Get a DemoStart Free TrialSign In

Postgresql Logs

Collect and ship PostgreSQL logs to Logstash and Elasticsearch.

Filebeat is a lightweight shipper that enables you to send your PostgreSQL application logs to Logstash and Elasticsearch. Configure Filebeat using the pre-defined examples below to start sending and analysing your PostgreSQL application logs.

Send Your DataLogsApplicationsPostgresql Logs Guide

Follow this step by step guide to get 'logs' from your system to Logit.io:

Step 1 - Install Filebeat

To get started you will need to install filebeat. To do this you have two main options:

To successfully install filebeat and set up the required Windows service you will need to have administrator access.

If you have chosen to download the zip file:

  • Extract the contents of the zip file into C:\Program Files.
  • Rename the extracted folder to filebeat
  • Open a PowerShell prompt as an Administrator (right-click the PowerShell icon and select Run As Administrator).
  • From the PowerShell prompt, run the following commands to install filebeat as a Windows service:
cd 'C:\Program Files\filebeat'
.\install-service-filebeat.ps1

If script execution is disabled on your system, you need to set the execution policy for the current session to allow the script to run. For example:

PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy UnRestricted -File .\install-service-filebeat.ps1

For more information about Powershell execution policies see here

If you have chosen to download the filebeat .msi file:

  • double-click on it and the relevant files will be downloaded.

At the end of the installation process you'll be given the option to open the folder where filebeat has been installed.

  • Open a PowerShell prompt as an Administrator (right-click the PowerShell icon and select Run As Administrator).
  • From the PowerShell prompt, change directory to the location where filebeat was installed and run the following command to install filebeat as a Windows service:
.\install-service-filebeat.ps1

If script execution is disabled on your system, you need to set the execution policy for the current session to allow the script to run. For example:

PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy UnRestricted -File .\install-service-filebeat.ps1

For more information about Powershell execution policies see here

To get started you will need to install filebeat. To do this you have two main options:

  • Choose the AMD / Intel file (x86_64) or
  • Choose the ARM file (arm64)

You can tell if you have a Linux PC with an AMD / Intel CPU (kernel) architecture by opening a terminal and running the uname -m command. If it displays x86_64 you have AMD / Intel architecture.

To successfully install filebeat you will need to have root access.

If you have an x86_64 system download and extract the contents of the file using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
tar xzvf filebeat-8.12.2-linux-x86_64.tar.gz

If you have an arm64 system download and extract the contents of the file using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-linux-arm64.tar.gz
tar xzvf filebeat-8.12.2-linux-arm64.tar.gz

To get started you will need to install filebeat. To do this you have two main options:

  • Choose the AMD / Intel file (x86_64) or
  • Choose the ARM file (aarch64)

You can tell if you have a Mac with an ARM CPU architecture by opening the Terminal application and running the arch command. If it displays arm64 you have ARM architecture.

To successfully install filebeat you will need to have root access.

If you have an x86_64 system download and extract the contents of the file using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-darwin-x86_64.tar.gz
tar xzvf filebeat-8.12.2-darwin-x86_64.tar.gz

If you have an aarch64 system download and extract the contents of the file using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-darwin-aarch64.tar.gz
tar xzvf filebeat-8.12.2-darwin-aarch64.tar.gz

To get started you will need to install filebeat. To do this you have two main options:

  • Choose the AMD / Intel file (x86_64) or
  • Choose the ARM file (aarch64)

You can tell if you have a PC with an ARM CPU architecture by opening the Terminal application and running the arch command. If it displays arm64 you have ARM architecture.

To successfully install filebeat you will need to have root access.

If you have an x86_64 system download and install filebeat using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i filebeat-8.12.2-amd64.deb

If you have an aarch64 system download and install filebeat using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-arm64.deb
sudo dpkg -i filebeat-8.12.2-arm64.deb

To get started you will need to install filebeat. To do this you have two main options:

  • Choose the AMD / Intel file (x86_64) or
  • Choose the ARM file (aarch64)

You can tell if you have a PC with an ARM CPU architecture by opening the Terminal application and running the arch command. If it displays arm64 you have ARM architecture.

To successfully install filebeat you will need to have root access.

If you have an x86_64 system download and install filebeat using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-x86_64.rpm
sudo rpm -vi filebeat-8.12.2-x86_64.rpm

If you have an aarch64 system download and install filebeat using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-aarch64.rpm
sudo rpm -vi filebeat-8.12.2-aarch64.rpm

Step 2 - Enable the PostgreSQL Module

There are several built in filebeat modules you can use. To enable the PostgreSQL module run.

deb/rpm

sudo filebeat modules list
sudo filebeat modules enable postgresql

macOS

cd <EXTRACTED_ARCHIVE>
./filebeat modules list
./filebeat modules enable postgresql

Windows

cd <EXTRACTED_ARCHIVE>
.\filebeat.exe modules list
.\filebeat.exe modules enable postgresql

Additional module configuration can be done using the per module config files located in the modules.d folder, most commonly this would be to read logs from a non-default location

deb/rpm /etc/filebeat/modules.d/
mac/win <EXTRACTED_ARCHIVE>/modules.d/

- module: postgresql
  # All logs
  log:
    enabled: true

    # Set custom paths for the log files. If left empty,
    # Filebeat will choose the paths depending on your OS.
    # var.paths:

Step 3 - Update your configuration file

The configuration file below is pre-configured to send data to your Logit.io Stack via Logstash.

Copy the configuration file below and overwrite the contents of filebeat.yml.

