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Install Logwatch with your distribution’s package manager, copy its default configuration into /etc/logwatch/conf/, verify that local mail delivery works, and run a report manually before enabling unattended execution. On Ubuntu or Debian, the basic path is sudo apt update, sudo apt install logwatch, then sudo logwatch --detail Low --range today.
This guide shows how to configure report delivery, choose services and date ranges, include archived logs, reduce noisy output, and verify the scheduler and mail path on a Linux VPS.
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Logwatch is a customizable, pluggable log-monitoring and reporting system. It reads logs from services installed on the server, applies service-specific filters, summarizes events for a selected period, and writes the result to standard output, a file, or email. Instead of opening every authentication, web, mail, or system log by hand, you receive a report that highlights items worth investigating.
Logwatch is a reporting layer, not a replacement for log storage, alerting, intrusion prevention, or a mail transfer agent (MTA). It can only report what the underlying logs contain, and email delivery depends on a working local MTA or relay. The filters and service names available on your VPS also depend on the Logwatch package and the log formats present on that distribution.
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Prerequisites and a safe first plan
- A Linux VPS with root or
sudoaccess. - A supported package repository for the distribution image.
- Readable service logs and, if you want email reports, a configured MTA or SMTP relay that can deliver to the destination address.
- A local administrator address, such as
admin@example.com, for report delivery.
Use this order to avoid troubleshooting several moving parts at once:
- Install the package.
- Copy the shipped configuration into the local configuration directory.
- Test a report on standard output or in a file.
- Configure email and test delivery.
- Confirm the distribution’s scheduler and inspect mail logs before relying on unattended reports.
Install Logwatch on Ubuntu or Debian
Refresh package metadata and install
On Ubuntu and Debian, install the package with the distribution package manager:
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sudo apt install logwatchThe first command refreshes package metadata. Run it when the image is new or when the package manager reports stale indexes. The second command installs Logwatch and any dependencies supplied by the enabled repositories. If the package cannot be found, verify that the VPS image has the normal repository components enabled for its release, then refresh the metadata again.
Check that the command is available
After installation, confirm that the executable and manual page are present:
logwatch --help
man logwatchThe manual page is important because service filter names vary with the installed filters and local distribution packaging. Use the names shown by your local installation rather than assuming that a service has the same name on every Linux image.
Preserve package defaults before editing
Distribution packages place their shipped defaults under /usr/share/logwatch/. Ubuntu documents the main template at /usr/share/logwatch/default.conf/logwatch.conf. Treat that tree as vendor-managed: package upgrades can replace files there.
Copy the template into the local configuration directory and edit the copy:
sudo cp /usr/share/logwatch/default.conf/logwatch.conf /etc/logwatch/conf/
sudo editor /etc/logwatch/conf/logwatch.confThe local file is /etc/logwatch/conf/logwatch.conf. Debian also documents /etc/logwatch/conf/ignore.conf for suppressing known, uninteresting entries and /etc/logwatch/conf/override.conf for local overrides. Keeping changes below /etc/logwatch/conf/ protects them from updates and makes it clear which settings are specific to your VPS.
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Settings that matter most
A practical starting configuration is:
Output = mail
MailTo = admin@example.com
MailFrom = logwatch@vps.example.com
Detail = Low
Service = All- Output chooses the destination. Common values are
stdout,file, andmail. - MailTo is the recipient address used for the report.
- MailFrom sets the sender when your local mail setup accepts that envelope or header address. It is optional, but a domain that your relay permits is less likely to be rejected.
- Detail controls how much information filters include. Start at
Low; increase it only when the summary leaves out information you need. - Service controls scope.
Allprocesses every service for which a filter is installed.
When you are still validating the installation, leave Output at its default or select file output. This separates Logwatch processing problems from mail-delivery problems.
Choose output, detail, and scope
Output destinations
| Output value | Use it for | Example |
|---|---|---|
stdout |
Interactive testing in your terminal | sudo logwatch --output stdout --range today |
file |
Saving a report for inspection or another local process | sudo logwatch --output file --filename /tmp/logwatch.txt --range today |
mail |
Sending the generated report through the VPS mail system | Output = mail |
File output is useful when a report is too long to read in a terminal or when you need to verify the generated content before involving an SMTP relay. Remove temporary reports when they contain sensitive usernames, IP addresses, or command details.
