Syslog MCP

Rust syslog receiver and MCP server for homelab log intelligence. Ingests syslog over UDP and TCP, stores it in SQLite with FTS5 full-text indexing, and exposes action-based log search, inventory, correlation, status, and analysis tools to MCP clients.

Overview

                    ┌─────────────────────────────────┐
  rsyslog/syslog-ng ─▶  UDP :1514 / TCP :1514          │
  network devices   ─▶  ┌──────────────────────────┐   │
                    │   │  parse → batch writer     │   │
                    │   │  SQLite + FTS5 (WAL mode) │   │
                    │   └──────────────────────────┘   │
  Claude / MCP ◀──── ▶  RMCP HTTP :3100/mcp             │
  local MCP client ◀──▶  syslog mcp query process       │
                    └─────────────────────────────────┘

The daemon listens on a single port for both UDP and TCP syslog (default 1514). All inbound messages are parsed, batched, and written to SQLite with full-text indexing. The MCP HTTP server runs on a separate port (default 3100) and uses RMCP Streamable HTTP in stateless JSON-response mode. Local stdio-only MCP clients can launch syslog mcp, a query-only MCP process that reads the same SQLite database without starting syslog listeners or the HTTP server.

Tools

One MCP tool, syslog, is exposed. Use the required action argument to run search, filter, tail, errors, hosts, sessions, search_sessions, abuse, ai_correlate, usage_blocks, project_context, list_ai_tools, list_ai_projects, correlate, stats, status, apps, source_ips, timeline, patterns, context, get, ingest_rate, silent_hosts, clock_skew, anomalies, compare, compose_status, compose_doctor, unaddressed_errors, ack_error, unack_error, notifications_recent, notifications_test, or help.

For the complete action-specific parameter reference, see docs/mcp/SCHEMA.md.

Action	Purpose
`search`	Full-text search with filters
`filter`	Structured filter-only log retrieval
`tail`	Recent log entries
`errors`	Error/warning summary by host and severity
`hosts`	Host registry with first/last seen
`sessions`	AI transcript sessions by project
`search_sessions`	Ranked grouped session search
`abuse`	Abuse hits in AI transcripts with same-session context
`ai_correlate`	AI transcript anchors cross-referenced against non-AI logs
`usage_blocks`	AI activity in 5-hour UTC windows
`project_context`	Summary for one AI project path
`list_ai_tools`	Distinct AI tools with counts
`list_ai_projects`	Distinct AI projects with counts
`correlate`	Cross-host event correlation in a time window
`stats`	Database statistics and storage health
`status`	Lightweight runtime and DB health
`apps`	Distinct application names with log and host counts
`source_ips`	Distinct source identifiers with hostname breakdown
`timeline`	Bucketed counts over time
`patterns`	Near-duplicate message template clusters
`context`	Surrounding logs around a log id or timestamp
`get`	One log entry by id, including raw frame
`ingest_rate`	Recent ingest throughput and write-block state
`silent_hosts`	Hosts whose last_seen is older than a threshold
`clock_skew`	Per-host received_at minus timestamp distribution
`anomalies`	Recent vs baseline volume/error comparison
`compare`	Side-by-side comparison of two time ranges
`compose_status`	Redacted read-only Compose deployment diagnostics
`compose_doctor`	Alias for Compose deployment health diagnostics
`unaddressed_errors`	Repeating unacknowledged error signatures
`ack_error`	Acknowledge an error signature
`unack_error`	Revoke an error acknowledgement
`notifications_recent`	Recent notification firings
`notifications_test`	Send a test notification via Apprise
`help`	Markdown reference for all actions

Prompts

The MCP server also exposes reusable prompts for common infrastructure debugging workflows: infra.incident-triage, infra.host-health, infra.service-outage, infra.security-auth-review, infra.noise-reduction, and infra.agent-change-correlation.

For the prompt catalog and argument reference, see docs/mcp/PROMPTS.md.

`syslog search`

Full-text search across all syslog messages with optional filters. Uses SQLite FTS5 with porter stemming.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`query`	string	no	—	FTS5 search query (see FTS5 query syntax)
`hostname`	string	no	—	Exact hostname match. Use `syslog` with `action: "hosts"` to enumerate.
`source_ip`	string	no	—	Exact source identifier. Syslog entries use the verified network sender address (`IP:port`); OTLP rows use the verified peer IP; Docker ingest stream rows use `docker://host/container/stream`; Docker lifecycle event rows use `docker-event://host/container/action`.
`severity`	string	no	—	One of: `emerg alert crit err warning notice info debug`
`app_name`	string	no	—	Application name, e.g. `sshd`, `dockerd`, `kernel`
`from`	string	no	—	Start of time range (ISO 8601 / RFC 3339, e.g. `2025-01-15T00:00:00Z`)
`to`	string	no	—	End of time range (ISO 8601)
`limit`	integer	no	100	Max results (hard cap: 1000)

Response

{
  "count": 3,
  "logs": [
    {
      "id": 12345,
      "timestamp": "2025-01-15T14:30:00Z",
      "hostname": "router",
      "facility": "kern",
      "severity": "err",
      "app_name": "kernel",
      "process_id": null,
      "message": "kernel panic: unable to mount root",
      "received_at": "2025-01-15T14:30:01.123Z",
      "source_ip": "10.0.0.1:51234"
    }
  ]
}

FTS5 examples

query: "kernel panic"           # implicit AND: both terms must appear
query: "OOM AND killer"        # explicit AND
query: "sshd OR pam"           # boolean OR
query: "failed NOT sudo"       # boolean NOT
query: '"connection refused"'  # exact phrase (bypasses stemming)
query: "error*"                # prefix wildcard
query: "restart*"              # matches restart, restarted, restarting

`syslog filter`

Structured filter-only retrieval for correlation workflows. This action rejects query; use search for FTS5 message-body search.

Common filters match search: hostname, source_ip, severity, app_name, facility, exclude_facility, process_id, from, to, received_from, received_to, and limit.

Correlation aliases include source_kind (docker-stream, docker-event, agent-command, shell-history, transcript, claude, codex, gemini), plus tool, project, session_id, container, docker_host, stream, and event_action.

`syslog tail`

Return the N most recent log entries. Equivalent to tail -f across all hosts.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`hostname`	string	no	—	Filter to a specific host
`source_ip`	string	no	—	Filter to an exact source identifier. Syslog entries use the verified network sender address (`IP:port`); OTLP rows use the verified peer IP; Docker ingest stream rows use `docker://host/container/stream`; Docker lifecycle event rows use `docker-event://host/container/action`.
`app_name`	string	no	—	Filter to a specific application
`n`	integer	no	50	Number of recent entries (hard cap: 500)

Response

Same structure as syslog search: { "count": N, "logs": [...] }.

