Logs & Monitoring

System logs help you track activity, diagnose issues, and monitor your PteroCA installation. This guide covers all logging and monitoring features.

Accessing Logs

To view logs:

1. Click Logs in the admin sidebar

2. Choose log type:

   • System Logs - All system actions

   • Email Logs - Outgoing email history

   • Server Logs - Server-specific events

Required permission: access_logs or admin role

System Logs

What is Logged

System logs record all significant actions:

User Actions:

• Login/logout

• Registration

• Password changes

• Profile updates

Server Operations:

• Server creation

• Server suspension/unsuspension

• Server deletion

• Server modifications

• Ownership transfers

Financial Transactions:

• Purchases

• Balance top-ups

• Renewals

• Refunds/adjustments

Administrative Actions:

• User management

• Product changes

• Settings modifications

• Role assignments

Log Entry Information

Each log entry contains:

Who:

• User - Who performed the action

• IP Address - Source IP

• User Agent - Browser/device information

What:

• Action - Type of operation

• Details - Specific information (JSON format)

• Entity - What was affected

When:

• Created At - Timestamp

Viewing System Logs

To browse logs:

1. Go to Logs → System Logs

2. View chronological list of actions

Filter options:

• By user (email or ID)

• By action type

• By date range

• By IP address

Search:

• Search log details

• Find specific actions

• Locate events

Common Log Actions

User-related:

• user.created - New user registered

• user.updated - User profile modified

• user.deleted - User account deleted

• user.login - Successful login

• user.logout - User logged out

Server-related:

• server.created - New server purchased

• server.updated - Server modified

• server.suspended - Server suspended

• server.unsuspended - Server reactivated

• server.deleted - Server removed

• server.transferred - Ownership changed

Payment-related:

• payment.created - Payment initiated

• payment.completed - Payment successful

• balance.adjusted - Manual balance change

Admin-related:

• product.created - New product

• product.updated - Product modified

• settings.updated - Settings changed

• role.assigned - Role given to user

Email Logs

What is Logged

Email logs track all outgoing emails:

Email types:

• Welcome emails

• Email verification

• Password reset

• Purchase confirmations

• Renewal reminders

• Server suspension notices

• Payment receipts

Email Log Information

Each email log entry shows:

Recipient:

• To - Recipient email address

• User - Associated user (if applicable)

Content:

• Subject - Email subject line

• Template - Email template used

Status:

• Status - Sent, failed, pending

• Error Message - Failure reason (if failed)

Timing:

• Sent At - When email was sent

• Created At - When email was queued

Viewing Email Logs

To browse email history:

1. Go to Logs → Email Logs

2. View all sent emails

Filter by:

• Recipient email

• Status (sent vs failed)

• Date range

• Template type

Email Status

Sent:

• Email successfully delivered to SMTP server

• Does NOT guarantee inbox delivery

• User's email server may still reject

Failed:

• Email could not be sent

• SMTP error occurred

• Configuration issue

Pending:

• Email queued but not yet sent

• Async email system

Troubleshooting Email Issues

If user didn't receive email:

1. Check email logs - Was it sent?

2. Check spam folder - Email marked as spam?

3. Verify email address - Correct spelling?

4. Check SMTP status - Server reachable?

5. Review error message - If failed, why?

Common email failures:

• Invalid recipient

• SMTP connection timeout

• Authentication failed

• Spam blocking

• Rate limiting

Solutions:

• Verify SMTP configuration

• Check email server status

• Whitelist sender domain

• Test with different email provider

• Review SMTP credentials

See Email Configuration for SMTP setup.

Server Logs

What is Logged

Server logs track server-specific events:

Server lifecycle:

• Server creation

• Configuration changes

• Status changes

• Suspension/unsuspension

• Deletion

Server operations:

• Renewal attempts

• Resource modifications

• Egg changes

• Node transfers

Server Log Information

Each server log entry shows:

Server:

• Server identifier

• Server name

• Owner

Action:

• Operation performed

• Who performed it

• Result

Details:

• Specific changes made

• Old vs new values

• Error messages (if failed)

Timestamp:

• When action occurred

Viewing Server Logs

To browse server logs:

1. Go to Logs → Server Logs

2. View server-specific events

Filter by:

• Server (by ID or name)

• Owner (user)

• Date range

• Action type

Use cases:

• Track server history

• Investigate server issues

• Audit server modifications

• Troubleshoot renewals

Log Retention

Automatic Cleanup

Logs may be automatically cleaned up to:

• Prevent database bloat

• Improve performance

• Comply with data retention policies

Typical retention:

• System logs: 90 days

• Email logs: 30 days

• Server logs: 60 days

(Configuration varies by installation)

Manual Cleanup

If cleanup command available:

php bin/console pteroca:system:cleanup-logs

Parameters:

• Days to keep

• Log type

• Specific filters

See CLI Commands for details.

