- Reference
- Version · 5.2
- Reference guide
log-file
Last updated: August 12, 2026
To log execution details of any command, use the log-file parameter. The log-file parameter sends logging messages of what Liquibase does during runtime to a file.
Uses
By default, Liquibase sends command output to STDOUT (the console). However, you can use log-file to record this information in a permanent location.
If you want to set the log level for your log file, you also need to specify the log-level parameter. If you don't specify the log-level parameter, the default log value will be SEVERE.
Example: log-file
liquibase --log-level=debug --log-file=../the/path/to/my/logs update
Example: log-file and output-file
To get the log and output information from a command, use the log-file and output-file parameters simultaneously:
liquibase --output-file=mysnapshot.json --log-level=debug --log-file=liquibase.log snapshot
Compressing log files
Log files can become very large. Liquibase supports compressing log files automatically when the file name ends with .gz.
Example command to compress a log file
liquibase --log-level=debug --log-file=../the/path/to/my/logs.gz update
In this example, Liquibase writes the log output as a compressed .gz file without requiring any additional information.
Syntax
You can set this parameter in the following ways:
Option | Syntax |
Liquibase properties file (defaults file) |
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Global flow file argument |
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Global CLI parameter |
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JVM system property (JAVA_OPTS environment variable) | Unix:
Windows:
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Liquibase environment variable |
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