`syslog errors`

Summarize warnings and errors across all hosts in a time window. Groups by hostname and severity, showing counts. Use this for quick health assessments.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`from`	string	no	all time	Start of time range (ISO 8601)
`to`	string	no	now	End of time range (ISO 8601)

Severities included: emerg, alert, crit, err, warning.

Response

{
  "summary": [
    { "hostname": "router",  "severity": "err",     "count": 42 },
    { "hostname": "router",  "severity": "warning",  "count": 17 },
    { "hostname": "storage", "severity": "crit",     "count":  3 }
  ]
}

`syslog hosts`

List all hosts that have sent syslog messages, with first/last seen timestamps and total log counts.

Parameters: none

Response

{
  "hosts": [
    {
      "hostname": "router",
      "first_seen": "2025-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
      "last_seen":  "2025-01-15T14:30:00.000Z",
      "log_count":  18432
    }
  ]
}

`syslog sessions`

List AI transcript sessions grouped by project, tool, session, and host.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`project`	string	no	—	Exact project path, e.g. `/home/jmagar/workspace/syslog-mcp`
`tool`	string	no	—	AI tool filter: `claude`, `codex`, or `gemini`
`hostname`	string	no	—	Restrict to one host
`from`	string	no	—	Start of time range (ISO 8601)
`to`	string	no	—	End of time range (ISO 8601)
`limit`	integer	no	100	Max sessions (hard cap: 1000)

Response

{
  "count": 1,
  "sessions": [
    {
      "project": "/home/jmagar/workspace/syslog-mcp",
      "tool": "codex",
      "session_id": "019e1506-dc81-7881-9926-4d6d4efda1ac",
      "hostname": "dookie",
      "first_seen": "2026-05-11T03:13:51.745Z",
      "last_seen": "2026-05-11T04:10:00.000Z",
      "event_count": 42
    }
  ]
}

`syslog correlate`

Search for related events across multiple hosts within a ±N minute window around a reference timestamp. Useful for debugging cascading failures. Results are grouped by host and ordered by time.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`reference_time`	string	yes	—	Center timestamp (ISO 8601, e.g. `2025-01-15T14:30:00Z`)
`window_minutes`	integer	no	5	Minutes before and after `reference_time` (max 60)
`severity_min`	string	no	`warning`	Minimum severity to include. `warning` returns `warning/err/crit/alert/emerg`. `debug` returns everything.
`hostname`	string	no	—	Limit correlation to one host
`source_ip`	string	no	—	Limit correlation to an exact source identifier. Syslog entries use the verified network sender address (`IP:port`); OTLP rows use the verified peer IP; Docker ingest stream rows use `docker://host/container/stream`; Docker lifecycle event rows use `docker-event://host/container/action`.
`query`	string	no	—	FTS5 query to narrow results
`limit`	integer	no	500	Max total events (hard cap: 999)

Response

{
  "reference_time": "2025-01-15T14:30:00Z",
  "window_minutes": 5,
  "window_from": "2025-01-15T14:25:00+00:00",
  "window_to":   "2025-01-15T14:35:00+00:00",
  "severity_min": "warning",
  "total_events": 12,
  "truncated": false,
  "hosts_count": 3,
  "hosts": [
    {
      "hostname": "router",
      "event_count": 7,
      "events": [...]
    }
  ]
}

Note on clock skew: syslog correlate uses the timestamp field from the syslog message, which reflects the sending device's clock. If a device clock is skewed, events may fall outside the correlation window. See Time synchronization.

`syslog stats`

Return database statistics including total logs, total hosts, time range covered, logical and physical DB size, free disk, configured thresholds, current write-block status, and runtime ingest observability.

Parameters: none

Response

{
  "total_logs": 284917,
  "total_hosts": 12,
  "oldest_log": "2024-10-15T00:00:01Z",
  "newest_log": "2025-01-15T14:30:00Z",
  "logical_db_size_mb": "312.45",
  "physical_db_size_mb": "328.00",
  "free_disk_mb": "14200.00",
  "max_db_size_mb": 1024,
  "min_free_disk_mb": 512,
  "write_blocked": false,
  "runtime_observability": {
    "syslog_udp_packets_received": 280000,
    "syslog_tcp_connections_active": 3,
    "ingest_entries_enqueued": 284917,
    "ingest_queue_depth": 0,
    "ingest_queue_capacity": 10000,
    "ingest_queue_utilization_pct": "0.00",
    "writer_batches_flushed": 2850,
    "writer_logs_written": 284917,
    "writer_flush_failures": 0,
    "writer_logs_retained": 0,
    "writer_logs_discarded": 0,
    "writer_storage_blocked": false,
    "last_ingest_at": "2025-01-15T14:30:05.123Z",
    "last_write_at": "2025-01-15T14:30:05.400Z",
    "last_error_at": null
  },
  "otlp": {
    "logs_received": 42,
    "decode_errors": 0
  }
}

write_blocked: true means the storage budget is exceeded and new log ingestion is paused. See Storage budget enforcement.

`syslog status`

Return lightweight runtime status without the heavier DB statistics query. Use this for dashboards and doctor checks that need current queue depth, backpressure, writer failure/drop state, listener counters, and last activity timestamps.

Parameters: none

`syslog help`

Return markdown documentation for all tools in this toolset.

Parameters: none

FTS5 Query Syntax

The syslog search and syslog correlate actions use SQLite FTS5 with porter stemming (tokenize='porter unicode61'). Valid query forms:

Syntax	Example	Matches
Single term	`panic`	Any message containing "panic" or stemmed variants
Porter stemming	`restart`	restart, restarted, restarting, restarts
AND (default)	`disk error` or `disk AND error`	Both terms present
OR	`sshd OR pam`	Either term present
NOT	`failed NOT sudo`	"failed" present, "sudo" absent
Phrase	`"connection refused"`	Exact phrase in that order
Prefix wildcard	`error*`	Any word starting with "error"
Grouped	`(kernel OR oom) AND panic`	Grouped boolean logic

Limits: max 512 characters, max 16 whitespace-separated terms.

Porter stemming means connect, connected, connecting, and connection all match the query connect. Phrase queries ("...") bypass stemming and require exact token order.