Export Before Cleanup

Archive important logs:

1. Filter to desired logs

2. Export to CSV/JSON

3. Store in secure location

4. Use for compliance/auditing

Monitoring Best Practices

Regular Monitoring

Daily checks:

• Failed email deliveries

• Recent user registrations

• Payment transactions

• Server creations

• System errors

Weekly reviews:

• User activity patterns

• Email delivery rates

• Server renewal success

• Error trends

Monthly audits:

• Admin actions

• Balance adjustments

• Security events

• Compliance requirements

Security Monitoring

Watch for:

• Multiple failed logins (brute force)

• Unusual login locations

• Unauthorized admin actions

• Suspicious user registrations

• Mass server deletions

• Unexpected balance changes

Red flags:

• Logins from unexpected countries

• Admin actions at odd hours

• Bulk operations

• Repeated failed operations

Actions if suspicious activity:

1. Review related logs

2. Check user accounts involved

3. Block suspicious accounts

4. Change passwords if compromised

5. Contact affected users

6. Document incident

Performance Monitoring

Track metrics:

• Email delivery success rate

• Server creation speed

• Payment processing time

• User registration trends

Identify bottlenecks:

• Slow operations

• High failure rates

• Resource constraints

Using Logs for Troubleshooting

Common Scenarios

User can't log in:

1. Check system logs for login attempts

2. Review failure reasons

3. Check if account blocked

4. Verify password reset attempts

Server wasn't created:

1. Check server logs for creation attempt

2. Review error messages

3. Check Pterodactyl API logs

4. Verify node availability

Email not delivered:

1. Check email logs for sending attempt

2. Review failure reason

3. Verify SMTP configuration

4. Test with different recipient

Payment not processed:

1. Check system logs for payment events

2. Review payment gateway logs

3. Verify webhook/callback receipt

4. Check for error messages

Investigating Issues

Step-by-step:

1. Identify timeframe - When did issue occur?

2. Find relevant logs - Which log type?

3. Filter by criteria - User, action, date

4. Review details - What happened?

5. Trace sequence - What led to issue?

6. Identify cause - Error message or pattern

7. Implement fix - Based on findings

8. Verify resolution - Check logs after fix

Advanced Monitoring

External Monitoring Tools

Integration options:

• Syslog export

• Log aggregation (ELK stack)

• Monitoring services (Datadog, New Relic)

• Custom scripts

Benefits:

• Real-time alerts

• Advanced analytics

• Long-term storage

• Correlation with infrastructure metrics

Alerting

Set up alerts for:

• Failed payments

• Server creation failures

• Email delivery failures

• Security events

• System errors

Alert methods:

• Email notifications

• SMS/phone

• Slack/Discord webhooks

• PagerDuty integration

Privacy and Compliance

Data Logged

Sensitive information:

• IP addresses

• User agents

• Email addresses

• Actions performed

NOT logged:

• Passwords (hashed only)

• Credit card numbers

• Full payment details

GDPR Compliance

User rights:

• Right to access (view their logs)

• Right to deletion (remove logs)

• Right to portability (export logs)

Implementation:

• Export user-specific logs

• Anonymize logs on request

• Comply with data retention policies

Audit Requirements

For compliance:

• Retain logs for required period

• Provide audit trails

• Document access to logs

• Secure log storage

Troubleshooting

Logs Not Appearing

If logs don't show up:

1. Check logging is enabled

2. Verify log level configuration

3. Check database connectivity

4. Review application logs (server-level)

5. Verify permissions

Cannot Filter Logs

If filters don't work:

1. Clear browser cache

2. Try different browser

3. Check for JavaScript errors

4. Verify database indexes

Performance Issues

If log page is slow:

1. Reduce date range

2. Add more specific filters

3. Clean up old logs

4. Optimize database

5. Consider log archival

Related Guides

• Managing Users - User activity tracking

• Managing Servers - Server event monitoring

• Payments & Orders - Payment transaction logs

• System Configuration - Log settings

Need Help?

For logging and monitoring questions:

• Check FAQ

• Review Troubleshooting Guide

• Join Discord Community

• Contact technical support