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Remote Logs

Overview​

The Remote Logs page shows log files from a connected agent. You can filter within a file, copy its contents, or download it. Access requires the device.logs.read permission. It gates the menu entry, the file listing, and the log-content endpoint the page streams from.

Accessing Remote Logs​

  1. Open the device in Device Access. On the Dashboard, open that device's Actions menu and choose Device Access
  2. Click Remote Logs in the device access menu
  3. Or go directly to /device-access/remote-logs?deviceId={id}

Interface​

The Remote Logs page uses a split-pane layout:

PanelDescription
Log FilesLeft panel, a tree of log files on the remote device
Log ContentsRight panel, a Monaco-based viewer for the selected file

The tree is built by the agent and contains three groups: Agent Logs, Installer Logs, and DesktopClient Logs. On macOS and Linux the desktop client logs are split into DesktopClient Logs (root) plus a DesktopClient Logs ({username}) group for every user home directory the agent can read.

Operations​

Browsing​

  • Click log files in the tree view to open them
  • Use the filter box ("Filter log contents") to narrow the displayed lines. The filter is a case-insensitive substring match applied in the browser to the already-loaded text, not a server-side search
  • Refresh Files (left panel) reloads the tree, Refresh Contents reloads the selected file

Viewing​

  • Log content is displayed with syntax highlighting for improved readability
  • Scroll through the loaded file. How far back you can go depends on retention on the device, which keeps roughly the last 7 days of logs

Managing​

ActionDescription
Download Log FileSaves the loaded file contents to your machine as a text file
Copy to ClipboardCopies the full contents of the file, including lines hidden by the filter

Retention​

The agent, installer, and desktop client each write a LogFile.log file that rolls over daily, producing names like LogFile20260920.log. Log files older than 7 days are deleted on the device, so the page can only show about a week of history.

Agent Log Locations​

When accessing logs from the Remote Logs page, files are streamed from the agent's local storage. The {instance-id} segment is the instance ID the agent was installed with. It defaults to the literal default, and the device hostname never appears in the path.

PlatformPath
Windows (Release)C:\ProgramData\ControlR\{instance-id}\Logs\ControlR.Agent\LogFile{date}.log
Windows (Debug)C:\ProgramData\ControlR\Debug\{instance-id}\Logs\ControlR.Agent\LogFile{date}.log
macOS / Linux (elevated)/var/log/controlr/{instance-id}/ControlR.Agent/LogFile{date}.log
macOS / Linux (user)~/.controlr/{instance-id}/logs/ControlR.Agent/LogFile{date}.log

Desktop client logs follow the same pattern under ControlR.DesktopClient (on macOS and Linux, elevated processes log under /var/log/controlr and each user logs under their own ~/.controlr). Installer logs follow it under ControlR.Agent.Installer.

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