Log Schema

Each stored log entry has these fields:

Field	Type	Description
`id`	integer	Auto-increment primary key
`timestamp`	text	Message timestamp (RFC 3339, UTC). From the syslog message header.
`hostname`	text	Hostname from the syslog message (user-controlled, not verified)
`facility`	text\|null	Syslog facility name (see facilities below)
`severity`	text	Syslog severity level name
`app_name`	text\|null	Application/process name from the syslog message
`process_id`	text\|null	PID from the syslog message
`message`	text	Log message body (FTS5-indexed)
`received_at`	text	Server-side receipt timestamp (RFC 3339, UTC). Used for retention.
`source_ip`	text	Source identifier. Syslog entries use the exact network sender address (`IP:port`) captured from the packet/connection peer. OTLP rows use the peer IP without the ephemeral source port. Docker ingest stream rows use `docker://host/container/stream`; Docker lifecycle event rows use `docker-event://host/container/action`.
`ai_tool`	text\|null	AI tool name (e.g. `claude`, `codex`)
`ai_project`	text\|null	AI project path
`ai_session_id`	text\|null	AI session unique identifier
`ai_transcript_path`	text\|null	Full path to the source transcript file
`metadata_json`	text\|null	Source-specific JSON metadata. Syslog rows include parser/source provenance; OTLP rows include resource/log attributes plus trace/span ids; Docker rows include host/container/image/compose/action details; transcript rows include source kind, file path, line number, record key, and scrub status.

AI transcript indexing

syslog ai index scans the default local transcript roots ~/.claude/projects and ~/.codex/sessions; syslog ai index --path PATH can scan a known transcript directory or one explicit .jsonl file, and syslog ai add --file FILE imports one file. Recursive scans are limited to ~/.claude/projects, ~/.codex/sessions, or their children; broad roots such as /, $HOME, and the current repo root are rejected before walking. The scanner skips symlinks, counts unsupported non-.jsonl files without parsing them, and streams transcript files line-by-line in bounded SQLite chunks. Use --force to reimport a transcript path from scratch after parser changes, --since RFC3339 to scan only recently modified files, and syslog ai checkpoints --errors plus syslog ai errors to inspect structured scanner failures.

For real-time local Claude/Codex transcript ingestion, install the host-local watch service:

syslog setup ai-watch-service install
syslog setup ai-watch-service check
syslog setup ai-watch-service remove

The watcher runs outside Docker because it needs host access to ~/.claude/projects and ~/.codex/sessions. It writes to the configured live SQLite DB and delegates every stable changed .jsonl file to the same scanner path used by syslog ai add --file FILE. Installing the watcher disables the older polling timer so both helpers do not scan the same files.

The optional polling fallback is still available:

syslog setup ai-index-timer install
syslog setup ai-index-timer check
syslog setup ai-index-timer remove

Both helpers are deliberately not inside the Docker container. Docker Compose owns only the server/query runtime.

Imported AI transcript messages are scrubbed for known credential/token patterns before storage and FTS indexing. The rows still live in the main logs table, so raw actions such as search, tail, context, and get can return scrubbed transcript text and local ai_transcript_path values within seconds of the transcript write. Scrubbing is best-effort, not a compliance boundary. If storage guardrails cannot recover enough space, indexing fails before committing additional chunks.

Shell and agent command history

Local command history can be correlated with system logs without introducing a separate table:

syslog shell index --path ~/.zsh_history --shell zsh
syslog setup agent-command install
export CLAUDE_CODE_SHELL_PREFIX="$HOME/.local/bin/syslog-agent-command-wrapper"
syslog agent-command ingest-spool --path ~/.local/state/syslog-mcp/agent-command.jsonl

syslog shell index imports zsh extended history lines with timestamps and durations as source_kind="shell-history" rows. Plain untimestamped history is skipped because it cannot support time-window correlation.

syslog setup agent-command install writes a small local wrapper for Claude Code's CLAUDE_CODE_SHELL_PREFIX. Claude Code invokes that prefix for spawned shell commands, including Bash tool calls, hook commands, and stdio MCP server startup commands. The wrapper preserves stdio and exit code, appends one scrubbed JSONL record under ~/.local/state/syslog-mcp/, and syslog agent-command ingest-spool imports those records as source_kind="agent-command" rows, then truncates the locked spool after a successful import so repeated runs only process new commands. The wrapper records command text, cwd, duration, exit status, agent name, PID, host/user, and CLAUDE_CODE_SESSION_ID when present. It does not capture environment variables, stdout, or stderr by default.

Both command import paths run the AI scrubber plus command-specific redaction for token flags, sensitive assignments, Authorization headers, URL userinfo, curl -u, and private-key blocks before storage. Scrubbing is best-effort, not a compliance boundary.

Important: hostname is taken from the syslog message body, which any LAN device can set to an arbitrary value over UDP. For syslog entries, source_ip is the only trustworthy network identifier. For Docker ingest entries, source_ip identifies the configured Docker ingest host/container/stream and should be trusted only as far as the configured docker-socket-proxy endpoint and network path are trusted. metadata_json preserves source-specific context for debugging and correlation, but it is not an authorization boundary. Retention cutoffs use received_at (server clock) so that devices with misconfigured clocks cannot cause premature or indefinite log retention.

Severity levels

Ordered from most to least severe:

Level	Numeric	Meaning
`emerg`	0	System is unusable
`alert`	1	Action must be taken immediately
`crit`	2	Critical conditions
`err`	3	Error conditions
`warning`	4	Warning conditions
`notice`	5	Normal but significant condition
`info`	6	Informational messages
`debug`	7	Debug-level messages

Facilities

kern, user, mail, daemon, auth, syslog, lpr, news, uucp, cron, authpriv, ftp, ntp, audit, alert, clock, local0–local7.

Installation

One-line installer

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jmagar/syslog-mcp/main/install.sh | sh

The installer puts the host syslog binary in ~/.local/bin and then runs syslog setup. Setup is idempotent and owns the shared host layout:

~/.syslog-mcp/.env — secrets, ports, Compose interpolation, runtime values
~/.syslog-mcp/compose/docker-compose.yml — Docker Compose deployment assets
~/.syslog-mcp/data/syslog.db — SQLite database and WAL/SHM sidecars

Setup writes COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME=syslog-jmagar-lab so direct docker compose commands in ~/.syslog-mcp/compose target the same canonical container as syslog compose.

Useful installer controls:

SYSLOG_INSTALL_DRY_RUN=1 ./install.sh
SYSLOG_INSTALL_PREFIX=/opt/syslog-mcp ./install.sh
SYSLOG_VERSION=0.25.4 ./install.sh
SYSLOG_INSTALL_SKIP_SETUP=1 ./install.sh

Useful setup commands:

syslog setup          # first-run or normal repair
syslog setup check    # inspect only; does not mutate files or start services
syslog setup repair   # repair env/assets and restart the Docker stack
syslog deploy preflight       # clearer alias for setup check
syslog deploy local           # clearer local Compose deploy/reconcile command
syslog deploy local --dry-run # run the deploy preflight without mutating Docker
syslog setup ai-watch-service install  # host-local real-time transcript watcher
syslog doctor binary  # check host/container binary freshness

Claude Code plugin (recommended)

Install as a Claude Code plugin. The plugin handles deployment automatically — you choose between server mode (this machine hosts the syslog receiver + MCP server) and client mode (connect to a remote server).

