---
title: "Upgrade syslog-ng to AxoSyslog"
url: "https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/install/upgrade-syslog-ng/"
last_modified: "2026-10-02T12:51:48+02:00"
---

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

# Upgrade syslog-ng to AxoSyslog

If you’re already using `syslog-ng`, you can upgrade your existing `syslog-ng` deployments to AxoSyslog in a matter of minutes, by simply installing AxoSyslog on the host.

If you already run AxoSyslog and want to upgrade it to a newer version, see [Upgrade AxoSyslog to a newer version](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/install/upgrade-axosyslog/index.md).

We assume that you’ve installed `syslog-ng` from the repositories of your distribution. To upgrade to AxoSyslog, complete the following steps.

1. Check that the syslog-ng service is running:

   ```shell
   sudo systemctl status syslog-ng
   ```

   The output will look something like:

   ```shell
   syslog-ng.service - System Logger Daemon
    Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/syslog-ng.service; enabled; preset>
    Active: active (running) since Thu 2025-02-27 17:04:28 CET; 11s ago
      Docs: man:syslog-ng(8)
   Main PID: 254 (syslog-ng)
     Tasks: 2 (limit: 9594)
    Memory: 19.6M (peak: 20.8M)
       CPU: 215ms
    CGroup: /system.slice/syslog-ng.service
            └─254 "[rosetta]" /usr/sbin/syslog-ng /usr/sbin/syslog-ng -F
   ```
2. Check the version of `syslog-ng` you have by running:

   ```shell
   syslog-ng --version
   ```

   The output will start with something like:

   ```shell
   syslog-ng 4 (4.8.1)
   Config version: 4.2
   Installer-Version: 4.8.1
   ```
3. Add the AxoSyslog repository for your distribution and install AxoSyslog. For details, see the installation sections:

   - [Install AxoSyslog on Debian/Ubuntu](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/install/debian-ubuntu/index.md)
   - [Install AxoSyslog on RHEL/Fedora/AlmaLinux](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/install/rhel-fedora-almalinux/index.md)

   The installation replaces the `syslog-ng` packages with AxoSyslog packages, but provides the same binaries (for example, `/usr/sbin/syslog-ng`). It will keep using the existing configuration files (`/etc/syslog-ng/syslog-ng.conf`), certificates, and so on.
4. Check that the `syslog-ng` service is still running:

   ```shell
   sudo systemctl status syslog-ng
   ```

   The output should be identical to the earlier result:

   ```shell
   syslog-ng.service - System Logger Daemon
    Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/syslog-ng.service; enabled; preset>
    Active: active (running) since Thu 2025-02-27 17:07:41 CET; 42s ago
      Docs: man:syslog-ng(8)
   Main PID: 1936 (syslog-ng)
     Tasks: 2 (limit: 9594)
    Memory: 79.9M (peak: 83.1M)
       CPU: 462ms
    CGroup: /system.slice/syslog-ng.service
            └─1936 "[rosetta]" /usr/sbin/syslog-ng /usr/sbin/syslog-ng -F
   ```
5. Check the version of `syslog-ng` you have by running:

   ```shell
   syslog-ng --version
   ```

   You’ll see that now you’re running AxoSyslog:

   ```shell
   axosyslog 4 (4.10.1)
   Config version: 4.2
   Installer-Version: 4.10.1
   ```

In case you run into any issues, [contact us](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/support/index.md).

Last modified October 2, 2026: [Adds an upgrade axosyslog page (7fbe98d3)](https://github.com/axoflow/axosyslog-core-docs/commit/7fbe98d3405a8ccc30ac1cfda341edcd3b3ace77)