view-vm-logs.md

How to View VM Logs

View and stream log files from your azlin VMs without SSH-ing in manually.

View recent system logs

azlin logs my-vm

Shows the last 100 lines of /var/log/syslog (the default log type).

Stream logs in real-time

azlin logs my-vm --follow

Streams syslog continuously until you press Ctrl+C. Useful for watching deployments or debugging live issues.

View a specific log type

azlin logs my-vm --type cloud-init    # Provisioning output
azlin logs my-vm --type auth          # SSH logins, sudo events
azlin logs my-vm --type azlin         # Azlin agent activity

Control how many lines to show

azlin logs my-vm --lines 20           # Last 20 lines
azlin logs my-vm --type auth -n 500   # Last 500 auth log lines

View all log types at once

azlin logs my-vm --type all

This shows the last 100 lines from each of the four log files: syslog, cloud-init, auth, and azlin.

Tip: Avoid combining --type all with --follow. Streaming four files simultaneously produces interleaved output that is hard to read. Instead, target the specific log type you need when using --follow.

Check provisioning issues on a new VM

azlin logs my-new-vm --type cloud-init --lines 200

Cloud-init logs contain the full output of VM provisioning, including tool installation and configuration. Check here first when a newly created VM isn't behaving as expected.

View logs from a VM in a specific resource group

azlin logs my-vm --type syslog --rg production-rg

See Also

• Logs Command Reference — Full flag and option details
• CLI Command Reference — All CLI flags and defaults
• Troubleshoot Connection Issues — When logs won't load