Prompted at install time (via userConfig):

Field	Required	Default	Notes
`is_server`	yes	`true`	Server mode hosts the receiver; client mode connects to a remote server
`server_url`	no	`http://localhost:3100`	Server mode: leave default. Client mode: remote host URL (e.g. `http://shart:3100`)
`api_token`	yes	—	Bearer token used by the plugin MCP client. Server mode: this becomes the token the server enforces unless `no_auth=true`. Client mode: token from the server admin. Stored in the system keychain.
`syslog_host` / `syslog_port`	no	`0.0.0.0` / `1514`	Syslog listener bind (server mode)
`mcp_host` / `mcp_port`	no	`0.0.0.0` / `3100`	MCP HTTP server bind (server mode)
`data_dir`	no	`~/.syslog-mcp/data`	Optional SQLite directory override; default shared setup data persists outside plugin cache
`max_db_size_mb`	no	`8192`	DB size cap; oldest logs deleted when exceeded
`retention_days`	no	`90`	`0` = keep forever
`batch_size`	no	`100`	Number of parsed messages per SQLite batch
`write_channel_capacity`	no	`10000`	Internal parsed-message queue capacity before listener backpressure
`docker_ingest_enabled`	no	`false`	Pull container logs from remote `docker-socket-proxy` endpoints
`fleet_hosts`	no	—	SSH aliases of fleet hosts. Used for Docker ingest (when enabled, each becomes `http://<alias>:2375`) and the `syslog-deploy-dropins` skill

SessionStart hook automation (in server mode):

Ensures the host syslog binary is on PATH; the installer defaults to ~/.local/bin
Exports plugin userConfig as SYSLOG_* / SYSLOG_MCP_* environment values
Runs syslog setup repair, the same setup path used by the one-line installer
Repairs shared assets under ~/.syslog-mcp and removes stale user-level syslog-mcp.service units/drop-ins left by older plugin versions
All idempotent — safe to run on every session

Bundled skills:

syslog-dr — health check covering MCP, service status, syslog port, fleet drop-ins, and live log flow; tails service logs on failure
syslog-deploy-dropins — SSH-based one-shot rsyslog drop-in deployment to every host in fleet_hosts
syslog-redeploy — re-run plugin setup after config or plugin changes
syslog-logs — Docker Compose service log tailing
syslog-version-check — check whether the running Docker container matches the local Compose image; add --pull to pull first, otherwise checks only the local image cache

The plugin deploys the server with Docker Compose through the same syslog setup path as the one-line installer. You can still build and run the binary locally for development, but automated deployment is Compose-only.

syslog deploy local is the operator-facing name for the same local Compose-backed reconcile path. It exists so deploy workflows do not need to call a command named setup repair directly.

Docker

git clone https://github.com/jmagar/syslog-mcp
cd syslog-mcp
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env — set SYSLOG_MCP_TOKEN at minimum
docker compose up -d

The container binds:

UDP :1514 and TCP :1514 for syslog ingestion
TCP :3100 for the MCP HTTP API

Local build

Requires Rust 1.86+.

cargo build --release
./target/release/syslog serve mcp

Authentication

syslog-mcp supports two auth modes, selectable via SYSLOG_MCP_AUTH_MODE.

Bearer-only (default) — set SYSLOG_MCP_TOKEN and all /mcp requests must present that token as Authorization: Bearer <token>. No OAuth routes are mounted.

Gateway-protected no-auth — set NO_AUTH=true only when an upstream gateway or reverse proxy enforces auth before traffic reaches syslog-mcp. This intentionally disables service-local MCP auth even on non-loopback binds.

OAuth (Google) — set SYSLOG_MCP_AUTH_MODE=oauth, the OAuth provider env vars, and an allowlisted admin email. The server issues RS256 JWTs after users authenticate via Google. Bearer tokens and OAuth JWTs can coexist (OAuth mode disables the static token by default; set SYSLOG_MCP_AUTH_DISABLE_STATIC_TOKEN_WITH_OAUTH=false or disable_static_token_with_oauth = false in config.toml for break-glass access).

Both modes leave /health unauthenticated so health probes always work.

See docs/OAUTH.md for full setup instructions, architecture diagram, and operator FAQ.

Configuration

Configuration is loaded from three sources in priority order (highest wins):

Environment variables
config.toml (if present)
Built-in defaults

Environment variables

MCP server

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`SYSLOG_MCP_TOKEN`	no	—	Bearer token for `/mcp`. Omit to disable auth.
`SYSLOG_MCP_HOST`	no	`0.0.0.0`	Bind host for the MCP HTTP server
`SYSLOG_MCP_PORT`	no	`3100`	Bind port for the MCP HTTP server
`SYSLOG_MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS`	no	—	Extra comma-separated Host header values accepted by RMCP Host validation
`SYSLOG_MCP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS`	no	—	Extra comma-separated browser origins accepted by RMCP Origin validation

Non-MCP API

The plain JSON API is disabled by default. When enabled, it is mounted under /api/* on the same HTTP listener and requires a separate bearer token.

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`SYSLOG_API_ENABLED`	no	`false`	Enable the non-MCP JSON API
`SYSLOG_API_TOKEN`	yes, when enabled	—	Bearer token for `/api/*` routes

Syslog listener

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`SYSLOG_HOST`	no	`0.0.0.0`	Bind host for UDP + TCP syslog listeners
`SYSLOG_PORT`	no	`1514`	Bind port for UDP + TCP syslog listeners
`SYSLOG_HOST_PORT`	no	`1514`	Docker Compose host port published to container port `1514`
`SYSLOG_MAX_MESSAGE_SIZE`	no	`8192`	Max bytes per UDP datagram or newline-delimited TCP frame. Oversized newline-delimited TCP frames are dropped and the connection stays open; oversized unterminated frames are dropped and the connection is closed.
`SYSLOG_MAX_TCP_CONNECTIONS`	no	`1024`	Maximum simultaneous TCP syslog connections
`SYSLOG_TCP_IDLE_TIMEOUT_SECS`	no	`300`	Idle timeout per TCP read before closing inactive connections
`SYSLOG_BATCH_SIZE`	no	`100`	Number of messages per batch write
`SYSLOG_FLUSH_INTERVAL`	no	`500`	Batch flush interval in milliseconds
`SYSLOG_WRITE_CHANNEL_CAPACITY`	no	`10000`	Internal parsed-message queue capacity

Docker socket-proxy ingest

Optional pull-based Docker log ingestion keeps each remote host on its normal Docker logging driver and has syslog-mcp read container stdout/stderr through read-only docker-socket-proxy endpoints. This avoids configuring Docker's daemon-level syslog driver and does not block container startup when syslog-mcp is down.

