---
title: "Customize message format using macros and templates"
url: "https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/customizing-message-format/"
last_modified: "2023-06-27T21:08:08+02:00"
---

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/llms.txt).

# Customize message format using macros and templates

The following sections describe how to customize the names of logfiles, and also how to use templates, macros, and template functions.

- [Formatting messages, filenames, directories, and tablenames](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/customizing-message-format/concepts-macro/index.md) explains how macros work.
- [Modify messages using rewrite rules](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/modifying-messages/index.md) describes how to use macros and templates to format log messages or change the names of logfiles and database tables.
- [Macros of AxoSyslog](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/customizing-message-format/reference-macros/index.md) lists the different types of macros available in AxoSyslog.
- [Using template functions](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/customizing-message-format/template-functions/index.md) explains what template functions are and how to use them.
- [Template functions of AxoSyslog](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/customizing-message-format/reference-template-functions/index.md) lists the template functions available in AxoSyslog.

---

[Formatting messages, filenames, directories, and tablenames](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/customizing-message-format/concepts-macro/index.md)

[Templates and macros](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/customizing-message-format/configuring-macros/index.md)

[Date-related macros](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/customizing-message-format/date-macros/index.md)

[Hard versus soft macros](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/customizing-message-format/macros-hard-vs-soft/index.md)

[Macros of AxoSyslog](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/customizing-message-format/reference-macros/index.md)

[Using template functions](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/customizing-message-format/template-functions/index.md)

[Template functions of AxoSyslog](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/customizing-message-format/reference-template-functions/index.md)

[Modifying the on-the-wire message format](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/customizing-message-format/on-the-wire-format/index.md)

Last modified June 27, 2023: [Update paths to follow-up moving the files (6585a5b1)](https://github.com/axoflow/axosyslog-core-docs/commit/6585a5b156244e39bb831bf4e8289529f30dea0f)