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.