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`SYSLOG_DOCKER_INGEST_ENABLED`	no	`false`	Enable remote Docker log ingestion
`SYSLOG_DOCKER_HOSTS`	one of the two	—	Comma-separated hostnames; each becomes `http://<name>:2375` with `allow_insecure_http = true`. Takes priority over `SYSLOG_DOCKER_HOSTS_FILE`.
`SYSLOG_DOCKER_HOSTS_FILE`	one of the two	—	Path to a TOML file with a `[[hosts]]` array (use when you need per-host `base_url` or TLS). If the file does not exist, a warning is logged and no hosts are loaded — the container will not crash. Mount the file via `SYSLOG_MCP_CONFIG_VOLUME`.
`SYSLOG_DOCKER_RECONNECT_INITIAL_MS`	no	`1000`	Initial reconnect delay after host stream failure
`SYSLOG_DOCKER_RECONNECT_MAX_MS`	no	`30000`	Maximum reconnect delay after repeated failures

The hosts file uses this shape:

[[hosts]]
name = "edge-host-a"
base_url = "http://edge-host-a:2375"
allow_insecure_http = true

[[hosts]]
name = "app-host-b"
base_url = "http://app-host-b:2375"
allow_insecure_http = true

The docker-socket-proxy side only needs read access to containers, events, ping, and version endpoints: CONTAINERS=1, EVENTS=1, PING=1, VERSION=1, POST=0. CONTAINERS=1 exposes the broader read-only Docker container API to anything that can reach the proxy, so bind it only on a trusted private network, firewall it to syslog-mcp, or put it behind authenticated TLS. Plain http:// endpoints require allow_insecure_http = true in the hosts file so that this trust decision is explicit.

Docker ingest is intentionally not part of the default smoke test because it needs a live docker-socket-proxy-compatible endpoint and container log stream. For integration testing, run syslog-mcp with SYSLOG_DOCKER_INGEST_ENABLED=true against a disposable docker-socket-proxy or mocked Docker HTTP fixture, emit a unique line from a short-lived container, then verify it with syslog search or mcporter call ... action=search. Container stdout/stderr rows use source_ip=docker://<host>/<container>/<stream>. Container lifecycle rows for actions such as create, start, restart, die, stop, destroy, rename, oom, and health_status:* use source_ip=docker-event://<host>/<container>/<sanitized-action>, facility=docker, and preserve the raw Docker event JSON.

Storage

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`SYSLOG_MCP_DB_PATH`	no	`/data/syslog.db`	SQLite database path
`SYSLOG_MCP_POOL_SIZE`	no	`4`	SQLite connection pool size
`SYSLOG_MCP_RETENTION_DAYS`	no	`90`	Days to retain logs. `0` = keep forever.
`SYSLOG_MCP_MAX_DB_SIZE_MB`	no	`1024`	Logical DB size trigger for write-blocking. `0` = disabled.
`SYSLOG_MCP_RECOVERY_DB_SIZE_MB`	no	`900`	Cleanup target after DB size trigger. Must be less than max.
`SYSLOG_MCP_MIN_FREE_DISK_MB`	no	`512`	Free disk trigger for write-blocking. `0` = disabled.
`SYSLOG_MCP_RECOVERY_FREE_DISK_MB`	no	`768`	Cleanup target after free disk trigger. Must be greater than min.
`SYSLOG_MCP_CLEANUP_INTERVAL_SECS`	no	`60`	Storage budget enforcement interval. Minimum `5`.
`SYSLOG_MCP_CLEANUP_CHUNK_SIZE`	no	`2000`	Rows deleted per enforcement chunk

Container

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`SYSLOG_UID`	no	`1000`	Container user ID for data volume ownership
`SYSLOG_GID`	no	`1000`	Container group ID for data volume ownership
`SYSLOG_MCP_DATA_VOLUME`	no	`syslog-mcp-data`	Docker volume name or bind-mount path
`SYSLOG_MCP_CONFIG_VOLUME`	no	`./config`	Read-only config mount for optional files such as `docker-hosts.toml`
`DOCKER_NETWORK`	no	`syslog-mcp`	Docker network name (must exist)
`RUST_LOG`	no	`info`	Log level (`trace`, `debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error`)
`TZ`	no	`UTC`	Container timezone

config.toml

Place config.toml next to the binary (or in the working directory). Environment variables override values set here.

[syslog]
host = "0.0.0.0"
port = 1514
max_message_size = 8192
max_tcp_connections = 512
tcp_idle_timeout_secs = 300

[storage]
db_path = "data/syslog.db"
pool_size = 4
retention_days = 90   # 0 = keep forever
wal_mode = true
max_db_size_mb = 1024
recovery_db_size_mb = 900
min_free_disk_mb = 512
recovery_free_disk_mb = 768
cleanup_interval_secs = 60

[mcp]
host = "0.0.0.0"
port = 3100
server_name = "syslog-mcp"
# api_token = "your-secret-token"

[docker_ingest]
enabled = false
reconnect_initial_ms = 1000
reconnect_max_ms = 30000

[[docker_ingest.hosts]]
name = "edge-host-a"
base_url = "http://edge-host-a:2375"
allow_insecure_http = true

Security Model

Syslog ingest is unauthenticated by design

The UDP and TCP syslog listeners (port 1514) accept log frames from any reachable host with no authentication. This matches the RFC 3164/5424 syslog protocol design and is intentional for homelab deployments where the network perimeter is the trust boundary.

Consequences:

hostname in stored records is caller-controlled for vendor formats (CEF/UniFi). Any host on the network can claim any hostname. Use source_ip for trusted origin identification.
Log injection is possible from any host that can reach port 1514. Do not use syslog-mcp for security-critical audit trails without network-level access controls.
Retention exemption: severity=err and above are excluded from time-based purge. A host flooding with high-severity frames can exhaust disk space.

Mitigations: Bind the syslog port to a specific interface, use a firewall rule to restrict sources, or set SYSLOG_ALLOWED_SOURCE_CIDRS (comma-separated CIDR list) to allowlist sending hosts.

