Learn to configure and download Raw access logs in cPanel

Raw access logs are essential files that provide detailed information about the visitors to your website and FTP site. These logs contain data about every interaction with your site, such as pages accessed, the time of access, the IP address of the visitor, and other details.

By configuring raw access logs in cPanel, you can download these logs for in-depth analysis and keep track of your site’s traffic.

Moreover, you can archive the logs every month, and you can even compress them into a .gz file. Also, cPanel gives you the option to automatically delete the archived logs of the previous month. This feature helps in maintaining clean records without worrying about storage over time.

Remember, archived logs come in the .gz file format, so if you are using a Windows PC, you might need a program to decompress these files. After that, you can open the downloaded archived logs in any text editor and analyze the data as per your needs.

How to Configure Raw Access Logs in cPanel

Follow the steps below to configure Raw Access logs –

• Start by logging into your cPanel account.
• Access Raw Access Logs

For the Paper Lantern theme, go to the Metrics section on the cPanel home screen and click on Raw Access.
For the x3 theme, look for the Logs section and click on Raw Access Logs.

• You will find an option to archive logs in your home directory at the end of each month. Make sure to check this box if you want your logs to be archived automatically every month.
• (Optional) You can also choose to delete the previous month’s archived logs to avoid keeping old, unnecessary data. This can be done by checking the box that says Remove the previous month’s archived logs from your home directory at the end of each month.
• Click on the Save button to apply the changes after you make your selections.

How to Download Raw Access Logs from cPanel

Here’s what you need to do to get your logs:

1. Again, start by logging into your cPanel account.
2. Navigate to Raw Access Logs:

For Paper Lantern theme, navigate to the Metrics section on the home screen and click on Raw Access.
For x3 theme, head to the Logs section and select Raw Access Logs.

3. On the Raw Access page, you will see a list of archived log files. To download a log, simply click on the file name of the archive you wish to retrieve. The file will begin downloading to your computer.

That file will be downloaded in .gz format. Once it is on your computer, you will need to unzip it using any tool that can open Gzip files. After extraction, you will get a plain text file. You can open that file with any text editor like Notepad, Notepad++, or any other editor you prefer.

Security Note: Always handle these log files carefully. They may contain sensitive information like IP addresses or paths to files on your server. Don’t share them without checking the contents.