Plesk Log File Locations
In this guide, you'll find every log file path on Plesk. These paths apply to Plesk Obsidian 18.0.70, Plesk Obsidian 18.0.60, Plesk Obsidian 18.0.50, Plesk Obsidian 18.0.40, Plesk Obsidian 18.0.30, Plesk Obsidian 18.0.20, Plesk Onyx 17.8, Plesk Onyx 17.5, and Plesk Onyx 17.0. All log locations below remain consistent across all 9 versions unless noted otherwise.
Hosting Panelvaries7 services covered
Quick Reference
| Service | Primary Log Path | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Plesk Panel | /var/log/plesk/panel.log | Hosting Panel |
| Nginx (Plesk-managed) | /var/log/nginx/error.log | Web Server |
| Apache (Plesk-managed) | /var/www/vhosts/example.com/logs/access_log | Web Server |
| Mail — Postfix & Dovecot (Plesk) | /var/log/maillog | |
| MySQL/MariaDB (Plesk) | /var/log/mariadb/mariadb.log | Database |
| FTP — ProFTPd (Plesk) | /usr/local/psa/var/log/xferlog | System |
| Webmail — Roundcube (Plesk) | /var/log/plesk-roundcube/errors | Hosting Panel |
Plesk Panel
Hosting PanelLog Files
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/var/log/plesk/panel.log | Plesk panel application log — UI actions, API calls, errors |
/var/log/sw-cp-server/error_log | Plesk web server (sw-cp-server) error log |
/var/log/sw-cp-server/sw-engine.log | Plesk engine error log — low-level engine errors |
/usr/local/psa/admin/logs/httpsd_access_log | Plesk panel HTTP access log |
/var/log/plesk/task-manager.log | Task manager log — scheduled and background tasks |
/usr/local/psa/admin/logs/health-alarm.log | Health monitor alarm log |
/var/log/plesk/install/ | Installation and update logs directory |
/var/log/plesk/systemupdatestool.log | System packages update manager log |
/var/log/plesk/PMM/ | Backup and migration manager logs (Obsidian) |
/usr/local/psa/PMM/logs/ | Backup and migration logs (Onyx) — backup-<datetime>, restore-<datetime> |
/var/log/sso/sso.log | Single sign-on (SSO) activity log |
Configuration Files
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/usr/local/psa/admin/conf/panel.ini | Plesk panel configuration |
/usr/local/psa/admin/conf/httpsd.conf | Plesk web server (httpsd) configuration |
/etc/sw-cp-server/conf.d/plesk.conf | Plesk sw-cp-server web server configuration |
/usr/local/psa/admin/conf/php.ini | PHP configuration for Plesk panel (RHEL) |
/etc/psa/psa.conf | Core Plesk system configuration |
Common Commands
View Plesk panel log
sudo tail -100 /var/log/plesk/panel.logFollow Plesk panel log
sudo tail -f /var/log/plesk/panel.logView sw-cp-server errors
sudo tail -100 /var/log/sw-cp-server/error_logView health monitor alarms
sudo tail -50 /usr/local/psa/admin/logs/health-alarm.logView install/update logs
ls -la /var/log/plesk/install/Check Plesk version
sudo plesk versionPlesk repair tool
sudo plesk repair all -yInstall
Pre-installed with Plesk licenseNginx (Plesk-managed)
Web ServerLog Files
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/var/log/nginx/error.log | Global Nginx error log |
/var/log/nginx/access.log | Global Nginx access log |
/var/www/vhosts/example.com/logs/proxy_access_log | Per-domain Nginx proxy access log |
/var/www/vhosts/example.com/logs/proxy_error_log | Per-domain Nginx proxy error log |
Configuration Files
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/etc/nginx/nginx.conf | Main Nginx configuration (managed by Plesk) |
/etc/nginx/conf.d/zz010_psa_nginx.conf | Plesk-generated Nginx vhost includes — auto-generated, do not edit |
/etc/nginx/plesk.conf.d/ | Plesk-managed Nginx configuration includes |
Common Commands
View Nginx error log
sudo tail -100 /var/log/nginx/error.logFollow Nginx error log
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.logView domain proxy error log
sudo tail -100 /var/www/vhosts/example.com/logs/proxy_error_logTest Nginx config
sudo nginx -tInstall
Managed by PleskApache (Plesk-managed)
Web ServerLog Files
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/var/www/vhosts/example.com/logs/access_log | Per-domain Apache access log |
/var/www/vhosts/example.com/logs/error_log | Per-domain Apache error log |
/var/log/httpd/error_log | Global Apache error log (RHEL-based) |
/var/log/apache2/error.log | Global Apache error log (Debian-based) |
/var/log/httpd/modsec_audit.log | ModSecurity WAF audit log (RHEL) |
Configuration Files
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/etc/httpd/conf.d/zz010_psa_httpd.conf | Plesk-generated Apache vhost includes (RHEL) — auto-generated, do not edit |
/etc/apache2/conf-enabled/zz010_psa_httpd.conf | Plesk-generated Apache vhost includes (Debian) — auto-generated, do not edit |
/var/www/vhosts/system/example.com/conf/ | Per-domain Apache configuration directory |
Common Commands
View domain error log
