.. _logging:

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Logging Ansible output
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By default, Ansible sends output about plays, tasks, and module arguments to your screen (STDOUT) on the control node. If you want to capture Ansible output in a log, you have three options:

* To save Ansible output in a single log on the control node, set the ``log_path`` :ref:`configuration file setting <intro_configuration>`. You may also want to set ``display_args_to_stdout``, which helps to differentiate similar tasks by including variable values in the Ansible output.
* To save Ansible output in separate logs, one on each managed node, set the ``no_target_syslog`` and ``syslog_facility`` :ref:`configuration file settings <intro_configuration>`.
* To save Ansible output to a secure database, use AWX or :ref:`Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform <ansible_platform>`. You can then review history based on hosts, projects, and particular inventories over time, using graphs and/or a REST API.

Protecting sensitive data with ``no_log``
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If you save Ansible output to a log, you expose any secret data in your Ansible output, such as passwords and usernames. To keep sensitive values out of your logs, mark tasks that expose them with the ``no_log: True`` attribute. However, the ``no_log`` attribute does not affect debugging output, so be careful not to debug playbooks in a production environment. See :ref:`keep_secret_data` for an example.