MCP API authentication

The MCP query API (port 3100, default loopback) supports two auth modes:

Mode	Config	Effect
Bearer token	`SYSLOG_MCP_TOKEN=<token>`	Static token grants both `syslog:read` and `syslog:admin` scope
Google OAuth	`SYSLOG_MCP_AUTH_MODE=oauth`	OAuth users authenticated via `SYSLOG_MCP_AUTH_ADMIN_EMAIL`

Important: The static bearer token grants full admin scope. Do not share it with read-only collaborators — use OAuth mode with a read-only token scope instead.

The MCP port defaults to 127.0.0.1:3100 (loopback only). To expose it on a network interface, set SYSLOG_MCP_HOST=0.0.0.0 and configure a TLS-terminating reverse proxy in front of it.

Command modes

syslog serve mcp  # UDP/TCP syslog ingest plus HTTP MCP on /mcp
syslog mcp        # query-only MCP stdio transport
syslog setup      # install/repair shared ~/.syslog-mcp Docker Compose setup
syslog deploy preflight  # check deploy prerequisites without mutating Docker
syslog deploy local      # reconcile local Compose deployment
syslog stats      # query the SQLite DB directly from the CLI
syslog db status  # inspect SQLite maintenance state
syslog db backup  # create a WAL-safe SQLite backup
syslog compose doctor          # diagnose live Compose/listener ownership
syslog compose status --json   # inspect canonical syslog-mcp container/project

Both modes use the same config and environment variable loader. syslog mcp is for local child-process MCP clients that can read SYSLOG_MCP_DB_PATH; it does not bind network ports or run retention/storage cleanup jobs.

The direct CLI uses the same shared service layer as the MCP tool, so results and validation match the MCP actions without needing an MCP client:

syslog search 'error AND nginx' --hostname proxy --limit 10
syslog tail -n 20 --app-name kernel
syslog errors --from 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z
syslog hosts
syslog correlate --reference-time 2026-01-01T12:00:00Z --window-minutes 10 --severity-min warning
syslog stats --json
syslog db integrity            # run PRAGMA integrity_check
syslog db checkpoint --mode full
syslog db vacuum --pages 1000
syslog compose pull            # pull image for resolved Compose project
syslog compose up              # run docker compose up -d for resolved service
syslog compose restart         # restart resolved service
syslog compose logs --tail 20  # bounded compose logs

# Surface parity (2026-05-22) — each is also a REST GET on /api/<command>
syslog silent-hosts --silent-minutes 60
syslog clock-skew   --since 2026-05-20T00:00:00Z
syslog anomalies    --recent-minutes 30 --baseline-minutes 720
syslog compare      --a-from 2026-05-20T00:00:00Z --a-to 2026-05-20T23:59:59Z \
                    --b-from 2026-05-21T00:00:00Z --b-to 2026-05-21T23:59:59Z
syslog apps         --hostname dookie --limit 50

REST endpoints (2026-05-22 surface parity)

The 12 new routes mirror existing MCP actions one-for-one. All require the SYSLOG_API_TOKEN bearer; AI endpoints with terms[]= parameters are served via serde_qs to handle repeated keys.

GET  /api/silent-hosts?silent_minutes=60
GET  /api/clock-skew?since=<RFC3339>
GET  /api/anomalies?recent_minutes=15&baseline_minutes=360
GET  /api/compare?a_from=...&a_to=...&b_from=...&b_to=...
GET  /api/apps?hostname=&from=&to=&limit=&offset=
GET  /api/similar-incidents?query=...&window_minutes=30
GET  /api/incident-context?from=...&to=...
GET  /api/ai/ask-history?query=...
GET  /api/ai/incidents?terms[]=foo&terms[]=bar
GET  /api/ai/investigate?correlation_window_minutes=30
GET  /api/compose/status
GET  /api/compose/doctor

/api/compose/status is a redacted read-only projection and can report runtime_state="docker_unavailable" when Docker inspection is unavailable from inside the container. /api/compose/doctor is stricter: unready Docker, ownership, or runtime states return HTTP 503 with the same structured projection.

syslog compose commands resolve the live Compose owner before mutation. They refuse ambiguous cwd fallback, stale Compose labels, listener conflicts, and destructive down without --yes.

See docs/CLI.md for the full direct CLI reference, including flags, JSON output, and how CLI commands map to MCP actions.

Syslog Forwarder Setup

The server listens on port 1514 by default. Configure senders to forward to this port. If a device cannot use a non-privileged port, see Exposing port 514.

rsyslog

Create /etc/rsyslog.d/99-remote.conf on each host:

# TCP (reliable, recommended for persistent connections)
*.* @@SYSLOG_SERVER:1514

# UDP (lower overhead, no delivery guarantee)
# *.* @SYSLOG_SERVER:1514

Restart: sudo systemctl restart rsyslog

For hosts running pure journald without rsyslog, first enable forwarding in /etc/systemd/journald.conf:

[Journal]
ForwardToSyslog=yes

Then install and configure rsyslog as above.

syslog-ng

Add to /etc/syslog-ng/conf.d/remote.conf:

destination d_remote_tcp {
    network("SYSLOG_SERVER"
        port(1514)
        transport("tcp")
    );
};

destination d_remote_udp {
    network("SYSLOG_SERVER"
        port(1514)
        transport("udp")
    );
};

log {
    source(s_src);
    destination(d_remote_tcp);
};

Restart: sudo systemctl restart syslog-ng

WSL2 (systemd enabled)

Enable systemd in /etc/wsl.conf:

[boot]
systemd=true

Install rsyslog and use the rsyslog config above. Use the Tailscale IP of the syslog-mcp host — WSL has its own network namespace and cannot reach the Docker host IP directly.

UniFi Cloud Gateway

Option A — via SSH:

ssh admin@<gateway-ip>
# Create /etc/rsyslog.d/remote.conf (persists on newer firmware):
echo "*.* @SYSLOG_SERVER:1514" | sudo tee /etc/rsyslog.d/remote.conf
sudo systemctl restart rsyslog

Option B — via UI (survives firmware updates):

Settings → System → Advanced → Remote Syslog Server. Set host and port 1514.

Routers and appliances (UDP-only devices)

Set the syslog server address to your SYSLOG_SERVER and port to 1514 in the device's syslog settings. Most consumer routers and network appliances expose this under Diagnostics or Logging settings.

Exposing port 514

Syslog's privileged port 514 requires root or CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE. The recommended approach is to redirect at the host with iptables:

# Redirect UDP and TCP 514 → 1514 on the host
sudo iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p udp --dport 514 -j REDIRECT --to-port 1514
sudo iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp --dport 514 -j REDIRECT --to-port 1514

# Persist across reboots (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt install iptables-persistent
sudo netfilter-persistent save

For Docker Compose, set SYSLOG_HOST_PORT=514 to publish host port 514 while the container keeps binding unprivileged port 1514. On Unraid, map host port 514 to container port 1514 for both UDP and TCP in the Docker template (514:1514/udp and 514:1514/tcp).

