Cluster Logs
The Logs dashboard provides comprehensive logging and debugging capabilities for your PlanetScale for PostgreSQL database cluster. This centralized view helps you monitor database activity, troubleshoot issues, and analyze system behavior in real-time.
Dashboard overview
The Logs dashboard displays real-time and historical log entries from your database cluster across all servers. You can filter and analyze logs by:
- Server Filter: Monitor all servers or focus on specific replica instances
- Log Level: Filter by severity (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR)
- Time Range: View logs from the past hour up to custom time ranges
- Branch: Select which database branch to monitor
- Search: Full-text search across log messages
- Live update: Toggle on/off the auto-refresh of data every ~10 seconds
Log filtering and navigation
Server selection
The server filter dropdown allows you to choose which database instances to view logs from. You can select the Primary, Replicas, or all servers. By default just the Primary is shown:
| Filter Option | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Primary | Monitor main database server logs |
| Replicas | Monitor individual replica servers |
Log level filtering
By default all log levels are displayed. You can filter them based on the following log levels:
| Level | Color Code | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| DEBUG | Gray | Detailed system information |
| INFO | Blue | General information messages |
| WARNING | Yellow | Potential issues requiring attention |
| ERROR | Red | Critical issues requiring immediate action |
Time range selection
The time range selector offers several preset options:
- Past 15 minutes
- Past hour
- Past 3 hours
- Past 6 hours
- Past 12 hours
- Past day
Custom range: Set specific date and time ranges for targeted analysis
Note
All log timestamps are displayed in the timezone configured in the top right of the console under the drop down 'Timezone display'
Log retention
By default, logs are retained for 7 days. This retention period ensures you have access to recent log history for troubleshooting and analysis while managing storage efficiently.
Search and filtering
Full-text search
Use the search bar to find specific:
- Error messages and stack traces
- Connection identifiers
- Query patterns
- Configuration changes
LogQL search syntax
PlanetScale's logging capabilities utilize Victoria Logs, which supports powerful LogQL query syntax. Click the ? icon in the search box to see syntax help. Common examples include:
Text search:
error- Find logs containing "error""received message"- Exact phrase search
Field filtering:
planetscale.pod:h2l-pod- Filter by specific podplanetscale.role:replica- Filter by database roleplanetscale.container:pgbouncer- Filter by container typeplanetscale.availability_zone:us-east-1a- Filter by availability zone
Exclusion filters:
NOT error- Exclude logs containing "error"NOT "received message"- Exclude specific phrases
Logical operators:
"received message" OR planetscale.container:pgbouncer- Match either condition
For complete LogQL syntax documentation, see: Victoria Logs LogQL Documentation
Advanced filtering
Combine multiple filters for precise log analysis and advanced log discovery:
- Server type + Log level: Filter Primary/Replica servers by ERROR/WARNING levels for targeted troubleshooting
- Time window + Search terms: Narrow down to specific time ranges with LogQL queries for incident investigation
- Log level + Search bar: Combine severity filtering with text search for comprehensive debugging
- Server selection + Time range + LogQL: Use all filtering options together for precise log discovery
Log message structure
When you click on a log entry, a detailed view appears on the right side showing:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Time | Exact timestamp of the log event with timezone | 2025-06-23 17:31:27 UTC |
| Level | Log severity level with color coding | INFO, DEBUG, ERROR, WARNING |
| Role | Database server role | primary |
| Pod | Kubernetes pod identifier | h2l-8abod1fll1tn-aws-useast1b-1-1335211508-467a6a97 |
| Container | Container identifier | postgres |
| Availability Zone | Geographic server location | us-east-1a |
| Message | Full log message content | Complete error messages, SQL queries, system events |
The Logs dashboard serves as your primary debugging and monitoring tool, providing the detailed visibility needed to maintain optimal database performance and quickly resolve issues.
Need help?
Get help from the PlanetScale Support team, or join our GitHub discussion board to see how others are using PlanetScale.