Rsyslog is an enhanced syslogd supporting, among others, MySQL, PostgreSQL, failover log destinations, syslog/tcp, fine grain output format control, high precision timestamps, queued operations and the ability to filter on any message part. It is quite compatible to stock sysklogd and can be used as a drop-in replacement. Its advanced features make it suitable for enterprise-class, encryption protected syslog relay chains while at the same time being very easy to setup for the novice user. And as we know what enterprise users really need, there is also professional rsyslog support available directly from the source!
Please visit the rsyslog sponsor's page to honor the project sponsors or become one yourself! We are very grateful for any help towards the project goals.
This documentation is for version 4.7.5 (v4-devel branch) of rsyslog. Visit the rsyslog status page to obtain current version information and project status.
If you like rsyslog, you might want to lend us a helping hand. It doesn't require a lot of time - even a single mouse click helps. Learn how to help the rsyslog project. Due to popular demand, there is now a side-by-side comparison between rsyslog and syslog-ng.
If you are upgrading from rsyslog v2 or stock sysklogd, be sure to read the rsyslog v3 compatibility document, and if you are upgrading from v3, read the rsyslog v4 compatibility document.
Rsyslog will work even if you do not read the doc, but doing so will definitely improve your experience.
Follow the links below for the
We have some in-depth papers on
Our rsyslog history page is for you if you would like to learn a little more on why there is an rsyslog at all. If you are interested why you should care about rsyslog at all, you may want to read Rainer's essay on "why the world needs another syslogd".
Documentation is added continuously. Please note that the documentation here matches only the current version of rsyslog. If you use an older version, be sure to use the doc that came with it.
You can also browse the following online resources:
And don't forget about the rsyslog mailing list. If you are interested in the "backstage", you may find Rainer's blog an interesting read (filter on syslog and rsyslog tags). If you would like to use rsyslog source code inside your open source project, you can do that without any restriction as long as your license is GPLv3 compatible. If your license is incompatible to GPLv3, you may even be still permitted to use rsyslog source code. However, then you need to look at the way rsyslog is licensed.
Feedback is always welcome, but if you have a support question, please do not mail Rainer directly (why not?).