# View server log files

Use the Wowza Streaming Engine™ media server software REST API to retrieve and view the log files of a Wowza Streaming Engine instance.

> **Notes:**  
> - Wowza Streaming Engine 4.3.0 or later is required.  
> - PHP examples for the tasks in this article are available in the **tests** folder of the [PHP REST Library for Wowza Streaming Engine on GitHub](https://github.com/WowzaMediaSystems/wse-rest-library-php).

## Get a list of server log files

View a list of log files on a server. You can optionally specify the `order` parameter as `newestFirst` (the default) or `oldestFirst`:

Example request

```
curl -X GET \
  -H 'Accept:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
  -H 'Content-Type:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
  "http://localhost:8087/v2/servers/{serverName}/logfiles?order=newestFirst"
```

## View a log file

View details of a specific log file:

Example request

```
curl -X GET \
  -H 'Accept:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
  -H 'Content-Type:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
  "http://localhost:8087/v2/servers/{serverName}/logfiles/{logName}"
```

You can restrict the amount returned by using the `lineCount` parameter to specify the total number of log lines to return. The following call returns the `wowzastreamingengine_access.log` with the results limited to 100 lines:

Example request

```
curl -X GET \
  -H 'Accept:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
  -H 'Content-Type:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
  "http://localhost:8087/v2/servers/{serverName}/logfiles/wowzastreamingengine_access.log?lineCount=100"
```

## Search a log file

Search a log file for specific text by specifying the text with the `search` parameter:

Example request

```
curl -X GET \
  -H 'Accept:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
  -H 'Content-Type:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
  "http://localhost:8087/v2/servers/{serverName}/logfiles/{logName}?search={string-to-search}"
```

## More resources

Several other parameters allow you to customize the information you retrieve from a log file. In Swagger, go to the **servers** resource and view the `GET/v2/servers/{serverName}/logfiles/{logName}` endpoint for more information.