DOVEAD-LOG
Section: Dovecot (1)
Updated: May 2026
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NAME
dovead-log- Locate, test or reopen Dovecot's log files
SYNOPSIS
doveadm [lB]
GLOBAL OPTIONS[rB]
log errors [lB]
-s min_timestamp[rB]
doveadm [lB]
GLOBAL OPTIONS[rB]
log find [lB]
directory[rB]
doveadm [lB]
GLOBAL OPTIONS[rB]
log reopen
doveadm [lB]
GLOBAL OPTIONS[rB]
log test
DESCRIPTION
The
doveadm log commands are used to locate and reopen the log files of
dovecot(1). It's also possible to test the configured targets of the
log_path settings.
GLOBAL OPTIONS
Global
doveadm(1)
options:
-D
-
-
Enables verbosity and debug messages.
-O
-
-
Do not read any config file, just use defaults. The dovecot_storage_version setting defaults to the latest version, but can be overridden with -o.
-k
-
-
Preserve entire environment for doveadm, not just import_environment setting.
-v
-
-
Enables verbosity, including progress counter.
-i instanc-name
-
-
If using multiple Dovecot instances, choose the config file based on this instance name.
See instance_name setting for more information.
-c confi-file
-
-
Read configuration from the given confi-file. By default it first reads config socket, and then falls back to /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf. You can also point this to config socket of some instance running compatible version.
-o setting=value
-
-
Overrides the configuration setting from /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf and from the userdb with the given value. In order to override multiple settings, the -o option may be specified multiple times.
COMMANDS
log errors
doveadm [lB]
GLOBAL OPTIONS[rB] log errors [lB]
-s min_timestamp[rB]
The
log errors command is used to show the last- up to 1,000- errors and warnings. If no output is generated, no errors have occurred since the last start.
-s min_timestamp
-
-
An integer value, representing seconds since the epoch- also known as Unix timestamp. When a min_timestamp was given, doveadm(1) will only show errors occurred since that point in time.
log find
doveadm [lB]
GLOBAL OPTIONS[rB] log find [lB]
directory[rB]
The
log find command is used to show the location of the log files, to which
dovecot(1) logs its messages through
syslogd (8) and
doveadm(1) could not find any log files, you can specify the
directory where your syslogd writes its log files.
log reopen
doveadm [lB]
GLOBAL OPTIONS[rB] log reopen
This command causes
doveadm to send a SIGUSR1 signal to master process, which causes it to reopen all log files configured in the
log_path,
info_log_path and
debug_log_path settings. These settings are configured in
/etc/dovecot/conf.d/1-logging.conf.
The master process also signals the log process to do the same. This is mainly useful after manually rotating the log files.
log test
doveadm [lB]
GLOBAL OPTIONS[rB] log test
This command causes
doveadm to write the message "This is Dovecot's
priority log (
timestamp)" to the configured log files. The used priorities are:
debug,
info,
warning,
error and
fatal.
EXAMPLE
This example shows how to locate the log files used by
dovecot(1):
-
doveadm log find
-
Looking for log files from /var/log
Debug: /var/log/dovecot.debug
Info: /var/log/mail.log
Warning: /var/log/mail.log
Error: /var/log/mail.log
Fatal: /var/log/mail.log
REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs, including
doveconf-n output, to the Dovecot Mailing List
ladovecot@dovecot.orgra. Information about reporting bugs is available at:
lahttps://dovecot.org/bugreport.htmlra
SEE ALSO
doveadm(1)
Index
- NAME
-
- SYNOPSIS
-
- DESCRIPTION
-
- GLOBAL OPTIONS
-
- COMMANDS
-
- log errors
-
- log find
-
- log reopen
-
- log test
-
- EXAMPLE
-
- REPORTING BUGS
-
- SEE ALSO
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