Synopsis
lgstool [command] [options]
Description
NOTE: The lgstool application is distributed with the syslog-ng PE system logging application, and is usually part of the syslog-ng PE package.
This manual page is only an abstract, for the complete documentation of syslog-ng PE, see the
The lgstool application is a utility that can be used to:
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Display and format the messages stored in logstore files
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Display the record structure of logstore files
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Process log messages from orphaned journal files and write them into logstore files
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Follow (tail) messages arriving to a logstore file real-time
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Validate the digital signature and timestamp of encrypted logstore files
The cat command
cat [options] [file]
Use the cat command to display the log messages stored in the logstore file. Log messages available in the journal file of the logstore (but not yet written to the logstore file itself) are displayed as well. The messages are printed to the standard output (stdout), so it is possible to use grep and other tools to find particular log messages, for example, lgstool cat /var/log/messages.lgs |grep 192.168.1.1.
NOTE: syslog-ng PE can also follow logstore files, for details on this feature, see The tail command.
The cat command has the following options:
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--debug or -d
Print diagnostic and debugging messages to stderr.
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--filter<expression> or -i
Only print messages matching the specified syslog-ng PE filter. All possible macros regular expressions and logical expressions can be specified in a filter.
Example: lgstool cat filter
lgstool cat -t 'host: ${HOST} program: ${PROGRAM} msg: ${MSG} ' --filter='program("prg0000[0]")' /tmp/logstore-serialized.lgs -
--help or -h
Display a brief help message.
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--key=<keyfile> or -k
Use the specified private key to decrypt encrypted logstore files.
Example: lgstool cat key
lgstool cat --key=mykey.pem mylogstore.lgs
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--seek=<ID> or -s
Display only messages newer than the message specified.
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--template=<template> or -t
Format the messages using the specified template.
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--verbose or -v
Print verbose messages to stderr.
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--version or -V
Display version information.
The inspect command
inspect [options] [file]
Use the inspect command to display structure of the logstore file. The following information is displayed:
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cipher: The cipher algorithm used to encrypt the logstore file.
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digest: The digest (hash) algorithm used.
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encrypt: TRUE if the logstore file is encrypted.
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compress: TRUE if the logstore file is compressed.
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hmac: TRUE if the logstore file includes HMAC (Hash-based Message Authentication Code) information for the chunks.
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chunk_mac: The MAC (Message Authentication Code) of the chunk.
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file_mac: The MAC (Message Authentication Code) of the chunk.
For timestamped logstore files, the following information is also displayed:
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chunk_id: The ID of the chunk.
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Version: The version of the logstore file format used.
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Policy OID: The OID of the timestamping policy used in the timestamping request.
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Hash Algorithm: The digest (hash) algorithm used to create the hash of the chunk.
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Serial number: The serial number of the timestamp.
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Timestamp: The date when the Timestamping Authority timestamped the chunk.
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Accuracy: The accuracy of the timestamp.
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Ordering: Indicates the status of the ordering field in the timestamping request.
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Nonce: The nonce (a large random number with a high probability that it is generated by the client only once) included in the timestamping request (if any).
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TSA: The Distinguished Name (DN) of the Timestamping Authority.
The inspect command has the following options:
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--debug or -d
Print diagnostic and debugging messages to stderr.
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--help or -h
Display a brief help message.
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--key=<keyfile> or -k
Use the specified private key to decrypt encrypted logstore files.
Example: lgstool inspect key
lgstool inspect --key=mykey.pem mylogstore.lgs
A sample output looks like this:
XFRM_INFO @941 cipher: aes-128-cbc digest: sha1 CHUNK 0@1079: [1 - 1000]: encrypt: TRUE compress: TRUE hmac: TRUE chunk_mac: e4d5d813979cf865d5ae4624f7aa98047123cd52 file_mac: 6600600ca5befb002a73b15be8f0ac04973d5936 TIMESTAMP @36481: chunk_id: 0 Status info: Status: Granted. Status description: unspecified Failure info: unspecified TST info: Version: 1 Policy OID: 1.2.3.4 Hash Algorithm: sha1 Message data: 0000 - 66 00 60 0c a5 be fb 00-2a 73 b1 5b e8 f0 ac 04 f.`.....*s.[.... 0010 - 97 3d 59 36 .=Y6 Serial number: 0x029A Time stamp: Mar 19 13:48:57 2010 GMT Accuracy: 0x01 seconds, 0x01F4 millis, 0x64 micros Ordering: no Nonce: 0xB613F55AEFFA6DC0 TSA: unspecified Extensions:
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--verbose or -v
Print verbose messages to stderr.
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--version or -V
Display version information.