Firewall rules

Open the syslog port on the Docker host firewall:

# ufw
sudo ufw allow 1514/udp
sudo ufw allow 1514/tcp

# firewalld
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=1514/udp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=1514/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Retention Policy

Logs are retained for SYSLOG_MCP_RETENTION_DAYS days (default 90). Set to 0 to keep logs forever.

The retention job runs on SYSLOG_MCP_CLEANUP_INTERVAL_SECS (default 60 seconds). It deletes logs in chunks of 10,000 rows, releasing the write lock between chunks so ingest can proceed. Retention cutoff uses received_at (the server-side ingestion timestamp), not the timestamp in the message. This prevents devices with misconfigured clocks from causing premature or indefinite retention.

After large deletions, an incremental FTS5 merge runs to reclaim index space without long write-lock durations.

Storage Budget Enforcement

Two independent guards protect against disk exhaustion:

DB size guard (SYSLOG_MCP_MAX_DB_SIZE_MB, default 1024 MB)

When the logical SQLite DB size exceeds max_db_size_mb, the oldest logs are deleted in chunks of SYSLOG_MCP_CLEANUP_CHUNK_SIZE rows until the size drops below recovery_db_size_mb.

Free disk guard (SYSLOG_MCP_MIN_FREE_DISK_MB, default 512 MB)

When available disk drops below min_free_disk_mb, the oldest logs are deleted until free disk exceeds recovery_free_disk_mb.

Write-blocking behavior

If enforcement cannot free enough space (e.g. the DB is empty but storage is still over limit), the batch writer enters write-blocked state. New log messages accumulate in an in-memory buffer (SYSLOG_WRITE_CHANNEL_CAPACITY, default 10,000 messages). Writes resume automatically when space recovers. The write_blocked field in syslog stats reflects the current state.

Disable either guard by setting its trigger to 0 (also set the recovery target to 0).

Heavy SQLite migrations

Most schema setup runs automatically during startup. Heavy migrations, such as creating a new index on a populated multi-million-row logs table, can hold SQLite's write lock for several minutes before syslog listeners and /health are available. During that window TCP senders may back up and UDP packets may be dropped by kernel buffers.

Before upgrading a populated database:

Take a WAL-safe backup with scripts/backup.sh or sqlite3 /data/syslog.db ".backup /data/syslog-pre-upgrade.db".
Schedule a short ingest maintenance window for large databases.
Start the new version and monitor logs for Migration N: starting ... and Migration N: ... created.
Keep the previous image or binary available until /health returns ok and syslog stats reports sane counts.

See docs/runbooks/deploy.md for the deploy checklist.

Batch Writer

The batch writer improves throughput by collecting parsed syslog messages into batches before writing to SQLite.

Variable	Default	Description
`SYSLOG_BATCH_SIZE`	`100`	Write when this many messages are queued
`SYSLOG_FLUSH_INTERVAL`	`500` ms	Write every N ms even if batch is not full
`SYSLOG_WRITE_CHANNEL_CAPACITY`	`10000`	Parsed-message queue capacity before listener backpressure

Batches are written in a single SQLite transaction. If the DB is busy (locked), the writer retries up to 3 times with exponential backoff (25 ms, 100 ms, 250 ms). Batches that fail insertion are retained in memory and retried on the next flush cycle. If a retained batch grows beyond 1,000 entries, it is discarded to prevent unbounded memory growth.

The internal write channel holds up to SYSLOG_WRITE_CHANNEL_CAPACITY parsed messages. When the channel is full, backpressure is logged and further UDP/TCP receives block until space is available.

Multi-Host Deployment

Point multiple hosts at the same syslog-mcp instance. Each sender's hostname field (from the syslog message) is recorded and indexed. Use syslog hosts to see all senders. Filter by hostname in syslog search and syslog tail. Use syslog correlate to find related events across hosts within a time window.

For large fleets, consider:

Increasing SYSLOG_MCP_POOL_SIZE (default 4) for higher read concurrency
Increasing SYSLOG_BATCH_SIZE and SYSLOG_FLUSH_INTERVAL to reduce write overhead
Setting SYSLOG_MCP_RETENTION_DAYS to balance history depth against disk cost

Time Synchronization

All timestamps are stored in UTC. syslog correlate uses the timestamp field from the syslog message, which reflects the sending device's clock. Devices with drifted clocks will have their events shifted relative to the correlation window. Run NTP on all senders to minimize skew. received_at (the server-side ingestion time) is unaffected by sender clock drift and is used for retention.

HTTPS / Reverse Proxy

Add a SWAG proxy conf to expose the MCP API over TLS:

# /config/nginx/proxy-confs/syslog-mcp.subdomain.conf
server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name syslog-mcp.*;

    include /config/nginx/ssl.conf;

    location / {
        include /config/nginx/proxy.conf;
        include /config/nginx/resolver.conf;

        # RMCP Streamable HTTP in stateless JSON-response mode.
        # Clients use POST /mcp; GET/DELETE /mcp are not supported.
        proxy_http_version 1.1;

        set $upstream_app syslog-mcp;
        set $upstream_port 3100;
        set $upstream_proto http;
        proxy_pass $upstream_proto://$upstream_app:$upstream_port;
    }
}

Development

just dev       # cargo run -- serve mcp
just check     # cargo check
just lint      # cargo clippy -- -D warnings
just fmt       # cargo fmt
just test      # cargo test
just build     # cargo build
just release   # cargo build --release

Docker:

just up        # docker compose up -d
just logs      # docker compose logs -f
just down      # docker compose down
just restart   # docker compose restart
syslog compose doctor
syslog compose status --json
syslog compose logs --tail 20

Generate a bearer token:

just gen-token   # openssl rand -hex 32

Verification

After deploying, verify the stack:

# Health probe (no auth required)
curl -sf http://localhost:3100/health | jq .
# → {"status":"ok"}

# Send a test message from any Linux host
logger -n SYSLOG_SERVER -P 1514 --tcp "test from $(hostname)"

# Tail recent logs via MCP (replace token if auth is enabled)
curl -s -X POST http://localhost:3100/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 1,
      "method": "tools/call",
      "params": {
      "name": "syslog",
      "arguments": {"action": "tail", "n": 10}
    }
  }' | jq .

# DB stats
curl -s -X POST http://localhost:3100/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 2,
    "method": "tools/call",
    "params": {"name": "syslog", "arguments": {"action": "stats"}}
  }' | jq .result.content[0].text | jq -r . | jq .

