Logging

This page covers [logging]

First decide where logs should go: stdout, journald, or a file. The other options are built around that choice. When troubleshooting, look at error_code first. It is faster than reading English error text. See error handling for the error code reference.

[logging]
level = "info"
format = "text"
file = ""
enable_rotation = true
max_backups = 5

Decide Where Logs Should Go First

Deployment Method	Recommended Approach
Docker	Do not write files. Output directly to stdout and let the container logging system collect it.
systemd	Do not write files. Let journald handle logs.
Bare-metal single process	Write to a dedicated file and enable rotation.

Options

Option	Default	Purpose
level	"info"	trace / debug / info / warn / error
format	"text"	text or json
file	""	Log file path. Empty means output to stdout.
enable_rotation	true	Whether to rotate daily. Applies only when file is not empty.
max_backups	5	Number of historical log files to keep

How to Choose a Format

• Local troubleshooting - text, easier to read by eye
• Centralized logging systems such as Loki, ELK, or a custom collector - json, so fields are structured directly

Which Takes Priority: RUST_LOG or the Config File?

During logging initialization, AsterDrive reads RUST_LOG first and falls back to logging.level only when RUST_LOG is not set.

For temporary log-level changes, RUST_LOG is the easiest option:

RUST_LOG=debug

You can also override it with an ASTER__ environment variable:

ASTER__LOGGING__LEVEL=debug

Production Example

[logging]
level = "info"
format = "json"
file = "/var/log/asterdrive.log"
enable_rotation = true
max_backups = 7

Runtime logs are not audit logs

• Runtime logs (this page) - Used for troubleshooting. They record requests, errors, and internal events.
• Audit logs - Used for accountability. They record "who did what and when". Enable them in Admin -> System Settings -> Audit Logs. See runtime system settings for details.