{"id":2514,"date":"2021-07-20T16:28:25","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T13:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/?p=2514"},"modified":"2023-03-02T16:56:28","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T14:56:28","slug":"where-are-the-server-log-files-for-my-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/where-are-the-server-log-files-for-my-site\/","title":{"rendered":"Where are the server log files for my site?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>To an untrained eye, a typical log file may look like a wall of <em>incomprehensible strings of letters<\/em> and numbers. However, in reality, it&#8217;s an invaluable source of vital information and can prove critical in fixing problems and optimizing your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/blog\/slow-website-loading\/\"><strong>site&#8217;s performance<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a website owner, you will likely need to review your website&#8217;s server log files at one point or another, and the ones you will probably be most interested in are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Access logs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The access log files are created by your web server and contain vital information regarding the traffic your site generates. Every <strong>HTTP request is recorded<\/strong>, along with its type, status, the user&#8217;s IP, and the user agent. The raw data is generated on the server and could be useful for identifying potential <strong>technical problems and analytics purposes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Web server error logs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Web servers go through a <strong>large number of operations<\/strong>, and inevitably, things don&#8217;t always go according to plan. The errors and warnings aren&#8217;t necessarily visible to the end user, but they are nevertheless logged, so <strong>website administrators <\/strong>can review them and take the appropriate actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>PHP error logs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Web applications consist of thousands of lines of (<em>mostly PHP<\/em>) code. A single typo is often enough to break the entire website. <strong>PHP&#8217;s default error reporting mechanisms <\/strong>display warnings in the browser, but applications can be configured to log them in a file. The information in that file could be invaluable if your site slows down or crashes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reviewing and Downloading Your Website&#8217;s Logs in SPanel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>SPanel&#8217;s goal is to simplify website management. This means, among other things, helping you review logs and troubleshoot problems without the <strong>need to rummage through directories or spend hours trying<\/strong> to find the correct command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Instead, you can view and download log files straight from your browser. Here are the steps:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. Log in to SPanel&#8217;s User Interface<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The default login URL is <strong><em>https:\/\/[yourdomain]\/spanel<\/em><\/strong>. This is where you manage the websites hosted on your account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full mpg-gallery\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"622\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/1.png\" alt=\"Where are the server log files for my site?, 1. Log in to SPanel&#8217;s User Interface\" class=\"wp-image-5438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/1-289x300.png 289w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 361px) 660px, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 910px, 1140px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Click Domains<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Click <strong>Domains<\/strong> on SPanel&#8217;s homepage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full mpg-gallery\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"165\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2.png\" alt=\"Where are the server log files for my site?, 2. Click Domains\" class=\"wp-image-5439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2-300x83.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 361px) 660px, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 910px, 1140px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Scroll down to the bottom where you&#8217;ll see a list of all the domains you&#8217;ve added to your SPanel User Account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full mpg-gallery\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"356\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/6.png\" alt=\"Where are the server log files for my site?, 2. Click Domains 2\" class=\"wp-image-5440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/6.png 600w, https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/6-300x178.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 361px) 660px, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 910px, 1140px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Click Actions and select the type of logs you want to view and download<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Actions<\/strong> menu next to your website&#8217;s domain gives you quick and easy access to your log files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full mpg-gallery\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"358\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/3.png\" alt=\"Where are the server log files for my site?, 3. Click Actions and select the type of logs you want to view and download\" class=\"wp-image-5441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/3-300x179.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 361px) 660px, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 910px, 1140px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you click <strong>View Access Logs<\/strong> or <strong>View Error Logs<\/strong>, a popup appears with the last 200 lines from the respective file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full mpg-gallery\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"359\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/4.png\" alt=\"Where are the server log files for my site?, 3. Click Actions and select the type of logs you want to view and download 2\" class=\"wp-image-5442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/4.png 600w, https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/4-300x180.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 361px) 660px, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 910px, 1140px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With the <strong>Download <\/strong>button, you can save the log to your computer.<br>If you choose <strong>View PHP Errors<\/strong>, SPanel scans your domain&#8217;s document root and its subfolders for PHP error logs. If it finds any log files, it displays them in separate tabs in the popup that appears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full mpg-gallery\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"418\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/5.png\" alt=\"Where are the server log files for my site?, 3. Click Actions and select the type of logs you want to view and download 3\" class=\"wp-image-5443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/5.png 600w, https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/5-300x209.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 361px) 660px, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 910px, 1140px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To an untrained eye, a typical log file may look like a wall of incomprehensible strings of letters and numbers. However, in reality, it&#8217;s an invaluable source of vital information and can prove critical in fixing problems and optimizing your site&#8217;s performance. As a website owner, you will likely need to review your website&#8217;s server [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-software"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2514"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5444,"href":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514\/revisions\/5444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}