# Elasticsearch log output not working **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [February 14, 2013, 12:19pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-log-output-not-working/10742 "2013-02-14T12:19:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![james\_lewis](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/james_lewis/32/2296_2.png) [@james\_lewis](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/james_lewis)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 12:19pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-log-output-not-working/10742/1 "2013-02-14T12:19:07Z")
I'm pretty sure this is going to come down to something completely unrelated to elasticsearch but I'm going to ask the question anyway in the hope someone else has seen this behavior! If I run elasticsearch using the binary in the bin file, logging works - if I go to /var/log/elasticsearch (default directory) then the log outputs are there as I'd expect. However, when I run elasticsearch using my init.d script (which has the same LOG\_DIR - /var/log/elasticsearch) it doesn't log. Nothing. If I clear out the directory before I start the service via the init.d script, it'll still be empty after it's started / stopped. The elasticsearch user has rwx permissions on the folder and that's the user that the service runs under. I've also searched the box for any other files with the same name as my logs to see if it outputs somewhere I wasn't expecting but nothing. Any ideas what I've missed or what could be wrong? Cheers, James ## -- This email, including attachments, is private and confidential. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender and delete it from your system. Emails are not secure and may contain viruses. No liability can be accepted for viruses that might be transferred by this email or any attachment. Any unauthorised copying of this message or unauthorised distribution and publication of the information contained herein are prohibited. 7digital Limited. Registered office: Unit F, Lower Ground Floor, 5-25 Scrutton Street, Zetland House London EC2A 4HJ. Registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 04843573. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![james\_lewis](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/james_lewis/32/2296_2.png) [@james\_lewis](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/james_lewis)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-log-output-not-working/10742/2 "2013-02-14T13:19:48Z")
I might be about to answer my own question here... I replaced our init.d script with the default one that comes with the elasticsearch package and logging started working as we expected. I'm yet to confirm this but if you set the LOG\_DIR variable in the init.d script and also set the path.logs field in the elasticsearch.yml config logging doesn't work. Obviously - if you set it the config, why would you set it in the init.d!? But still, worth noting in case any of you are as silly as me. James ## -- This email, including attachments, is private and confidential. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender and delete it from your system. Emails are not secure and may contain viruses. No liability can be accepted for viruses that might be transferred by this email or any attachment. Any unauthorised copying of this message or unauthorised distribution and publication of the information contained herein are prohibited. 7digital Limited. Registered office: Unit F, Lower Ground Floor, 5-25 Scrutton Street, Zetland House London EC2A 4HJ. Registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 04843573. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 2:51am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-log-output-not-working/10742/3 "2017-07-06T02:51:28Z")