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| Named level | Numeric level | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
Low |
0 | Routine daily summaries with the least noise |
Medium |
5 | Investigating a pattern that the low-detail summary does not explain |
High |
10 | Short-term, detailed investigation of a busy or suspicious service |
The numeric mapping is useful when a filter or command-line example specifies a number. Do not jump directly to high detail for a busy VPS: the report can become large enough to hide the events you actually need.
All services versus selected services
For the first run, Service = All is a good installation check because it demonstrates which filters are active. Once you understand the report, narrow it to services that exist on the VPS, such as SSH access, authentication, a web server, mail, or a database.
Ubuntu’s configuration syntax allows repeated exclusions:
Service = All
Service = "-http"
Service = "-eximstats"Command-line selection is useful for one-off investigations. Supply one or more --service options:
sudo logwatch --service sshd --range yesterday --detail MediumUse the exact service names shown by the installed filters and by man logwatch. A service name that works on one distribution may not exist on another, and a filter may expect a particular log format.
Run and validate your first report
Generate today’s report interactively
Run this command after installation:
sudo logwatch --detail Low --range todayThis validates that Logwatch can read the logs, load its filters, and produce a report. Review the sections for services that are actually enabled on the VPS. An empty section is not automatically an error: it may mean that the service generated no matching events during the selected period.
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Useful one-off commands
sudo logwatch --range yesterday --detail Low
sudo logwatch --service sshd --range yesterday --detail Medium
sudo logwatch --output file --filename /tmp/logwatch.txt --range today
sudo logwatch --format html --range todayUse --mailto address when you want a one-off report sent to a specific recipient without changing the local configuration:
sudo logwatch --mailto admin@example.com --range yesterday --detail LowThe command-line options override or supplement the configuration for that run. This makes them useful for testing a different range, service, detail level, or destination without editing the persistent file.
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Configure email delivery safely
Understand the mail prerequisite
Setting Output = mail does not create an email service. The VPS must already have an MTA or relay that accepts locally generated mail and can deliver to the destination address. Depending on your provider and image, outbound SMTP may be restricted or require authentication and a relay host.
Before changing Logwatch, test the mail path independently with the mail tooling supplied by your VPS. Then run Logwatch with a small, low-detail report. If the report appears in the terminal but not in the inbox, Logwatch has done its job and the fault is in the MTA, relay policy, DNS, spam filtering, or recipient mailbox.
Mail configuration example
After the mail path works, place these settings in /etc/logwatch/conf/logwatch.conf:
Output = mail
MailTo = admin@example.com
MailFrom = logwatch@vps.example.com
Detail = Low
Service = AllUse an address and sender domain accepted by your relay. If your relay rewrites local senders, the delivered From address may differ from MailFrom; inspect the MTA’s own logs to see what happened.
Test delivery and inspect failures
- Generate a report to standard output:
sudo logwatch --output stdout --range today --detail Low. - Generate the same report with mail output or
--mailto. - Check the recipient mailbox, including spam or quarantine folders.
- Inspect the local MTA and mail logs if no message arrives.
- Only after a successful test, leave
Output = mailin the persistent configuration.
A successful command with no delivered message usually indicates a downstream mail problem rather than a Logwatch parsing problem. Conversely, errors about missing filters, unreadable logs, or invalid options should be fixed locally before investigating SMTP.
Understand date ranges and archived logs
Logwatch supports the named ranges today, yesterday, and all. The range controls which timestamps are considered; it does not change the contents of the underlying logs.
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| Range | Typical use | Example |
|---|---|---|
today |
Check events from the current day | sudo logwatch --range today |
yesterday |
Produce a complete daily report after the day has ended | sudo logwatch --range yesterday |
all |
Process all available matching data | sudo logwatch --range all --archives --detail Medium |
Use --archives with an all-data run when you want archived log files included in addition to current logs. Archived files are normally created by log rotation. They must still exist and be readable; Logwatch cannot report entries that have been deleted or compressed in a format the installed filter cannot read.
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When reverse DNS lookups would slow a report or obscure the original addresses, add --numeric:
sudo logwatch --range yesterday --numericNumeric output keeps IP addresses in numeric form, which is useful when correlating events with firewall logs or an incident timeline.
