> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.bindplane.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.bindplane.com/integrations/sources/bindplane.md).
# Bindplane
Reads the Bindplane server's own log file and sends it through a pipeline like any other log source. This is how you monitor Bindplane itself, so server errors reach the same destination as the rest of your telemetry. It needs a collector installed on the Bindplane server host, since it reads the log off local disk.
### Supported Telemetry Types
| Platform | Metrics | Logs | Traces |
| -------- | ------- | ---- | ------ |
| Linux | | ✓ | |
| macOS | | ✓ | |
### Prerequisites
* A collector installed on the same host as the Bindplane server. This source reads a local file rather than connecting to the server's API, so a collector elsewhere cannot use it.
* Read access to the log file for the collector's service account. On a package install the log is owned by the `bindplane` user, so a collector running as a different user needs to be granted access.
### Configuration
#### Basic Configuration
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
| ------------------ | ------ | -------- | ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Bindplane Log Path | String | No | `/var/log/bindplane/bindplane.log` | Absolute path to the Bindplane log file. |
#### Advanced
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
| -------------------------- | ------- | -------- | --------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Enable File Offset Storage | Boolean | No | `true` | Persist the read position to disk so a collector restart resumes where it stopped rather than re-reading the file. |
| Offset Storage Directory | String | No | `storage` | Directory holding the offset file. A relative path resolves against the collector's installation directory. |
| Start At | Enum | No | `end` | Whether a first run reads the existing file from `beginning` or collects only new lines from `end`. |
### Examples
#### Read a non-default log path from the beginning
Points at a log outside the packaged location and reads the existing file from the start, which is useful when standing up collection against a server that has already been running.
### Configuration Tips
#### Reading the right file
* The default path matches a package install. A container or custom deployment usually logs elsewhere, so confirm the path on the host rather than assuming the default.
* This source reads one file. A deployment that rotates to timestamped filenames is better served by the [Filelog Source](/integrations/sources/filelog.md), which takes a glob.
#### Avoiding a feedback loop
* Sending Bindplane's own logs to a destination that Bindplane manages is fine, and it does mean a destination outage shows up in the very logs you would use to diagnose it. Consider a second destination for these.
* `Start At` defaults to `end`, so adding this source does not ingest the server's entire log history. Set it to `beginning` deliberately.
### Troubleshooting
#### No logs arrive
Symptoms: the source is configured, the collector is healthy, and nothing reaches the destination.
Solutions:
1. Confirm the path exists on the collector's host. This reads local disk, so a collector on a different machine than the Bindplane server finds nothing.
2. Confirm the collector's service account can read the file. A permission failure appears in the collector log rather than as a source error.
3. `Start At` defaults to `end`, so a quiet server produces nothing until it writes a new line. Set it to `beginning` to confirm collection works against existing content.
#### Logs restart from the top after a collector restart
Symptoms: a burst of duplicate log records each time the collector restarts.
Solutions:
1. Confirm `Enable File Offset Storage` is on, since without it every restart re-reads from `Start At`.
2. Confirm the collector can write to the offset directory. A directory it cannot write to leaves the position untracked with no hard error.
### Standalone Source
```yaml
apiVersion: bindplane.observiq.com/v1
kind: Source
metadata:
name: bindplane
spec:
type: bindplane-op
parameters:
- name: log_path
value: /var/log/bindplane/bindplane.log
- name: enable_offset_storage
value: true
- name: offset_storage_dir
value: storage
- name: start_at
value: end
```
### Bindplane Resources
* [Bindplane Audit Logs Source](/integrations/sources/bindplane-audit-logs.md)
* [Bindplane Collector Source](/integrations/sources/bindplane-collector.md)
* [Filelog Source](/integrations/sources/filelog.md)
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