How to manage raw access logs via cPanel interface

Raw access logs record every request made to your website — including page views, file downloads, and bot activity. cPanel provides a built-in interface to download and archive these logs so you can analyse traffic with your preferred statistics software.

Step 1 — Log in to cPanel

• Navigate to your cPanel login page (typically https://yourdomain.com/cpanel or https://yourdomain.com:2083).
• Enter your cPanel username and password.

Step 2 — Open Raw Access Logs

• In the cPanel dashboard, scroll to the Metrics section (or use the search bar).
• Click on Raw Access Logs.

Step 3 — Configure Log Archiving

• To automatically archive your raw logs at the end of each month, check the box labelled Archive logs in your home directory at the end of each month.
• Click Save to apply the setting.
• Archived logs will be stored in your home directory under /home/username/logs/ and compressed as .gz files.

Step 4 — Download Raw Access Logs

• On the Raw Access Logs page, you will see a list of your domains and their current log files.
• Click the domain name to download the log file directly.
• The file will download in a raw text format (Apache/Nginx combined log format).

Understanding the Log Format

Each line in a raw access log follows the combined log format:

• IP address — The visitor's IP.
• Timestamp — Date and time of the request.
• Request method & path — e.g., GET /index.html HTTP/1.1.
• Status code — HTTP response code (200 = OK, 404 = Not Found, etc.).
• Bytes transferred — Size of the response.
• Referrer — The page that linked to the requested resource.
• User agent — Browser or bot identifier.

Important Notes

• Log retention: cPanel typically keeps raw logs for the current month only. Enable archiving to preserve historical data.
• Resource limits: Very busy sites may have large log files. Use grep or log analysis tools to filter specific requests.
• Recommended tools: You can analyse raw logs with tools like GoAccess, AWStats, or import them into a spreadsheet for custom analysis.

Troubleshooting

• No logs listed: If your domain is new or has had no traffic, no log file will appear. Logs are generated on the first request.
• Archived logs not appearing: Verify that archiving was enabled before the end of the month. Archives are created at month's end.
• Permission denied on download: Ensure your domain is active and assigned to your cPanel account. Contact your hosting provider if the issue persists.