# logwatch

Source: https://www.pingtower.com/docs/addons/logwatch/

Tail a local file for a pattern. Counts matches, notices rotation, and never sends a line off the box.

<span class="pill priv">privileged</span> Add `logwatch` to `agent.enable_addons`, and give the `addons` user read access to the file.

## Parameters

| Parameter | Default | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `path`<span class="req">REQUIRED</span> | | |
| `pattern`<span class="req">REQUIRED</span> | | RE2. |
| `warn_at` | `1` | Matches per run at or above this are **degraded**. |
| `down_at` | `0` | Matches at or above this are **down**. 0 means never. Wins over `warn_at`. |
| `max_bytes` | 4 MiB | Most read per run; the rest is reported as `skipped_bytes`. |
| `initial_tail` | 256 KiB | How far back to read on first run. |

A missing file is **down**. An unreadable one is a config **error**.

## Measurements

`matches`, `lines_scanned`, `bytes_scanned`, `skipped_bytes`, `last_write_age_s`, `rotated`, `cold_start`.