The recover command
recover [options] [file]
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CAUTION: Hazard of data loss! Always stop syslog-ng PE first. Do NOT use the lgstool recover command on logstore files that are actively used by syslog-ng PE. It might lead to data loss. |
The recover command can process and correct broken logstore files. It can also process orphaned journal files and move their contents to the respective logstore file. Encrypted, compressed, and timestamped logstore files can be recovered as well — the private key of the logstore is not needed to recover encrypted logstore files (recovering the encrypted file does not give access to its contents). Note that the recover option is not available in the Windows-version of lgstoole.
NOTE:The lgstool application cannot fetch timestamps to the chunks (message blocks), so chunks recovered with lgstool are not timestamped (the internal timestamp of the syslog messages is included in the messages).
The recover command has the following options:
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--compress-level or -c
Set the level of compression when processing a journal file into a compressed logstore. Default value: 3
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--debug or -d
Print diagnostic and debugging messages to stderr.
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--help or-h
Display a brief help message.
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--verbose or -v
Print verbose messages to stderr.
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--version or -V
Display version information.
Example: lgstool recover
lgstool recover mylogstore.lgs
The tail command
tail [options] [file]
Use the tail -f command to follow the contents of a logstore file like the traditional tail command does on Linux/UNIX systems. The messages are printed to the standard output (stdout). Contents of the journal file related to the logstore file are displayed as well.
The tail command has the following options.
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--debug or -d
Print diagnostic and debugging messages to stderr.
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--help or -h
Display a brief help message.
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--filter=<expression> or -i
Only print messages matching the specified syslog-ng PE filter. All possible macros, regular expressions and logical expressions can be specified in a filter.
Example: lgstool tail filter
lgstool tail -t 'host: ${HOST} program: ${PROGRAM} msg: ${MSG}\n' --filter='program("prg0000[0]")' /tmp/logstore-serialized.lgs -
--follow or -f
Follow mode: display messages as they arrive into the logstore.
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--key=<keyfile> or -k
Use the specified private key to decrypt encrypted logstore files.
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--lines=<N> or -n
Display the last N lines of the logstore file instead of the last 10. Alternatively, use +N to display lines starting with Nth.
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--sleep_interval=<seconds> or -s
Number of seconds to wait before displaying new messages in follow mode.
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--template=<template> or -t
Format the messages using the specified template.
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--verbose or -v
Print verbose messages to stderr.
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--version or -V
Display version information.
Example:
lgstool tail -f -n=20 --key=mykey.pem mylogstore.lgs
The validate command
validate [options] [file]
Use the validate command to validate the signatures and timestamps of a logstore file. The validate command has the following options:
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--ca-dir=<directory> or -C
The directory that stores the certificates of the trusted Certificate Authorities. Use this option if the timestamps of your logstore files were signed with certificates belonging to different Certificate Authorities.
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--ca-dir-layout=<md5|sha1>
The type of the hash used for the CA certificates. The default value (md5) is expected to change to sha1 in subsequent releases of syslog-ng PE.
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--ca-file=<file> or -P
A file that stores the certificate of the trusted Certificate Authority. Use this option if the timestamps of your logstore files were signed with a single certificate, or if every such certificate belongs to the same Certificate Authority.
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--crl-dir=<directory> or -R
The directory that stores the Certificate Revocation Lists of the trusted Certificate Authorities.
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--debug or -d
Print diagnostic and debugging messages to stderr.
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--help or -h
Display a brief help message.
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--key=<keyfile> or -k
Use the specified private key to decrypt encrypted logstore files.
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--require-ts or -T
Consider the logstore file invalid unless the entire file is protected by a valid timestamp.
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--seed or -S
Use the ~/.rnd file or the file specified in the $RANDFILE environmental variable as seed. This is needed only on platforms that do not have a /dev/random device (for example, Solaris) and the entropy gathering daemon egd application is not installed on the system.
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--ts-name=<name> or -D
Consider the logstore file invalid unless the timestamps are signed by the specified Timestamping Authority. Specify the Distinguished Name (DN) of the Timestamping Authority.
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--verbose or -v
Print verbose messages to stderr.
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--version or -V
Display version information.
By default, the lgstool validate command checks only the checksum of the file. Use the --require-ts option to validate the timestamps as well. The digital signature of the timestamps is checked only if the --ca-dir or the --ca-file parameter is set.
Example: lgstool validate key
lgstool validate --key=mykey.pem --ca-file=mycacert.pem --ts-name=MYTSA mylogstore.lgs
The reindex command
reindex [options] [file]
The reindex command is an experimental, currently unsupported tool. Do not attempt to use it unless your syslog-ng PE support team explicitly instructs you to do so.
Files
/opt/syslog-ng/bin/lgstool
See also
The syslog-ng.conf manual page
NOTE: For the detailed documentation of syslog-ng PE see
If you experience any problems or need help with syslog-ng PE, visit the syslog-ng mailing list.
For news and notifications about syslog-ng PE, visit the syslog-ng blogs.