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Create a logging doc
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‎README.md

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- [IRC channels.](irc-channels.txt) Join these IRC channels for Bitcoin and
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Lightning development.
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- [Logging.](logging.md) How to read and set bitcoind debug logging, with
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descriptions of each log category.
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- [Notes.](notes.txt) Various miscellaneous technical notes.
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- [Gitian Building.](gitian-building.md) How to build and commit Gitian

‎logging.md

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# Logging
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Last updated: September 12, 2021
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## How to configure bitcoind debug logging
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### On node startup
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Logging can be configured on bitcoind startup with the `-debug=` option.
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For example, `bitcoind -debug=lock -debug=i2p` on the command line will turn on
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logging of lock contentions and I2P information in the debug log.
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The same options can be used in the `bitcoin.conf` file without the leading
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hyphen and with one command per line:
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debug=lock
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debug=i2p
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### On a running node
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Logging can be read and set on a running instance of bitcoind using the
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logging RPC:
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bitcoin-cli logging
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bitcoin-cli help logging
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#### Examples
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To turn on debug=net:
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bitcoin-cli logging '["net"]'
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To turn off debug=net:
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bitcoin-cli logging [] '["net"]'
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To turn on debug=all:
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bitcoin-cli logging '["all"]'
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To turn off all debug logging:
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bitcoin-cli logging [] '["all"]'
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## Log categories
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Here are the log categories and a description of each. This is an updated
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version of this [Bitcoin Stack Exchange
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answer](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/66892/what-are-the-debug-categories/66895#66895)
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in 2017 by Andrew Chow.
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addrman: Address Manager. Messages about the status of the address
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manager and when addresses are added or removed from the address
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manager database.
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bench: Messages about the benchmark performance of various parts of
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the software that can have performance issues.
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cmpctblock: Messages about the Compact Blocks relay protocol,
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including when blocks are partially downloaded or reconstructed.
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coindb: Coin Database. Messages about the coin database which contains
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the UTXO set, including messages about database flushes and writes.
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estimatefee: Messages about the fee estimation algorithm, including
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messages about when fee estimates are requested and information about
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the status of the fee estimator.
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http: Messages related to the HTTP server that is used to handle the
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RPC requests. These messages will typically be for the startup and
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shutdown of the server as well as received requests.
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i2p: All messages related to using the I2P privacy network.
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ipc: All requests and responses between processes. See
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[doc/multiprocess.md](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/doc/multiprocess.md).
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libevent: Messages from the libevent library used for the HTTP server.
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libevent: Messages from the libevent library used for the HTTP server.
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lock: All lock contentions and their duration.
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mempool: Messages related to actions done in the memory pool, most
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frequently transaction acceptance (`AcceptToMemoryPool`). Also
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includes transaction removals.
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mempoolrej: Messages about transactions rejected from the memory pool.
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net: All messages related to communicating with other nodes on the
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network, including what P2P messages were sent and received and to
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whom and other information about the network messages.
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proxy: Messages about using a SOCKS5 proxy and its authentication.
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prune: Messages about local blockchain pruning, including the result
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of a pruning operation.
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qt: Messages about Qt, the GUI framework.
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rand: Messages for when randomness is needed by any function.
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reindex: Messages about the reindexing process, in particular errors
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about out-of-order blocks and repeated blocks.
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rpc: Messages about the RPC server, including its startup and shutdown
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as well as when commands are issued.
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selectcoins: Coin Selection. Messages about the UTXOs that are
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selected when sending money.
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tor: All messages related to using a TOR SOCKS5 proxy and TOR hidden
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service (used for receiving incoming connections over TOR). This
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includes messages about the creation and shutdown of the TOR hidden
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service and messages about the connection to the TOR proxy.
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validation: All messages related to the validation interface, most
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frequently `TransactionAddedToMempool` and `stored orphan tx`.
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walletdb (db in v.0.19 and earlier): Messages about the status of the
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Berkeley Database engine used for the wallet database, including
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messages about database flushes.
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zmq: Messages about the ZeroMQ notification system, including the
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startup and shutdown of the service as well as when notifications are
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issued and new clients connected.
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This is not an exhaustive list of the types of messages you will see for each
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category. Also, some categories have many possible messages whilst others have
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very few.

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