# Notes on reading kernel messages Note the following points when reading kernel messages on various platforms. * The kernel usually sends log messages to a special file (`/dev/kmsg` on BSDs, `/proc/kmsg` on Linux). The `file()` driver reads log messages from such files. The AxoSyslog application can periodically check the file for new log messages if the `follow-freq()` option is set. * On Linux, the `klogd` daemon can be used in addition to AxoSyslog to read kernel messages and forward them to `syslog-ng`. `klogd` used to preprocess kernel messages to resolve symbols and so on, but as this is deprecated by `ksymoops` there is really no point in running both `klogd` and AxoSyslog in parallel. Also note that running two processes reading `/proc/kmsg` at the same time might result in dead-locks. * When using AxoSyslog to read messages from the `/proc/kmsg` file, AxoSyslog automatically disables the `follow-freq()` parameter to avoid blocking the file. * To read the kernel messages on HP-UX platforms, use the following options in the source statement: ``` file("/dev/klog" program-override("kernel") flags(kernel) follow-freq(0)); ``` Last modified July 2, 2023: [Change highlight mode of code examples (2f8a9593)]()