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sandra_henrystocker
Unix Dweeb

How to use logger on Linux

How-To
May 22, 20183 mins
LinuxRed HatUbuntu

The logger command provides an easy way to add messages to the /var/log/syslog file from the command line or from other files.

The Linux logger command provides an easy way to add log files to /var/log/syslog — from the command line, from scripts, or from other files. In today’s post, we’ll take a look at how it works.

How easy is easy?

This easy. Just type logger on the command line and your message will be added to the end of the /var/log/syslog file.

$ logger comment to be added to log
$ tail -1 /vvar/log/syslog
May 21 18:02:16 butterfly shs: comment to be added to log

Command output

You can also add the output from commands by enclosing the commands in backticks.

$ logger `who`
$ tail -1 /var/log/syslog
May 21 18:02:43 butterfly shs: shs pts/0 2018-05-21 15:57 (192.168.0.15)

Content from a file

The contents of text files can be added by using the -f option. Put the name of the file to be added to the log following the -f option as shown below.

$ cat msg
Backups to off-site facility will run this coming weekend.
System availability will not be affected.
$ logger -f msg
$ tail -2 /var/log/syslog
May 21 18:06:01 butterfly shs: Backups to off-site facility will run this coming weekend.
May 21 18:06:01 butterfly shs: System availability will not be affected.

Using logger in scripts

You can add logger commands to scripts to make it easier to track the completion of important tasks.

$ grep logger /bin/runme
logger "$0 completed at `date`"
$ sudo runme
$ tail -1 /var/log/syslog
May 21 17:57:36 butterfly shs: ./runme completed at Mon May 21 17:57:36 EDT 2018

Limiting the size of logger entries

If you’re concerned about how much data will be added to your log file, especially if you’re dumping content from a file, you can use the –size option to limit it. In this example, the size is artificially small to make a point.

$ logger --size 10 12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
$ tail -1 /var/log/syslog
May 21 18:18:02 butterfly shs: 1234567890

This option works differently than you might expect in that, given input that includes blanks, it will constrain the content on a per-line basis rather than an overall length basis.

$ logger --size 5 `date`
$ tail -5 /var/log/syslog
May 22 08:35:51 butterfly shs: May
May 22 08:35:51 butterfly shs: 22
May 22 08:35:51 butterfly shs: 08:35
May 22 08:35:51 butterfly shs: EDT
May 22 08:35:51 butterfly shs: 2018

Don’t be misled by these simple examples. The –size option is generally used to limit large amounts of text. The default maximum is 1KiB (1024 bytes).

Ignoring blank lines

The -e option allows you to avoid dumping empty lines into your log file. They will simply be ignored. Note, however, that a line that contains blanks will not be considered blank.

$ cat appts
Appts
                                              

Other options

The logger tool offers others as well — such as writing to a log on another server using -n or --no-act for testing. Check your man page for more details.

sandra_henrystocker
Unix Dweeb

Sandra Henry-Stocker has been administering Unix systems for more than 30 years. She describes herself as "USL" (Unix as a second language) but remembers enough English to write books and buy groceries. She lives in the mountains in Virginia where, when not working with or writing about Unix, she's chasing the bears away from her bird feeders.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of Sandra Henry-Stocker and do not necessarily represent those of IDG Communications, Inc., its parent, subsidiary or affiliated companies.

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