System log

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of System log

    The System log in ServiceNow Australia release provides detailed tracking and visibility into instance processes, records, and non-critical events such as server memory usage. It captures a variety of activities and system events including workflows, configuration changes, chat sessions, page transactions, email processing, imports, integrations, system warnings, errors, script logs, and plugin or system upgrades.

    Show full answer Show less

    Log entries are retained for the current day only; to access older logs, customers must use the log file browser. System logs primarily serve diagnostic and maintenance functions to help identify and analyze system behavior and issues.

    Key Features

    • Message Levels: Logs are classified into Debug, Information, Warning, and Error levels, representing the severity and nature of events rather than required actions.
    • Message Attributes: Each log entry includes the timestamp (Created), severity level, a system-generated message, source process or area, and the application package involved.
    • Workflow Logging: Detailed tracking of workflow activities is available, including start and end times, state changes, results, fault descriptions, transition history, and workflow log statements.
    • Configuration Change Tracking: Captures detailed information about configuration actions such as inserts, updates, and deletes, including change category, comments, XML differences, update sets, timestamps, users, and affected objects.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Enables monitoring and troubleshooting of workflows, system processes, and application behavior in real time.
    • Helps identify and distinguish between routine informational messages and warnings or errors that may require investigation.
    • Provides transparency into configuration changes, supporting change management and audit requirements.
    • Improves system maintenance by allowing customers to review detailed event sources and package-related information, facilitating faster root cause analysis.

    View warnings and errors for instance processes, records, and non-critical events, such as memory usage on the server machine.

    The following information is tracked in the system log:

    • Workflows
    • Configuration
    • Chats sessions
    • Transactions for each view of each page in the system, including load times for network, server, and browser
    • Inbound and outbound email
    • Events triggered in the system
    • Imports and integrations
    • System warnings, errors, and script logs
    • Upgrade information for any plugin activations, update sets, or system upgrades

    Log entries appear for the current day only. To view other log files, use the log file browser.

    Syslog messages serve diagnostic and maintenance purposes. Log messages can have different owners and may not require action from all readers. Check the message source to determine relevance and ownership. The following fields describe the attributes of each message.

    Table 1. System log
    Field Description
    Created Date and time of the logging activity for the locale of the machine running the instance.
    Level The severity classification of the message. Levels indicate the nature of the event, not necessarily whether action is required. Messages are generated by the ServiceNow platform, installed applications, and custom scripts. The levels are Debug, Information, Warning, and Error.
    • Debug: Detailed diagnostic information, typically used during development or active troubleshooting.
    • Information: Confirmation that an operation completed as expected.
    • Warning: An unexpected condition was encountered, but the operation completed successfully. May require investigation depending on context and source.
    • Error: An operation failed or could not complete as intended. Instances can generate a high volume of Error messages, primarily from the platform itself. These do not necessarily indicate a platform issue and do not always require further investigation.
    Message System-generated message regarding the nature of the occurrence.
    Note:
    Long messages and stack traces are collapsed by default and can be expanded. To disable, see Disable stack trace formatting in system logs.
    Source Name of the process or area affected by the occurrence. For example, the source of the occurrence might be EMAIL or Memory.
    Source Package Name of the application package associated with the occurrence. Select the name to view the Store Application [sys_store_app] record for this package.

    Workflow logging

    • Each activity executed, including:
      • Date and time started
      • Date and time ended
      • State, for example, Finished, Cancelled, Timed Out, Error
      • Result
      • Fault description, if there was an error
    • Transition history, including:
      • Time of transition
      • Activity transitioned from
      • Activity transitioned to
      • Which transition was triggered
    • Workflow log, including any log statements added to the workflow

    Configuration information

    • Action taken, including insert, update, and delete
    • Category of change
    • Comments recorded with the change
    • Name of the change
    • XML difference of the change
    • Update set associated with the change
    • Date and time of the change
    • User who made the change
    • Table where the change was made
    • Name of the object being changed
    • Type of object being changed
    • View in which the change was made, for form or list changes