Diagnostic Logs
Access and review backup run logs for troubleshooting and performance analysis.
What Are Diagnostic Logs?
Every backup run generates a timestamped diagnostic log that captures the commands executed, chunks processed, backend latencies, and any errors. These logs help troubleshoot failed backups, analyze performance, and provide support teams with detailed context.
- •Created for each backup run (manual or scheduled).
- •Stored locally at %APPDATA%\Backup Engine\diagnostic-runs\.
- •Includes PowerShell commands (for Hyper-V / SQL / BMR / System State), chunk details, and backend timings.
- •Accessible via the 'View diagnostic log' button on the backup set card or the CLI.
- •Automatically rotated (old logs archived after 30 days by default).
Accessing Diagnostic Logs
There are several ways to open and review diagnostic logs.
- •Desktop GUI: Navigate to the Backup tab, find a backup set, and click the 'View diagnostic log' button on its card.
- •File Explorer: Browse to %APPDATA%\Backup Engine\diagnostic-runs\ to see all logs organized by date and backup set ID.
- •CLI command: Run 'backupengine logs list' to see all recent runs, then 'backupengine logs show --run-id <ID>' to view a specific log.
- •Settings: The About screen shows the logs directory location with a quick link to open it.
View logs via CLI
# List all recent backup runs backupengine logs list # Show the last 5 runs backupengine logs list --limit 5 # Show runs for a specific backup set backupengine logs list --set-id "<BACKUP_SET_ID>" # View a specific run in detail backupengine logs show --run-id "<RUN_ID>"
Log File Contents
Each diagnostic log contains structured information about the backup run.
- •Timestamp: Start and end times of the backup.
- •Source and destination: Which backup set ran and where data was sent.
- •File scan: Number of files scanned, total size, and any exclusions applied.
- •Chunking summary: Number of chunks created, unique chunks, dedup savings.
- •Chunk details: For each chunk: content hash (SHA-256), size, encryption IV, upload latency to each destination.
- •Backend operations: Timing of API calls to Supabase (metadata updates), presigned URL generation, and error details.
- •Errors and warnings: Any permission denied, network timeout, quota exceeded, or other issues encountered.
Example log snippet
Run ID: backup-run-2026-04-22-T14-30-45-Z Backup Set: My Documents Status: SUCCESS Start: 2026-04-22T14:30:45Z End: 2026-04-22T14:31:22Z Files Scanned: 1,234 Total Size: 4.2 GB Excluded: 45 files (node_modules, temp, cache) Chunks Created: 892 Chunks Unique: 687 Dedup Saved: 205 MB (24.3%) Chunk Details (first 5): - 5a7f...: 18 KB, encrypted, 145 ms to cloud, 89 ms to local - 3c2e...: 22 KB, encrypted, 156 ms to cloud, 91 ms to local ... Errors: None
Sharing Logs with Support
When contacting support, include the relevant diagnostic log to help the team understand what went wrong.
- •Locate the log file in %APPDATA%\Backup Engine\diagnostic-runs\.
- •Attach it to your support ticket or email.
- •Alternatively, run 'backupengine logs show --run-id <ID>' and copy-paste the output.
- •For failed backups, attach the log from the failed run. For performance questions, include logs from a few recent runs.
💡 Tip
Before sharing logs, verify they do not contain sensitive paths or file names. You can ask support to review the log privately or redact sensitive details.
Log Retention and Cleanup
BackupEngine automatically manages log file retention to avoid consuming too much disk space.
- •Default retention: 30 days of diagnostic logs are kept.
- •Automatic cleanup: Logs older than the retention window are automatically archived.
- •Manual cleanup: You can delete individual log files from %APPDATA%\Backup Engine\diagnostic-runs\.
- •Customize retention: Use 'backupengine config set --log-retention 60' to keep logs for 60 days instead.