nxlog(8)

NAME

nxlog - collects, processes, converts, and forwards telemetry data in many different formats

SYNOPSIS

nxlog [-c conffile] [-f]

nxlog [-c conffile] -v

nxlog [-r | -s]

DESCRIPTION

NXLog Agent is a telemetry data collector and forwarder capable of processing high volumes of data. It supports filtering, normalizing, correlating, and converting data between different formats. Additionally, it provides features for scheduling tasks, rotating log files, buffering, and pattern-matching. NXLog Agent uses a modular architecture, so you only need to load the input, output, and extension modules that you need.

OPTIONS

-c conffile, --conf conffile

Specify an alternative configuration file conffile.

-f, --foreground

Run in the foreground instead of as a service.

-q, --quiet

Suppress output to STDOUT/STDERR.

-h, --help

Print help.

-r, --reload

Reload the configuration of a running instance.

-s, --stop

Send a stop signal to a running instance.

-v, --verify

Verify the configuration file syntax.

SIGNALS

You can control the NXLog Agent process by sending it the following signals.

SIGHUP

Reload the NXLog Agent configuration and restart the module instances.

SIGUSR1

Write an INFO message to the LogFile containing the current NXLog Agent status. The message will also be available via the im_internal module.

SIGUSR2

Switch NXLog Agent to debug log level. This is equivalent to setting the LogLevel directive to DEBUG but does not require an NXLog Agent restart.

SIGINT/SIGQUIT/SIGTERM

Stop NXLog Agent.

You can send a signal to the NXLog Agent process with the kill command. For example, the following command sends the SIGUSR1 signal:

kill -SIGUSR1 $(cat /opt/nxlog/var/run/nxlog/nxlog.pid)

FILES

/opt/nxlog/bin/nxlog

The main NXLog Agent executable.

/opt/nxlog/bin/nxlog-stmnt-verifier

A tool to check NXLog language statements. It reads statements from the standard input stream and validates them. If a statement is invalid, the tool prints an error to the standard error stream and exits with a non-zero value.

/opt/nxlog/etc/nxlog.conf

The default configuration file.

/opt/nxlog/lib/nxlog/modules

The NXLog Agent modules are located in this directory by default. See the ModuleDir directive.

/opt/nxlog/spool/nxlog

If PersistLogqueue is set to TRUE, module queues are stored in this directory. See also the LogqueueDir and SyncLogqueue directives.

/opt/nxlog/spool/nxlog/configcache.dat

The cache file that stores the last read position. See the NoCache, CacheDir, CacheFlushInterval, and CacheSync directives.

/opt/nxlog/var/run/nxlog/nxlog.pid

The process ID (PID) of the currently running NXLog Agent process is written to this file. See the PidFile directive.

ENVIRONMENT

To access environment variables from the NXLog Agent configuration, use the envvar directive.

SEE ALSO

nxlog-processor(8)

NXLog website: https://nxlog.co

NXLog documentation: https://docs.nxlog.co/platform

Copyright © NXLog Ltd. 2026

A commercial license is required to use NXLog Agent. Visit the NXLog website for more information.