sudo tail -100 /var/www/vhosts/example.com/logs/error_logFollow domain error log
sudo tail -f /var/www/vhosts/example.com/logs/error_logList all vhost log directories
ls /var/www/vhosts/*/logs/View ModSecurity log
sudo tail -100 /var/log/httpd/modsec_audit.logInstall
Managed by PleskMail — Postfix & Dovecot (Plesk)
MailLog Files
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/var/log/maillog | Main mail log — Postfix and Dovecot transactions (RHEL) |
/var/log/mail.log | Main mail log — Postfix and Dovecot transactions (Debian) |
/usr/local/psa/var/log/maillog | Plesk mail processing log |
Configuration Files
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/etc/postfix/main.cf | Postfix main configuration (managed by Plesk) |
/etc/postfix/master.cf | Postfix daemon configuration |
/etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf | Dovecot IMAP/POP3 configuration |
/etc/dovecot/conf.d/11-plesk-security-ssl.conf | Dovecot SSL/TLS configuration (managed by Plesk) |
Common Commands
View mail log (RHEL)
sudo tail -200 /var/log/maillogView mail log (Debian)
sudo tail -200 /var/log/mail.logFollow mail log
sudo tail -f /var/log/maillogView Plesk mail log
sudo tail -100 /usr/local/psa/var/log/maillogCheck Postfix queue
sudo postqueue -p | head -50Install
Managed by PleskMySQL/MariaDB (Plesk)
DatabaseLog Files
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/var/log/mariadb/mariadb.log | MariaDB error log (RHEL/CentOS) |
/var/log/mysql/error.log | MySQL/MariaDB error log (Debian/Ubuntu) |
/var/log/mysqld.log | Alternative MySQL error log location |
Configuration Files
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/etc/my.cnf | MySQL/MariaDB configuration (RHEL) |
/etc/mysql/my.cnf | MySQL/MariaDB configuration (Debian) |
Common Commands
Find MySQL error log path
mysql -e "SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'log_error';"View MariaDB log (RHEL)
sudo tail -100 /var/log/mariadb/mariadb.logView MySQL log (Debian)
sudo tail -100 /var/log/mysql/error.logCheck MySQL status
sudo systemctl status mariadb || sudo systemctl status mysqlInstall
Managed by PleskFTP — ProFTPd (Plesk)
SystemLog Files
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/usr/local/psa/var/log/xferlog | FTP file transfer log — uploads and downloads |
/var/log/secure | FTP authentication events (RHEL) |
/var/log/auth.log | FTP authentication events (Debian) |
Configuration Files
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/etc/proftpd.conf | ProFTPd main configuration |
/etc/proftpd.include | ProFTPd include directives |
/etc/xinetd.d/ftp_psa | FTP service launch configuration (xinetd) |
Common Commands
View FTP transfer log
sudo tail -100 /usr/local/psa/var/log/xferlogFollow FTP transfer log
sudo tail -f /usr/local/psa/var/log/xferlogCheck ProFTPd status
sudo systemctl status xinetdInstall
Managed by PleskWebmail — Roundcube (Plesk)
Hosting PanelLog Files
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/var/log/plesk-roundcube/errors | Roundcube webmail error log |
Configuration Files
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/etc/psa-webmail/roundcube/ | Roundcube webmail configuration directory |
Common Commands
View Roundcube errors
sudo tail -100 /var/log/plesk-roundcube/errorsInstall
Managed by PleskTroubleshooting
Permission denied viewing logs
Most log files require root access. Use sudo before your command, or add your user to the adm group: sudo usermod -aG adm $USER
Log file is empty
Verify the service is running with systemctl status service-name. Check the service config to confirm logging is enabled and the log path is correct.
How to enable debug logging
For Nginx, set error_log /var/log/nginx/error.log debug; in nginx.conf. For Apache, set LogLevel debug in httpd.conf. For PHP-FPM, set log_level = debug in pool config. Remember to revert after debugging.
Log rotation not working
Test with sudo logrotate -d /etc/logrotate.d/nginx (dry run) or sudo logrotate -f /etc/logrotate.d/nginx (force). Check that the logrotate cron job exists in /etc/cron.daily/logrotate.
Covered Versions
The log file paths on this page apply to all of the following versions.
Plesk Obsidian 18.0.70
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Plesk Obsidian 18.0.60
EOL:
Plesk Obsidian 18.0.50
EOL:
Plesk Obsidian 18.0.40
EOL:
Plesk Obsidian 18.0.30
EOL:
Plesk Obsidian 18.0.20
EOL:
Plesk Onyx 17.8
EOL:
Plesk Onyx 17.5
EOL:
Plesk Onyx 17.0
EOL:
Related Versions
cPanel & WHMcPanel 118, cPanel 116, cPanel 114, cPanel 112, cPanel 110, cPanel 108, cPanel 106, cPanel 104, cPanel 102, cPanel 100, cPanel 98, cPanel 96, cPanel 94, cPanel 92Debian13, 12RHEL FamilyAlmaLinux 9, AlmaLinux 10, Rocky Linux 9, Amazon Linux 2023, CloudLinux 9, Rocky Linux 10, Fedora 43, Fedora 42, Fedora 41, Fedora 40