[id='viewing-logs']
= Viewing logs

Log files contain messages about the system, including the kernel, services, and applications running on it. There are different log files for different information. For example, there is a default system log file, a log file for security messages, and a log file for cron tasks.

[id='locating-log-files']
== Locating log files

Most log files are located in the `/var/log/` directory.

`Rsyslog` is a system utility that provides support for logging. To install the _rsyslog_ package:
----
$ sudo dnf install rsyslog
----
To view a list of log files maintained by the related daemon, `rsyslogd`, enter the following command:
----
$ less /etc/rsyslog.conf
----

[id='viewing-log-files']
== Viewing log files

In Fedora, there are two ways to open the log files:

* The command line

* A GUI application