Schedule unattended reports
Why scheduling differs by distribution
Logwatch does not have one universal scheduler layout across Linux distributions. A package may install a cron script, a systemd timer, or rely on an administrator-created schedule. Do not assume that installing the package automatically creates the same job on every VPS image.
Oracle Linux 9 documents an installed /etc/cron.daily/0logwatch script. That nightly job runs Logwatch and mails the report to root. Ubuntu and Debian images may use a different package arrangement, so inspect the local system rather than copying the Oracle path blindly.
Confirm the local job
- List daily cron scripts:
ls -l /etc/cron.daily/. - Look for a Logwatch entry such as
0logwatch. - Check systemd timers if no cron script is present:
systemctl list-timers --all. - Read the package documentation and the installed manual for the expected schedule.
- Confirm that the scheduler’s execution user can read the logs and invoke the configured mail path.
- After the scheduled time, inspect mail logs and the recipient mailbox.
A reliable handoff to unattended operation requires all three pieces: a manual report that succeeds, a scheduler that is actually enabled, and a mail path that delivers. If any one is missing, the absence of a message is ambiguous.
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The package cannot be found
Refresh package metadata with sudo apt update and verify that the repository component containing Logwatch is enabled for the VPS release. On a vendor distribution, use that distribution’s package manager and package documentation instead of assuming the Debian package name or repository layout.
The report is empty or missing a service
Check the selected date range and confirm that the service produced matching log entries during that period. Then verify the filter name with man logwatch and inspect the installed service filter files. A service may log to a nonstandard path, use a format the filter does not recognize, or simply have no events to summarize.
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Changes to the configuration appear ignored
Confirm that you edited /etc/logwatch/conf/logwatch.conf, not only the shipped file under /usr/share/logwatch/. Check for duplicate settings later in the configuration and review any command-line options, which can override the file for a single run. Keep local exclusions in ignore.conf and local replacements in override.conf where appropriate.
No email arrives
- Run Logwatch with
--output stdoutor--output fileto prove that report generation works. - Verify
MailToand, if used,MailFrom. - Test the VPS MTA or relay separately.
- Inspect mail logs for rejected recipients, DNS failures, connection blocks, authentication errors, or queue delays.
- Check spam and quarantine at the destination.
Ubuntu documentation treats working mail services as a prerequisite. Logwatch cannot repair a blocked outbound SMTP connection or an incorrectly configured relay.
The report is too large
Lower Detail to Low, select only the services you operate, or exclude noisy services with repeated negative Service settings. A high-detail all-services report is useful for a focused investigation, but it is a poor daily mailbox notification on a busy VPS.
Older events are missing
Use the correct range and add --archives when processing rotated files:
sudo logwatch --range all --archives --detail MediumThen verify that logrotate archives still exist, are readable by the command’s user, and are in a format supported by the installed filter. Retention policies may have removed the period you are trying to inspect.
Scheduled reports never run
Inspect both cron and systemd timers, check that the job is executable, and review scheduler logs. Run the same command manually as the scheduler’s user where safe, because a root-only readable log or a different environment can make an interactive test misleading. Confirm the scheduler’s output is not being discarded before it reaches the MTA.
A maintenance workflow that stays quiet and useful
- Keep the package-managed defaults untouched under
/usr/share/logwatch/. - Store site-specific settings under
/etc/logwatch/conf/. - Start with
Lowdetail andService = Allfor one validation run. - Remove irrelevant services and add narrowly targeted services for the daily report.
- Use
yesterdayfor a stable daily window so the report is complete when it arrives. - Raise detail temporarily for an investigation, then return to the normal level.
- Review the scheduler and mail logs periodically; a silent mailbox can mean either no events or a broken delivery path.
Keep Logwatch’s role clear: it summarizes existing logs so you can notice changes quickly. Continue to protect, rotate, and retain those logs according to your operational and compliance requirements.
Quick Recap
Final setup checklist
- Logwatch is installed from the VPS distribution repository.
- The local configuration exists at
/etc/logwatch/conf/logwatch.conf. - A manual low-detail report completes successfully.
- The chosen services and exclusions match the software actually running on the VPS.
- The MTA or relay delivers a test message to the intended mailbox.
- The configured scheduler is present and enabled for the distribution.
- Archived-log testing uses
--archiveswhen historical data is required.
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