rsyslog/README.md
Rainer Gerhards 97c7c68f5c
docs: streamline contrib templates and commit guidance
This modernizes contributor experience by simplifying PR templates and
removing the lengthy GDPR disclaimer that often discouraged or confused
new contributors. The update encourages more participation and shows how
responsible AI can be used to improve open source workflows.

Impact: none on runtime behavior; contributor workflow improved.

Before: PR template included long GDPR block; commit message rules were
scattered and partly implicit.
After: PR template is concise, GDPR text removed, and commit assistant
usage is documented across README, CONTRIBUTING, and AGENTS.md.

Technical changes include:
- PR template: drop GDPR notice, add commit-assistant references.
- CONTRIBUTING.md: add explicit commit rules and workflow guidance.
- AGENTS.md: require canonical base prompt and commit-first workflow.
- README.md: point to assistant and updated guidance.
- base_prompt.txt: enforce "Findings:" colon format.
- Minor formatting corrections in comments.
2025-08-18 13:59:53 +02:00

5.2 KiB

Rsyslog - What is it?

Help Contribute to Open Source

Rsyslog is a rocket-fast system for log processing.

It offers high-performance, advanced security features, and a modular design. Originally a regular syslogd, rsyslog has evolved into a highly versatile logging solution capable of ingesting data from numerous sources, transforming it, and outputting it to a wide variety of destinations.

Rsyslog can deliver over one million messages per second to local destinations under minimal processing (based on v7, Dec 2013). Even with complex routing and remote forwarding, performance remains excellent.


🤖 rsyslog Assistant (Experimental AI Help)

Need help with rsyslog configuration or troubleshooting? Try the rsyslog Assistant — your AI-powered support tool, built by the rsyslog team.

⚠️ Experimental. May occasionally generate incorrect config examples — always review before applying.

Trained on official docs and changelogs Covers both Linux rsyslog and Windows Agent Version-aware and best-practice focused

👉 Try it now: chatgpt.com/g/g-686f63c947688191abcbdd8d5d494626-rsyslog-assistant

Getting Help (Other Sources)


Installation

Via Distribution Package Managers

Rsyslog is available in the package repositories of most Linux distributions. On non-systemd systems (e.g., Ubuntu), rsyslog is often pre-installed.

Project-Provided Packages (for latest versions)

Distributions often lag behind in packaging the latest rsyslog releases. Official builds for newer versions are available here:

Building from Source

See: Build Instructions

Build Environment Requirements

  • pkg-config
  • libestr
  • liblogging (stdlog component, for testbench)

Build support libraries from source if you're working with the latest git master.

OS-specific Build Instructions

Refer to the respective section in the original README for required packages on CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian, SUSE, etc.

Development Containers & Testing

Ready-to-use build environments are provided in packaging/docker/dev_env. These images were previously built in the separate rsyslog-docker repository and are now maintained here. See packaging/docker/README.md for details. Runtime container definitions are in packaging/docker/rsyslog. Run the test suite inside the container with make check (limit to -j4).


Contributing

Rsyslog is a community-driven open-source project. Contributions are welcome and encouraged!

If you're working with AI coding agents (e.g. GitHub Copilot, OpenAI Codex), note that we support these workflows with agent-specific instructions in AGENTS.md.

Commit Assistant (recommended): Draft compliant commit messages with https://www.rsyslog.com/tool_rsyslog-commit-assistant (see rules in CONTRIBUTING.md). Put the substance into the commit message (amend before PR if needed).


AI-Based Code Review (Experimental)

We are currently testing AI-based code review for pull requests. At this time, we use Google Gemini to automatically analyze code and provide comments on new PRs.

  • These reviews are informational only.
  • Every contribution is still manually reviewed by human experts.
  • The goal is to evaluate how AI can support contributor feedback and code quality assurance.

Please report any issues, false positives, or suggestions about the AI review process.


Documentation

Documentation is located in the doc/ directory of this repository. Contributions to the documentation should be made there.

Visit the latest version online:


Project Philosophy

Rsyslog development is driven by real-world use cases, open standards, and an active community. While sponsored primarily by Adiscon, technical decisions are made independently via mailing list consensus.

All contributors are welcome—there is no formal membership beyond participation.


Project Funding

Adiscon GmbH supports rsyslog through:

  • Custom development services
  • Professional support contracts

Third-party contributions, services, and integrations are welcome.


Contributions to rsyslog are stored in git history and publicly distributed.