Run the full test suite:

just check
just lint
just test

Run the live smoke test against a running server:

bash scripts/smoke-test.sh

The smoke test seeds UDP and TCP syslog messages and verifies MCP search/tail results. Docker ingest coverage is handled by the explicit integration path described in the Docker socket-proxy ingest section because it requires an external Docker-compatible log endpoint.

Performance

At typical homelab scale (1–20 hosts, thousands of messages per day):

SQLite with WAL mode handles concurrent reads and writes without contention
The batch writer sustains thousands of messages per second on commodity hardware
FTS5 with porter stemming adds minimal overhead over plain SQL queries
PRAGMA cache_size=-64000 allocates ~64 MB page cache per connection
PRAGMA synchronous=NORMAL balances durability and throughput
Connection pool (default 4) satisfies concurrent MCP requests without blocking

For higher ingest rates (IoT, high-traffic network devices):

Increase SYSLOG_BATCH_SIZE (e.g. 500) to reduce transaction overhead
Increase SYSLOG_FLUSH_INTERVAL (e.g. 1000 ms) to widen batch windows
Increase SYSLOG_WRITE_CHANNEL_CAPACITY (e.g. 100000) to absorb bursts
Increase SYSLOG_MCP_POOL_SIZE (e.g. 8) for more read concurrency
Place the database on an SSD or tmpfs-backed volume

MCP Transport

The daemon implements MCP through RMCP Streamable HTTP in stateless JSON-response mode.

POST /mcp — RMCP Streamable HTTP request/response endpoint
GET /mcp and DELETE /mcp — 405 Method Not Allowed in stateless mode
GET /health — unauthenticated health probe
syslog mcp — local query-only stdio MCP mode for clients that launch MCP servers as child processes

When SYSLOG_MCP_TOKEN is set, /mcp requires:

Authorization: Bearer <token>

/health is always unauthenticated (required for Docker health checks and reverse-proxy probes).

Stdio mode does not use bearer auth because it is local child-process access. It does require SYSLOG_MCP_DB_PATH to point at the same SQLite database populated by the daemon:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "syslog-mcp": {
      "command": "/path/to/syslog",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SYSLOG_MCP_DB_PATH": "/data/syslog.db",
        "RUST_LOG": "warn"
      }
    }
  }
}

Use mcp-remote instead of direct stdio when the database is only reachable through the running HTTP daemon or a reverse proxy.

The Docker image remains daemon-focused and exposes HTTP MCP via syslog serve mcp; use syslog mcp on a host that can read the SQLite DB for direct local stdio.

Related Files

File	Description
`Cargo.toml`	Crate metadata and dependency surface
`config.toml`	Default runtime configuration
`.env.example`	Canonical environment variable reference
`docs/SETUP.md`	Per-device syslog forwarder setup notes
`CHANGELOG.md`	Release history
`config/Dockerfile`	Container image definition
`docker-compose.yml`	Docker Compose stack
`Justfile`	Development command shortcuts
`src/main.rs`	`syslog` binary entrypoint for HTTP and stdio MCP modes
`src/lib.rs`	Reusable library boundary
`src/app/`	Shared typed log application service
`src/runtime.rs`	Config, DB, syslog, and maintenance orchestration
`src/api.rs`	Optional non-MCP JSON API routes
`src/config.rs`	Configuration loading and validation
`src/db.rs` + `src/db/`	SQLite schema, FTS5, retention, storage budget
`src/syslog.rs` + `src/syslog/`	UDP/TCP listeners, syslog parser, batch writer
`src/mcp.rs` + `src/mcp/`	MCP HTTP server, RMCP adapter, auth middleware, tools, health endpoint
`.claude-plugin/plugin.json`	Claude plugin manifest

Related plugins

Plugin	Category	Description
homelab-core	core	Core agents, commands, skills, and setup/health workflows for homelab management.
overseerr-mcp	media	Search movies and TV shows, submit requests, and monitor failed requests via Overseerr.
unraid-mcp	infrastructure	Query, monitor, and manage Unraid servers: Docker, VMs, array, parity, and live telemetry.
unifi-mcp	infrastructure	Monitor and manage UniFi devices, clients, firewall rules, and network health.
gotify-mcp	utilities	Send and manage push notifications via a self-hosted Gotify server.
swag-mcp	infrastructure	Create, edit, and manage SWAG nginx reverse proxy configurations.
synapse-mcp	infrastructure	Docker management (Flux) and SSH remote operations (Scout) across homelab hosts.
arcane-mcp	infrastructure	Manage Docker environments, containers, images, volumes, networks, and GitOps via Arcane.
plugin-lab	dev-tools	Scaffold, review, align, and deploy homelab MCP plugins with agents and canonical templates.

License

MIT

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 459 Commits
.cargo		.cargo
.claude-plugin		.claude-plugin
.claude		.claude
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
bin		bin
config		config
deploy		deploy
docs		docs
mcpb		mcpb
plugins/syslog		plugins/syslog
scripts		scripts
src		src
tests		tests
.beads		.beads
.dockerignore		.dockerignore
.env.example		.env.example
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
.lavra		.lavra
AGENTS.md		AGENTS.md
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
Cargo.lock		Cargo.lock
Cargo.toml		Cargo.toml
GEMINI.md		GEMINI.md
Justfile		Justfile
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
RELEASING.md		RELEASING.md
config.toml		config.toml
deny.toml		deny.toml
docker-compose.prod.yml		docker-compose.prod.yml
docker-compose.yml		docker-compose.yml
install.sh		install.sh
lefthook.yml		lefthook.yml
server.json		server.json

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Syslog MCP

Overview

Tools

Prompts

syslog search

syslog filter

syslog tail

syslog errors

syslog hosts

syslog sessions

syslog correlate

syslog stats

syslog status

syslog help

FTS5 Query Syntax

Log Schema

AI transcript indexing

Shell and agent command history

Severity levels

Facilities

Installation

One-line installer

Claude Code plugin (recommended)

Docker

Local build

Authentication

Configuration

Environment variables

MCP server

Non-MCP API

Syslog listener

Docker socket-proxy ingest

Storage

Container

config.toml

Security Model

Syslog ingest is unauthenticated by design

MCP API authentication

Command modes

REST endpoints (2026-05-22 surface parity)

Syslog Forwarder Setup

rsyslog

syslog-ng

WSL2 (systemd enabled)

UniFi Cloud Gateway

Routers and appliances (UDP-only devices)

Exposing port 514

Firewall rules

Retention Policy

Storage Budget Enforcement

Heavy SQLite migrations

Batch Writer

Multi-Host Deployment

Time Synchronization

HTTPS / Reverse Proxy

Development

Verification

Performance

MCP Transport

Related Files

Related plugins

License

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