Skip to main content

​
Overview

TeamSpeak 6 Server provides comprehensive logging capabilities to help you monitor server activity, troubleshoot issues, and maintain security. This guide covers log configuration, management, and analysis.

​
Log Configuration

​
Log Path

Configure where log files are stored: 
./tsserver --log-path /var/log/teamspeak --accept-license
Default log path: logs/ (relative to the server binary)
For Docker installations, logs are written to /var/tsserver/logs/ inside the container. Ensure this path is included in your volume mount to persist logs.

​
Log Append Mode

Control how log files are created:
Creates a new log file each day:
tsserver.yaml
server:
  log-append: 0
Log file naming: ts6server_YYYY-MM-DD__HH_MM_SS.log
Using append mode without log rotation can result in very large log files. Implement external log rotation if using this mode.

​
Log Types and Locations

​
Server Logs

Main server logs contain general operation information: 
# View container logs (stdout/stderr)
docker logs teamspeak-server

# Follow logs in real-time
docker logs -f teamspeak-server

# View last 100 lines
docker logs --tail 100 teamspeak-server

# Show logs since specific time
docker logs --since 2024-01-01T10:00:00 teamspeak-server

# Access log files in mounted volume
docker exec teamspeak-server ls -lh /var/tsserver/logs/

​
Query Logs

Enable detailed ServerQuery command logging:
tsserver.yaml
server:
  query:
    log-commands: 1
    log-timing: 3600
Environment variables: 
export TSSERVER_QUERY_LOG_COMMANDS=1
export TSSERVER_QUERY_LOG_TIMING=3600
log-timing defines the interval (in seconds) for logging query statistics. Default is 3600 seconds (1 hour).

​
Database Query Logs

Enable SQL query logging for debugging:
tsserver.yaml
server:
  database:
    config:
      log-queries: 1
Or via command line: 
./tsserver --db-log-queries --accept-license
Database query logging generates significant log volume and may impact performance. Only enable for troubleshooting.

​
Crash Dumps

Configure crash dump location:
tsserver.yaml
server:
  crashdump-path: crashdumps

# Or via environment variable
export TSSERVER_CRASHDUMP_PATH=/var/crashes/teamspeak

​
Docker Logging

​
Docker Log Drivers

Configure Docker logging driver for advanced log management:
docker-compose.yaml
services:
  teamspeak:
    image: teamspeaksystems/teamspeak6-server:latest
    container_name: teamspeak-server
    logging:
      driver: "json-file"
      options:
        max-size: "10m"
        max-file: "3"
    volumes:
      - teamspeak-data:/var/tsserver

​
Common Logging Drivers

logging:
  driver: "json-file"
  options:
    max-size: "10m"
    max-file: "5"
    compress: "true"
Logs stored in: /var/lib/docker/containers/<container-id>/<container-id>-json.log
Use volume mounts to persist file-based logs across container recreations:
volumes:
  - ./logs:/var/tsserver/logs

​
Log Rotation

​
Manual Rotation (Binary Installation)

For servers using --log-append, implement logrotate:
1

Create logrotate configuration

Create /etc/logrotate.d/teamspeak:
/etc/logrotate.d/teamspeak
/var/tsserver/logs/ts6server.log {
    daily
    rotate 14
    compress
    delaycompress
    notifempty
    missingok
    copytruncate
}
2

Test the configuration

# Dry run to test configuration
logrotate -d /etc/logrotate.d/teamspeak

# Force rotation to verify
logrotate -f /etc/logrotate.d/teamspeak
3

Verify automated rotation

Logrotate runs daily via cron. Verify with:
# Check logrotate status
cat /var/lib/logrotate/status | grep teamspeak

# View rotated logs
ls -lh /var/tsserver/logs/

​
Docker Log Rotation

Docker automatically rotates logs based on the logging driver configuration:
docker-compose.yaml
services:
  teamspeak:
    logging:
      driver: "json-file"
      options:
        max-size: "50m"      # Rotate when file reaches 50MB
        max-file: "7"        # Keep 7 rotated files
        compress: "true"     # Compress rotated files

​
Log Analysis

​
Common Log Patterns

Search logs for common events: 
# Client connections
grep "client connected" logs/ts6server_*.log

