# How to configure a Beat to log to the console
**URL:** https://discuss.elastic.co/t/how-to-configure-a-beat-to-log-to-the-console/44537
**Category:** Beats
**Created:** [March 16, 2016, 9:59am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/how-to-configure-a-beat-to-log-to-the-console/44537 "2016-03-16T09:59:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@marminthibaut](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/marminthibaut)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2016, 9:59am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/how-to-configure-a-beat-to-log-to-the-console/44537/1 "2016-03-16T09:59:33Z")
Hi,
I'm trying to configure a Beat in a Docker container, that's why I need my beat to log to stdout/stderr. In the logging section of the configuration file, it is written:
```
# There are three options for the log ouput: syslog, file, stderr.
# Under Windows systems, the log files are per default sent to the file output,
# under all other system per default to syslog.
```
I wouldlike to enable the third logging mode `stderr`. I already try to add `to_stderr: true` in the logging section but it does not seam to work.
Any idea?
Thanks!
Thibaut
---
### Author:  [@steffens](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/steffens)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2016, 1:55pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/how-to-configure-a-beat-to-log-to-the-console/44537/2 "2016-03-18T13:55:36Z")
Starting up the beat with '-e' always enabled stderr for logging.
---
### Author:  [@marminthibaut](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/marminthibaut)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/how-to-configure-a-beat-to-log-to-the-console/44537/3 "2016-03-24T13:48:15Z")
thanks for answering my question!
---
### Author:  [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/how-to-configure-a-beat-to-log-to-the-console/44537/4 "2017-07-05T21:54:12Z")