Viewing DNClient logs

This guide explains how to view logs for DNClient in each of the supported platforms.

Streaming to admin panel

To begin streaming logs to your web browser, log into the admin panel, find the host, lighthouse, or relay that you would like to inspect, click the three-dot menu, and choose “Debug.” From there, you can stream logs from DNClient for a maximum of five minutes at a time, or you can send debugging commands to inspect the state of the client. (Note: Query lighthouse should be run twice; the first command will return the current state from memory as well as start a query, and a repeated command will return updated result.) You can also download a copy of the logs from this page.

Linux

Logs

If you are using systemd:

journalctl --unit=dnclient --follow

Config info

sudo dnclient info

Service status

systemctl status dnclient

# outputs
● dnclient.service - Defined Networking client daemon
     Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/dnclient.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Wed 2022-11-30 16:07:48 CST; 2min 3s ago
   Main PID: 546 (dnclient)
      Tasks: 10 (limit: 4560)
     Memory: 19.2M
     CGroup: /system.slice/dnclient.service
             └─546 /home/alice/dnclient run -server https://api.defined.net

# ... shows DNClient logs ...

macOS

Logs for Server variant

sudo tail -f /usr/local/var/log/dnclient.*

Logs for Desktop variant

DNClient Desktop has multiple logging outputs. The desktop app logs to the system log, viewable in Console.app or log. The dnclientd daemon service logs to /Library/Logs/DefinedNet/dnclientd.log. Each dnclient instances logs to /Library/Logs/DefinedNet/dnclient.$(host-ID).log.

View Desktop App Logs:

log show --last 3h --predicate 'subsystem == "net.defined.dnclient-desktop"'

View dnclientd logs:

sudo tail -f /Library/Logs/DefinedNet/dnclientd.log

View dnclient logs:

sudo tail -f /Library/Logs/DefinedNet/dnclient.$(host-ID).log

Config info

sudo dnclient info

Service status

sudo launchctl list dnclient

{
  "StandardOutPath" = "/usr/local/var/log/dnclient.out.log";
  "LimitLoadToSessionType" = "System";
  "StandardErrorPath" = "/usr/local/var/log/dnclient.err.log";
  "Label" = "dnclient";
  "OnDemand" = false;
  "LastExitStatus" = 0;
  "PID" = 663;
  "Program" = "/Users/alice/.local/bin/dnclient";
  "ProgramArguments" = (
    "/Users/alice/.local/bin/dnclient";
    "run";
    "-server";
    "https://api.defined.net";
  );
};

Windows

Logs for Server variant

Open the Event Viewer app, click on Custom Views -> Administrative Events -> manually enter dnclient for “Event sources”.

You can also make a “Custom View” which filters on the dnclient source.

Custom events viewer form showing all logs selected

Custom events viewer form showing dnclient entered within the Source field

Logs for Desktop variant

DNClient Desktop outputs to Event Viewer under several sources: dnclient-desktop, dnclientd, and dnclient.$(host-ID).

You can make a “Custom View” which filters on all three sources.

Custom events viewer form showing all logs selected

Custom events viewer form showing dnclient-desktop, dnclientd, and dnclient.$(host-ID) entered within the Source field

Config info

& 'C:\Program Files\Defined Networking\DNClient\dnclient.exe' info

Service status

To check the status of the service, open Services app, and find the Defined Networking Client service in the list. You should be able to see the status and start or stop the service.

Services app showing the status of the DNClient service

Android / iOS

Logs

Tap on the site in question and tap “View Logs” on the details page for that site. You can then read, share, or delete your logs.