Logs

Overview

IFM nodes produce structured logs and metrics that can be observed through the IFM Dashboard or via the observability interface. This section covers how to access, read, and troubleshoot node logs.

Log Sources

Node Logs

IFM nodes write logs to their data directory. The main log file contains:

• Startup and shutdown events
• Peer connection events (connect, disconnect, reconnect)
• Frequency tuning events (tune, leave)
• Packet send/receive counts
• Error conditions and warnings

Rendezvous Logs

Rendezvous nodes have their own log output, visible when running with verbose mode or checking the systemd/journal logs.

Accessing Logs

Via Dashboard

The IFM Dashboard provides a web interface to observe node logs in real-time. See docs/architecture/observability.md for the architectural boundary between nodes and dashboard.

Via Command Line

# View node logs
ifm logs --node <node-id>

# View rendezvous logs
ifm-rendezvous logs

# Follow live log output
ifm logs --follow --node <node-id>

Via Environment Variables

Log level can be controlled via IFM_LOG_LEVEL environment variable:

• trace - all events
• debug - detailed debugging
• info - standard operations (default)
• warn - warnings only
• error - errors only

Troubleshooting Common Log Messages

Log Message	Meaning	Action
Peer connected from <addr>	New peer joined the mesh	Normal operation
Peer disconnected from <addr>	Peer left the mesh	Normal operation
Failed to tune <frequency>	Frequency not available or access denied	Check frequency type and access keys
Packet send failed	Network issue or transport error	Check connectivity, NAT, firewall
Jitter buffer overflow	Network instability, too much variance	Consider increasing jitter buffer size