Better Stack Nginx logging

Start logging in 2 minutes

Collect logs and metrics from your Nginx webserver using Vector.

Select your platform:

curl -sSL https://logs.betterstack.com/setup-vector/nginx/$SOURCE_TOKEN \
  -o /tmp/setup-vector.sh && \
  bash /tmp/setup-vector.sh

powershell Invoke-WebRequest https://packages.timber.io/vector/latest/vector-x64.msi -OutFile vector-latest-x64.msi
msiexec /i vector-latest-x64.msi

$config_yaml_path = "C:\Program Files\Vector\config\vector.yaml"
$backup_path = "C:\Program Files\Vector\config\vector-backup.yaml"
Move-Item -Path "$config_yaml_path" -Destination "$backup_path"
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri https://logs.betterstack.com/vector-yaml/nginx/$SOURCE_TOKEN |
  Add-Content $config_yaml_path

& "C:\Program Files\Vector\bin\vector" --config "C:\Program Files\Vector\config\vector.yaml"

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.vector.dev | sh -s -- -y

mkdir -p /etc/vector
mkdir -p /var/lib/vector/
cat <<-'SERVICE' >> /etc/systemd/system/vector.service
[Unit]
Description=Vector
Documentation=https://vector.dev
After=network-online.target
Requires=network-online.target

[Service]
User=vector
Group=vector
ExecStart=/root/.vector/bin/vector
ExecReload=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID
Restart=no
AmbientCapabilities=CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE
EnvironmentFile=-/etc/default/vector

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
SERVICE

CONFIG_YAML_PATH="/etc/vector/vector.yaml"
BACKUP_SUFFIX=".bak-$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)"
mv "${CONFIG_YAML_PATH}" "${CONFIG_YAML_PATH}${BACKUP_SUFFIX}"
mv "${CONFIG_YAML_PATH%.yaml}.toml" "${CONFIG_YAML_PATH%.yaml}.toml${BACKUP_SUFFIX}"
curl -o "$CONFIG_YAML_PATH" \
  https://logs.betterstack.com/vector-yaml/nginx/$SOURCE_TOKEN

systemctl restart vector

You should see your logs in Better Stack → Live tail .

Check out your metrics in the Nginx dashboard .

Collecting metrics

To collect metrics from your Nginx web server you need to enable Nginx Stub Status module  in your config:

location /nginx_status {
    stub_status on;
}

Need help?

Please let us know at hello@betterstack.com.
We're happy to help! 🙏

Additional information

• Want to learn more about configuring Nginx access and error logs in production? Check out our Nginx logging tutorial.

• Looking for manual instructions to set up Vector?
  Find step-by-step instructions in our dedicated Vector guide.