For a single container, run docker logs <container>. Add --follow for a live stream, --tail to limit history, and --since/--until for a time window. The correct command depends on whether you are examining a container, a Compose service, a Swarm service, or Docker itself.
Check logs for one container
Docker reads the container’s standard output and standard error streams with either command form:
docker logs <container>
docker container logs <container>Replace <container> with a name or ID from docker ps. The command returns the logs available when it runs; it does not automatically remain attached.
Stream new output
docker logs --follow <container>-f is the short form of --follow. Press Ctrl+C to stop following; this stops the log view, not the container.
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Limit the number of lines
docker logs --tail 100 <container>--tail N shows the final N lines. If you omit it, Docker uses all. A negative or non-integer value is invalid and is treated as all.
Add timestamps or extra attributes
docker logs --timestamps <container>
docker logs --details <container>-t is the short form of --timestamps. Timestamps are emitted in RFC3339Nano format. --details includes extra attributes configured through logging options; it does not create details that the logging driver never stored.
Filter Docker logs by time
Use --since for a starting point and --until for an ending point:
docker logs --since 30m <container>
docker logs --since '2026-09-29T09:00:00Z' --until '2026-09-29T10:00:00Z' <container>--since accepts RFC3339 timestamps, Unix timestamps, and Go durations such as 1m30s or 3h. --until returns entries before the specified time and is available from API 1.35. A timestamp without Z or an explicit UTC offset is interpreted in the Docker client’s local time zone, which can produce surprising results on remote hosts. Use Z for UTC or include an offset such as +02:00.
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# Last 200 lines, then continue following new entries
docker logs --tail 200 --follow <container>
# Errors from the last ten minutes, with timestamps
docker logs --since 10m --timestamps <container>
# A fixed UTC incident window
docker logs --since '2026-09-29T09:00:00Z' --until '2026-09-29T09:15:00Z' <container>Check logs for Docker Compose
Compose groups output by service. From the directory containing your Compose file, run:
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docker compose logs
docker compose logs web
docker compose logs --follow --tail 100 webOmit service names to view all services, or name one or more services to narrow the output. When a service has replicas, --index selects a particular replica. Presentation options include:
--no-colorremoves ANSI colors, useful when redirecting output to a file.--no-log-prefixremoves the service and replica prefix.--timestamps,--since,--until,--tail, and--followprovide the same kind of filtering used for a container.
For example:
docker compose logs --no-color --since 1h api > api-last-hour.logCheck Swarm service and task logs
Run this command on a Swarm manager:
docker service logs <SERVICE>
docker service logs --follow --tail 100 <SERVICE>
docker service logs <TASK>A service selection includes its containers across the service. Selecting a task narrows the view to that task. docker service logs is functional only for services started with the json-file or journald logging driver. If the service uses another driver, inspect that driver’s destination instead.
Container logs versus Docker daemon logs
docker logs shows application output written to a container’s stdout and stderr. It does not show why the Docker engine failed, why a logging cache could not be written, or why a container could not start. Those are daemon-level questions.
Linux daemon logs
journalctl -xu docker.serviceSome distributions also place daemon messages in /var/log/syslog or /var/log/messages.
Docker Desktop daemon logs
On macOS, Docker documents the Desktop VM log at ~/Library/Containers/com.docker.docker/Data/log/vm/init.log. Windows with WSL2 uses %LOCALAPPDATA%Dockerlogvminit.log. Windows containers use Windows Event Log. Desktop’s init.log includes a component field that can identify services such as dockerd and containerd.
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Why docker logs is empty or incomplete
Verify the target
List running containers and include stopped ones when necessary:
docker ps
docker ps -aCopy the exact name or ID. A newly recreated container has a different ID and its own log history.
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The daemon default can be checked with:
docker info --format '{{.LoggingDriver}}'For one container, inspect its configured type:
docker inspect -f '{{.HostConfig.LogConfig.Type}}' <CONTAINER>The default driver is json-file, but Docker also supports local, none, syslog, journald, and other drivers. With none, docker logs has no output by design. Remote drivers may require a local cache for the command to work; if a cache write fails, Docker records the failure in daemon logs and does not retry that write. The default remote cache is a ring buffer, so older entries can be lost.
Remember when configuration changes apply
Changing the default in daemon.json does not retroactively change existing containers. Restart Docker after changing daemon configuration, then recreate containers so they receive the new default. In daemon.json, logging option values must be strings, including numbers and booleans. Docker Desktop users edit daemon settings through the Docker Engine settings interface.
Retention, rotation, and disk usage
The json-file driver is the default, but unrotated files can eventually fill the host disk. Configure rotation or use the local driver for common non-Kubernetes installations. Docker’s local driver rotates by default and is optimized for disk use and performance.
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Local driver defaults
The local driver preserves 100 MB of messages per container by default: five files with a maximum size of 20 MB each. Rotated files are compressed. Its documented options are max-size, max-file, and compress, whose defaults are 20m, 5, and enabled. The files are intended for exclusive Docker-daemon access; reading or modifying them directly can interfere with logging.
Example daemon configuration
{
"log-driver": "local",
"log-opts": {
"max-size": "20m",
"max-file": "5",
"compress": "true"
}
}Save this as the daemon configuration used by your installation, restart Docker, and recreate containers. Confirm the effective driver with docker info; a running container keeps the driver it was created with.
A practical investigation workflow
- Identify scope. Decide whether the issue concerns one container, a Compose service, a Swarm service/task, or the Docker daemon.
- Confirm identity. Run
docker ps -aand use the current name or ID. - Start narrow. Run
docker logs --tail 100 --timestamps <container>. - Set a time window. Add
--sinceand, for a fixed incident interval,--until. - Reproduce while following. Use
--followand trigger the failing request or job. - Check the driver. If output is absent, inspect the container and daemon logging-driver settings.
- Inspect daemon output. Look for cache-write, startup, storage, or engine errors in daemon logs.
- Check retention. If older entries disappeared or disk use is high, review rotation and driver limits.
Common errors and fixes
“No such container”
The name is wrong, the container was removed, or a Compose project generated a different name. Use docker ps -a; for Compose, run the command from the correct project directory and specify the service name.
Logs stop unexpectedly
The container may have exited, or the process may have stopped writing to stdout and stderr. Check docker ps -a and inspect the exit state. For live output, ensure --follow is present.
Only recent entries are available
Rotation, a remote driver’s ring-buffer cache, or container recreation may have removed older data. Check the destination configured by the driver and the daemon logs.
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Time filtering returns nothing
Check the client’s local timezone interpretation. Add Z or an explicit offset, and verify that the requested interval overlaps the container’s lifetime.
Swarm command is unavailable or empty
Run it on a manager and verify that the service uses json-file or journald. Other drivers require reading their configured destination.
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Can I view logs from a stopped container?
Yes. If the container still exists, docker logs <container> reads its retained output even after the process exits.
Does Docker log everything printed by an application?
No. The command reads stdout and stderr captured by the configured logging driver. Applications that write only to internal files require inspecting those files or exporting them separately.
Is json-file always the best driver?
Not universally. It is the default, while Docker recommends considering local for common non-Kubernetes use because it rotates automatically. Remote destinations may be preferable when centralized retention is required.
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