# ============================== Filebeat modules ==============================
filebeat.config.modules:
  path: ${path.config}/modules.d/*.yml
  reload.enabled: false
  #reload.period: 10s

# ================================== Outputs ===================================
# ------------------------------ Logstash Output -------------------------------
output.logstash:
    hosts: ["your-logstash-host:your-ssl-port"]
    loadbalance: true
    ssl.enabled: true

# ================================= Processors =================================
processors:
  - add_host_metadata:
      when.not.contains.tags: forwarded
  - add_cloud_metadata: ~
  - add_docker_metadata: ~
  - add_kubernetes_metadata: ~

If you’re running Filebeat 7 add this code block to the end. Otherwise, you can leave it out.

# ... For Filebeat 7 only ...
filebeat.registry.path: /var/lib/filebeat

If you’re running Filebeat 6 add this code block to the end. Otherwise, you can leave it out.

# ... For Filebeat 6 only ...
registry_file: /var/lib/filebeat/registry

Validate your YAML

It’s a good idea to run the configuration file through a YAML validator to rule out indentation errors, clean up extra characters, and check if your YAML file is valid. Yamllint.com is a great choice.

Step 4 - Validate configuration

.\filebeat.exe -e -c filebeat.yml
If the yml file is invalid, filebeat will print an `error loading config file` error message with details on how to correct the problem. If you have issues starting filebeat see "How To Diagnose No Data In Stack" below to troubleshoot.
sudo ./filebeat -e -c filebeat.yml --strict.perms=false

You’ll be running filebeat as root, so you need to change ownership of the configuration file and any configurations enabled in the modules.d directory, or run filebeat with --strict.perms=false as shown above. Read more about how to change ownership.

If the yml file is invalid, filebeat will print an `error loading config file` error message with details on how to correct the problem. If you have issues starting filebeat see "How To Diagnose No Data In Stack" below to troubleshoot.
sudo ./filebeat -e -c filebeat.yml --strict.perms=false

You’ll be running filebeat as root, so you need to change ownership of the configuration file and any configurations enabled in the modules.d directory, or run filebeat with --strict.perms=false as shown above. Read more about how to change ownership.

If the yml file is invalid, filebeat will print an `error loading config file` error message with details on how to correct the problem. If you have issues starting filebeat see "How To Diagnose No Data In Stack" below to troubleshoot.
sudo filebeat -e -c /etc/filebeat/filebeat.yml
If the yml file is invalid, filebeat will print an `error loading config file` error message with details on how to correct the problem. If you have issues starting filebeat see "How To Diagnose No Data In Stack" below to troubleshoot.
sudo filebeat -e -c /etc/filebeat/filebeat.yml
If the yml file is invalid, filebeat will print an `error loading config file` error message with details on how to correct the problem. If you have issues starting filebeat see "How To Diagnose No Data In Stack" below to troubleshoot.

Step 5 - Start filebeat

To start Filebeat, run in Powershell:

Start-Service filebeat

To start Filebeat, run:

sudo chown root filebeat.yml 
sudo chown root modules.d/{modulename}.yml 
sudo ./filebeat -e

You’ll be running filebeat as root, so you need to change ownership of the configuration file and any configurations enabled in the modules.d directory, or run filebeat with --strict.perms=false as shown above. Read more about how to change ownership.

To start Filebeat, run:

sudo chown root filebeat.yml 
sudo chown root modules.d/{modulename}.yml 
sudo ./filebeat -e

You’ll be running filebeat as root, so you need to change ownership of the configuration file and any configurations enabled in the modules.d directory, or run filebeat with --strict.perms=false as shown above. Read more about how to change ownership.

To start Filebeat, run:

sudo service filebeat start

To start Filebeat, run:

sudo service filebeat start

Step 6 - Check Logit.io for your logs

Data should now have been sent to your Stack.

View my data

If you don't see logs take a look at How to diagnose no data in Stack below for how to diagnose common issues.

Step 7 - how to diagnose no data in Stack

If you don't see data appearing in your Stack after following the steps, visit the Help Centre guide for steps to diagnose no data appearing in your Stack or Chat to support now.

Step 8 - PostgreSQL dashboard

The PostgreSQL module comes with predefined Kibana dashboards. To view your dashboards for any of your Logit.io stacks, launch Logs and choose Dashboards.

Predefined kibana dashboard screenshot

Step 9 - PostgreSQL Logging Overview

PostgreSQL (often shortened to Postgres) is a highly stable open-source relational database that supports both relational & non-relational querying. Postgres can run across the majority of operating systems including Linux, Windows & macOS.

PostgreSQL is used by some of the world’s best known brands including Apple, IMDB, Red Hat & Cisco due to its robust feature set, useful addons & scalability.

Some of the benefits of using this database include their support for the majority of programming languages as well as it’s strengths as a reliable transactional database for companies of all sizes.

PostgreSQL users are encouraged to log as much as possible as with insufficient configuration you could easily lose access to key messages for troubleshooting and error resolution. Below are some of the most important logs you’ll likely need to analyse when running Postgres.

PostgreSQL transaction logs help the user to identify what queries a transaction encountered.

Remote Host IP/Name (w/ port) logs can serve to help security technicians identify suspicious activity that has occurred. If you are looking to pinpoint troublesome sessions affecting your infrastructure you might turn to Process ID logs for further insights.

When it comes to logging in Postgres there are twenty three other parameters which can be isolated for troubleshooting using the various keywords; ERROR, FATAL, WARNING, & PANIC.

With all these logs, directories & parameters it is easy to become overwhelmed at the prospect of having to thoroughly analyse your log data & you may wish to use a log management system to streamline your processes.

Our built in PostgreSQL log file analyser helps DBAs, sysadmins, and developers identify issues, create visualisations & set alerts when preconfigured and custom parameters are met.

If you need any assistance with analysing your PostgreSQL logs we're here to help. Feel free to reach out by contacting the Logit.io support team via live chat & we'll be happy to help you start analysing your data.