How to View System Logs on Linux

System logs are essential for troubleshooting issues on your Breeze.

Using journalctl

# View all logs
journalctl

# Recent logs
journalctl -n 50

# Follow logs in real-time
journalctl -f

# Logs since boot
journalctl -b

# Logs for a specific service
journalctl -u nginx

# Logs from a time range
journalctl --since "2024-01-01" --until "2024-01-02"

Traditional Log Files

• /var/log/syslog — general system log (Debian/Ubuntu)
• /var/log/messages — general system log (RHEL/CentOS)
• /var/log/auth.log — authentication events
• /var/log/kern.log — kernel messages
• /var/log/nginx/ — Nginx access and error logs
• /var/log/apache2/ — Apache logs