# Client disconnections
grep "client disconnected" logs/ts6server_*.log

# Errors
grep -i "error" logs/ts6server_*.log

# Warnings
grep -i "warning" logs/ts6server_*.log

# ServerQuery activity
grep "query" logs/ts6server_*.log

# Failed login attempts
grep "authentication failed" logs/ts6server_*.log

​
Log Monitoring Tools

Use standard Linux tools for log analysis: 
# Monitor logs in real-time with highlighting
tail -f logs/ts6server_*.log | grep --color -E "error|warning|$"

# Count occurrences of specific events
grep -c "client connected" logs/ts6server_*.log

# Extract and sort unique IP addresses
grep "client connected" logs/ts6server_*.log | \
  awk '{print $6}' | sort -u

# Find logs from specific date range
find logs/ -name "ts6server_2024-01-*" -type f

​
Centralized Logging

For production environments, use centralized logging:
Send logs to Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana:
docker-compose.yaml
services:
  teamspeak:
    logging:
      driver: "syslog"
      options:
        syslog-address: "tcp://logstash:5000"
        tag: "teamspeak"

​
Log Security

​
Sensitive Information

TeamSpeak logs may contain:
  • Client IP addresses
  • ServerQuery commands
  • Connection metadata
Logs do not contain passwords or encryption keys, but treat them as sensitive data. Implement appropriate access controls.

​
Access Control

Restrict log file access: 
# Set appropriate permissions (Linux)
chmod 640 /var/tsserver/logs/*.log
chown tsserver:tsserver /var/tsserver/logs/*.log

# For Docker, set volume permissions
docker run -v teamspeak-logs:/var/tsserver/logs \
  --user 1000:1000 \
  teamspeaksystems/teamspeak6-server:latest

​
Troubleshooting with Logs

​
Startup Issues

# Check for configuration errors
grep -A 5 "failed to start" logs/ts6server_*.log

# Verify license acceptance
grep "license" logs/ts6server_*.log

# Check database connection
grep -i "database" logs/ts6server_*.log

​
Connection Problems

# Check for port binding issues
grep "failed to bind" logs/ts6server_*.log

# View connection errors
grep "connection.*failed" logs/ts6server_*.log

# Check firewall or network issues
grep -i "timeout" logs/ts6server_*.log

​
Performance Issues

# Look for resource warnings
grep -i "memory\|cpu\|thread" logs/ts6server_*.log

# Check for database slow queries
grep "slow query" logs/ts6server_*.log

# Find connection spikes
grep "client connected" logs/ts6server_*.log | \
  awk '{print $1, $2}' | uniq -c

​
Log Retention

​
Best Practices

1

Define retention policy

Determine how long to keep logs based on:
  • Compliance requirements
  • Available storage
  • Troubleshooting needs
Recommended: 30-90 days for active logs
2

Archive old logs

# Compress logs older than 30 days
find /var/tsserver/logs -name "*.log" -mtime +30 -exec gzip {} \;

# Move to archive location
find /var/tsserver/logs -name "*.log.gz" -mtime +7 \
  -exec mv {} /archive/teamspeak/ \;
3

Automated cleanup

Create a cron job for automated cleanup:
# Edit crontab
crontab -e

# Add daily cleanup at 2 AM
0 2 * * * find /var/tsserver/logs -name "*.log" -mtime +90 -delete
Consider backing up logs before deletion. See Backup & Restore for details.

​
Log Export

​
Export to File

# Export Docker logs
docker logs teamspeak-server > teamspeak-$(date +%Y%m%d).log 2>&1

# Export with timestamps
docker logs --timestamps teamspeak-server > teamspeak-$(date +%Y%m%d).log 2>&1

# Export specific date range
docker logs --since "2024-01-01T00:00:00" \
  --until "2024-01-31T23:59:59" \
  teamspeak-server > teamspeak-january-2024.log 2>&1

​
Export for Support

When requesting support, provide relevant logs: 
# Create support bundle
tar -czf teamspeak-logs-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz \
  logs/*.log \
  tsserver.yaml

# For Docker installations
docker logs teamspeak-server > server.log 2>&1
tar -czf teamspeak-support-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz \
  server.log \
  docker-compose.yaml
Remove or redact sensitive information (IP addresses, custom configurations) before sharing logs publicly.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us