openclaw/docs/logging.md

---
summary: "Logging overview: file logs, console output, CLI tailing, and the Control UI"
read_when:
  - You need a beginner-friendly overview of logging
  - You want to configure log levels or formats
  - You are troubleshooting and need to find logs quickly
---

# Logging

Clawdbot logs in two places:

- **File logs** (JSON lines) written by the Gateway.
- **Console output** shown in terminals and the Control UI.

This page explains where logs live, how to read them, and how to configure log
levels and formats.

## Where logs live

By default, the Gateway writes a rolling log file under:

`/tmp/clawdbot/clawdbot-YYYY-MM-DD.log`

You can override this in `~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json`:

```json
{
  "logging": {
    "file": "/path/to/clawdbot.log"
  }
}
```

## How to read logs

### CLI: live tail (recommended)

Use the CLI to tail the gateway log file via RPC:

```bash
clawdbot logs --follow
```

Output modes:

- **TTY sessions**: pretty, colorized, structured log lines.
- **Non-TTY sessions**: plain text.
- `--json`: line-delimited JSON (one log event per line).
- `--plain`: force plain text in TTY sessions.
- `--no-color`: disable ANSI colors.

In JSON mode, the CLI emits `type`-tagged objects:

- `meta`: stream metadata (file, cursor, size)
- `log`: parsed log entry
- `notice`: truncation / rotation hints
- `raw`: unparsed log line

If the Gateway is unreachable, the CLI prints a short hint to run:

```bash
clawdbot doctor
```

### Control UI (web)

The Control UI’s **Logs** tab tails the same file using `logs.tail`.
See [/web/control-ui](/web/control-ui) for how to open it.

### Channel-only logs

To filter channel activity (WhatsApp/Telegram/etc), use:

```bash
clawdbot channels logs --channel whatsapp
```

## Log formats

### File logs (JSONL)

Each line in the log file is a JSON object. The CLI and Control UI parse these
entries to render structured output (time, level, subsystem, message).

### Console output

Console logs are **TTY-aware** and formatted for readability:

- Subsystem prefixes (e.g. `gateway/channels/whatsapp`)
- Level coloring (info/warn/error)
- Optional compact or JSON mode

Console formatting is controlled by `logging.consoleStyle`.

## Configuring logging

All logging configuration lives under `logging` in `~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json`.

```json
{
  "logging": {
    "level": "info",
    "file": "/tmp/clawdbot/clawdbot-YYYY-MM-DD.log",
    "consoleLevel": "info",
    "consoleStyle": "pretty",
    "redactSensitive": "tools",
    "redactPatterns": [
      "sk-.*"
    ]
  }
}
```

### Log levels

- `logging.level`: **file logs** (JSONL) level.
- `logging.consoleLevel`: **console** verbosity level.

`--verbose` only affects console output; it does not change file log levels.

### Console styles

`logging.consoleStyle`:

- `pretty`: human-friendly, colored, with timestamps.
- `compact`: tighter output (best for long sessions).
- `json`: JSON per line (for log processors).

### Redaction

Tool summaries can redact sensitive tokens before they hit the console:

- `logging.redactSensitive`: `off` | `tools` (default: `tools`)
- `logging.redactPatterns`: list of regex strings to override the default set

Redaction affects **console output only** and does not alter file logs.

## Diagnostics + OpenTelemetry

Diagnostics are **opt-in** structured events for model runs (usage + cost +
context + duration). They do **not** replace logs; they exist to feed metrics,
traces, and other exporters.

Clawdbot currently emits a `model.usage` event after each agent run with:

- Token counts (input/output/cache/prompt/total)
- Estimated cost (USD)
- Context window used/limit
- Duration (ms)
- Provider/channel/model + session identifiers

### Enable diagnostics (no exporter)

Use this if you want diagnostics events available to plugins or custom sinks:

```json
{
  "diagnostics": {
    "enabled": true
  }
}
```

### Export to OpenTelemetry

Diagnostics can be exported via the `diagnostics-otel` plugin (OTLP/HTTP). This
works with any OpenTelemetry collector/backend that accepts OTLP/HTTP.

```json
{
  "plugins": {
    "allow": ["diagnostics-otel"],
    "entries": {
      "diagnostics-otel": {
        "enabled": true
      }
    }
  },
  "diagnostics": {
    "enabled": true,
    "otel": {
      "enabled": true,
      "endpoint": "http://otel-collector:4318",
      "protocol": "http/protobuf",
      "serviceName": "clawdbot-gateway",
      "traces": true,
      "metrics": true,
      "sampleRate": 0.2,
      "flushIntervalMs": 60000
    }
  }
}
```

Notes:
- You can also enable the plugin with `clawdbot plugins enable diagnostics-otel`.
- `protocol` currently supports `http/protobuf`.
- Metrics include token usage, cost, context size, and run duration.
- Traces/metrics can be toggled with `traces` / `metrics` (default: on).
- Set `headers` when your collector requires auth.
- Environment variables supported: `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT`,
  `OTEL_SERVICE_NAME`, `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL`.

## Troubleshooting tips

- **Gateway not reachable?** Run `clawdbot doctor` first.
- **Logs empty?** Check that the Gateway is running and writing to the file path
  in `logging.file`.
- **Need more detail?** Set `logging.level` to `debug` or `trace` and retry.