Enable, find and read logs

A debug log records events before and during a fault. A crash log is written when Enigma2 handles a crash and often contains the Python traceback. A freeze without a crash may produce no crash log. Note the time and your exact actions so you can identify the relevant recording.

Enable debug logging

1. Finish recordings and timeshift before restarting the interface. A GUI restart interrupts functions managed by Enigma2.
2. Open Menu → Setup → System → Logs Settings. If the options are missing, enable Expert mode.
3. Set Enable debug log * to the normal enabled level first. Choose Verbose when additional detail is needed. Disabled turns off normal debug recording.
4. Check Logs location and free space. An external destination must be available and writable.
5. Save and restart the GUI. The asterisk identifies options requiring a restart.
6. Reproduce the problem with a short sequence of actions and note the time. Copy the matching log to your computer.
7. Restore the previous logging level and restart the GUI again once diagnosis is finished.

Verbose logging was already enabled on the example receiver. Capturing this screen did not change its logging configuration. Open original image ↗

Enable extra EPG, network, package-management or multimedia logging only for the issue being investigated. Enabling every diagnostic makes logs larger and harder to read. Core dumps are a separate diagnostic tool and are not required for an ordinary bug report.

Where are the logs on the receiver?

These are paths in the receiver’s filesystem, not on your computer. Open them using SFTP, for example.

File or directory	Purpose
/home/root/logs/	Default directory for Enigma2 debug and crash logs.
YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS-enigma2-debug.log	Debug recording in the selected log directory, for example 20260910-065659-enigma2-debug.log. The timestamp uses the receiver’s clock.
YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS-enigma2-crash.log	Crash log in the selected directory. Match its time to the incident.
/media/hdd/logs/	Example HDD destination, only when selected and the drive is mounted there. Other selected mounts use <mount point>/logs/.
/home/root/logs/enigma2_crash.log	Fallback when the regular crash log cannot be created.
/tmp/enigma2_crash.log	Further crash-log fallback. /tmp is temporary: copy the file before a full reboot.
/home/root/FastRestore.log	Early automatic restore log, outside the logs/ directory. A rotated file may be named FastRestore.log.1. See AutoRestore.
YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS-gstreamer-debug.log	Additional multimedia log in the log directory when that diagnostic is enabled.

Directory display detail: The checked menu labels the default destination /home/root/, although the actual configuration value is /home/root/logs/. Selected drives likewise use a logs subdirectory below the displayed mount point. Look inside that subdirectory.

The startup wrapper uses a custom debug directory only if it exists; otherwise it falls back to the default. Check both locations if files are missing. No crash log does not mean no fault occurred: a power failure, freeze or unwritable filesystem can prevent output.

Read files and copy them to your computer

In an SFTP client, open the relevant directory, sort by modification time and download the log matching the incident. Attach the text file to your report; a photograph of the final line cannot replace the traceback.

The Log Manager can display existing logs on the TV. The log settings include an option to show it in the Extensions menu. In the checked screen, Red switches between crash and debug logs, Green displays a file and Yellow deletes it. Follow the on-screen labels and save the relevant file before deleting anything.

Through SSH, first list the files:

ls -lt /home/root/logs/

Replace FILENAME below with an existing name from that list:

tail -n 100 /home/root/logs/FILENAME
tail -f /home/root/logs/FILENAME

tail -f follows new lines in that file. Ctrl+C stops this viewer only. A GUI restart or log rotation may create a new file; open that file to continue following events. The final 100 lines help with an initial check, but a report may need the complete relevant log.

Read the restore log separately:

tail -n 100 /home/root/FastRestore.log

Kernel messages for NAS and disk failures

Over SSH, dmesg displays the kernel ring buffer. For an initial look, read its latest lines:

dmesg | tail -n 100

NFS/CIFS messages, timeouts or I/O errors may help explain an unavailable NAS. This output is not automatically part of the Enigma2 debug log. Save relevant messages before rebooting and note when the problem occurred; kernel timestamps may refer to time since boot. Check a copy for private details before sharing it.

When a share is unreachable, even df, ls or a directory check may wait. Start with local logs and see autofs, fstab and NAS outages. A spinner without a crash need not produce a crashlog.

When the interface no longer works

If SSH is still available, save existing crash logs first. On the checked OpenATV version, you can enable debug recording for the next start through /etc/enigma2/settings:

1. Download a copy of the existing settings file first.
2. Stop Enigma2 with init 4. Wait until pidof enigma2 no longer returns a process number. Read the start/stop explanation for the effects.
3. Edit the file as plain text with Unix line endings. Change the existing entry to config.crash.debugLevel=4, or add it once if absent. Do not create duplicate keys. 4 means enabled, 5 verbose and 0 disabled.
4. Save the file on the receiver and start Enigma2 with init 3.
5. Copy the new debug log. After diagnosis, restore the previous value, preferably in the log settings screen.

Do not edit settings while Enigma2 is running: it may overwrite your change when exiting. Do not launch a second Enigma2 process manually.

Limit storage and report a fault

Log settings provide limits for file size, retention and total log storage. Check them especially when recording verbose logs in internal flash. A large attached drive does not increase free space in the root filesystem. Logging to an HDD may also prevent drive standby.

Before uploading, inspect a copy for passwords, tokens, share credentials and private addresses. Keep the error, traceback, package names and event sequence intact. Do not upload a complete settings backup as a public bug report. Report a problem explains the forum, the appropriate GitHub projects and a report template.

TV/AVR power, input selection and volume-key problems have a separate daily HDMI-CEC log. That chapter explains its own debug switch, filename and how to interpret control traffic.

Verification: Menu options and filenames were checked against source code. New debug files were observed under /home/root/logs/ on the test receiver with logging already enabled. No crash was deliberately triggered.

Sources: Log configuration, Startup wrapper and debug files, Crash logs and fallback paths, Log Manager.