---
title: Global Observability
description: A unified, searchable log stream from every container across all your stacks.
---

The **Logs** tab aggregates output from all running containers into a single scrollable view. Instead of tailing logs one container at a time, you see everything in one place - with filtering to focus on what matters.

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/global-observability/global-observability-overview.png" alt="Global Observability view showing real-time log lines from multiple containers" />
</Frame>

## Log format

Each line shows:

- **Timestamp** - when the log line was emitted
- **Stack name** - the Compose stack the container belongs to (colour-coded)
- **Container name** - the specific container
- **Level** - `INFO`, `WARN`, or `ERROR` (where detectable)
- **Message** - the raw log output

## Streaming modes

Sencho supports two modes for fetching logs, switchable via the **Developer mode** toggle:

| Mode | How it works | Best for |
|------|-------------|----------|
| **Standard** (default) | Polls all containers every N seconds (configurable in Settings → Developer) | General use; lower overhead |
| **Developer mode** | Server-Sent Events stream; logs arrive as they are emitted | Debugging; watching a specific event in real-time |

The default polling interval is 5 seconds. You can change it to 1, 3, 5, or 10 seconds in **Settings → Developer → Global Logs Refresh Rate**.

## Filtering logs

Use the controls above the log panel to narrow what you see:

| Control | What it does |
|---------|-------------|
| **Stack filter** | Multi-select dropdown - show only logs from chosen stacks |
| **Stream** | `ALL` / `STDOUT` / `STDERR` - filter by output stream |
| **Search** | Full-text filter on the message field (case-insensitive) |

Filters combine - you can show only `STDERR` from a specific stack while searching for a keyword.

## Controls

| Button | What it does |
|--------|-------------|
| **Clear** | Clears the current log buffer in the UI (does not delete logs from Docker) |
| **Auto-scroll** toggle | When enabled, the view scrolls to the bottom as new lines arrive |

## Capacity limits

To avoid browser memory issues, the log view keeps a maximum of **2,000 entries** in memory at a time. Older entries are dropped as new ones arrive. For deeper investigation, use the [per-container log viewer](/features/editor#log-viewer) in the Editor tab, or `docker compose logs` directly from the [Host Console](/features/host-console).

<Note>
  Log retention on the backend is controlled by **Settings → Developer → Log Retention Days** (default: 30 days). This affects historical logs stored in Sencho's database, not the live stream.
</Note>
