---
summary: "Logging surfaces, file logs, WS log styles, and console formatting"
read_when:
  - Changing logging output or formats
  - Debugging CLI or gateway output
title: "Gateway logging"
---

# Logging

For a user-facing overview (CLI + Control UI + config), see [/logging](/logging).

OpenClaw has two log "surfaces":

- **Console output** (what you see in the terminal / Debug UI).
- **File logs** (JSON lines) written by the gateway logger.

At startup, the Gateway logs the resolved default agent model together with the
mode defaults that affect new sessions, for example:

```text
agent model: openai/gpt-5.5 (thinking=medium, fast=on)
```

`thinking` comes from the default agent, model params, or global agent default;
when it is unset, the startup summary shows `medium`. `fast` comes from the
default agent or model `fastMode` params.

## File-based logger

- Default rolling log file is under `/tmp/openclaw/` (one file per day): `openclaw-YYYY-MM-DD.log`
  - Date uses the gateway host's local timezone.
- Active log files rotate at `logging.maxFileBytes` (default: 100 MB), keeping
  up to five numbered archives and continuing to write a fresh active file.
- The log file path and level can be configured via `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`:
  - `logging.file`
  - `logging.level`

The file format is one JSON object per line.

Talk, realtime voice, and managed-room code paths use the shared file logger for
bounded lifecycle records. These records are intended for operational debugging
and OTLP log export; transcript text, audio payloads, turn ids, call ids, and
provider item ids are not copied into the log record.

The Control UI Logs tab tails this file via the gateway (`logs.tail`).
CLI can do the same:

```bash
openclaw logs --follow
```

**Verbose vs. log levels**

- **File logs** are controlled exclusively by `logging.level`.
- `--verbose` only affects **console verbosity** (and WS log style); it does **not**
  raise the file log level.
- To capture verbose-only details in file logs, set `logging.level` to `debug` or
  `trace`.
- Trace logging also includes diagnostic timing summaries for selected hot paths,
  such as plugin tool factory preparation. See
  [/tools/plugin#slow-plugin-tool-setup](/tools/plugin#slow-plugin-tool-setup).

## Console capture

The CLI captures `console.log/info/warn/error/debug/trace` and writes them to file logs,
while still printing to stdout/stderr.

You can tune console verbosity independently via:

- `logging.consoleLevel` (default `info`)
- `logging.consoleStyle` (`pretty` | `compact` | `json`)

## Redaction

OpenClaw can mask sensitive tokens before log or transcript output leaves the
process. This logging redaction policy is applied at console, file-log, OTLP
log-record, and session transcript text sinks, so matching secret values are
masked before JSONL lines or messages are written to disk.

- `logging.redactSensitive`: `off` | `tools` (default: `tools`)
- `logging.redactPatterns`: array of regex strings (overrides defaults)
  - Use raw regex strings (auto `gi`), or `/pattern/flags` if you need custom flags.
  - Matches are masked by keeping the first 6 + last 4 chars (length >= 18), otherwise `***`.
  - Defaults cover common key assignments, CLI flags, JSON fields, bearer headers, PEM blocks, popular token prefixes, and payment credential field names such as card number, CVC/CVV, shared payment token, and payment credential.

Some safety boundaries always redact regardless of `logging.redactSensitive`.
That includes Control UI tool-call events, `sessions_history` tool output,
diagnostics support exports, provider error observations, exec approval command
display, and Gateway WebSocket protocol logs. These surfaces may still use
`logging.redactPatterns` as additional patterns, but `redactSensitive: "off"`
does not make them emit raw secrets.

## Gateway WebSocket logs

The gateway prints WebSocket protocol logs in two modes:

- **Normal mode (no `--verbose`)**: only "interesting" RPC results are printed:
  - errors (`ok=false`)
  - slow calls (default threshold: `>= 50ms`)
  - parse errors
- **Verbose mode (`--verbose`)**: prints all WS request/response traffic.

### WS log style

`openclaw gateway` supports a per-gateway style switch:

- `--ws-log auto` (default): normal mode is optimized; verbose mode uses compact output
- `--ws-log compact`: compact output (paired request/response) when verbose
- `--ws-log full`: full per-frame output when verbose
- `--compact`: alias for `--ws-log compact`

Examples:

```bash
# optimized (only errors/slow)
openclaw gateway

# show all WS traffic (paired)
openclaw gateway --verbose --ws-log compact

# show all WS traffic (full meta)
openclaw gateway --verbose --ws-log full
```

## Console formatting (subsystem logging)

The console formatter is **TTY-aware** and prints consistent, prefixed lines.
Subsystem loggers keep output grouped and scannable.

Behavior:

- **Subsystem prefixes** on every line (e.g. `[gateway]`, `[canvas]`, `[tailscale]`)
- **Subsystem colors** (stable per subsystem) plus level coloring
- **Color when output is a TTY or the environment looks like a rich terminal** (`TERM`/`COLORTERM`/`TERM_PROGRAM`), respects `NO_COLOR`
- **Shortened subsystem prefixes**: drops leading `gateway/` + `channels/`, keeps last 2 segments (e.g. `whatsapp/outbound`)
- **Sub-loggers by subsystem** (auto prefix + structured field `{ subsystem }`)
- **`logRaw()`** for QR/UX output (no prefix, no formatting)
- **Console styles** (e.g. `pretty | compact | json`)
- **Console log level** separate from file log level (file keeps full detail when `logging.level` is set to `debug`/`trace`)
- **WhatsApp message bodies** are logged at `debug` (use `--verbose` to see them)

This keeps existing file logs stable while making interactive output scannable.

## Related

- [Logging](/logging)
- [OpenTelemetry export](/gateway/opentelemetry)
- [Diagnostics export](/gateway/diagnostics)
