Examples

Application Log Format

Deployment Log Format

Next Steps