Get Log File Changes
Scenario
Get Log File Changes
There are sometimes that we would like to know if there is a new content in a specific log file and we need to know the new content. The idea came out from Fasyx in a Reddit post. Below is the request of Fasyx exactly as provided in the post.
I have a simple .log file which I want to monitor. I’m looking, if possible, for the following possibilities:
- ​Every time something gets appended to the file, an event should be raised. Given that a new line was appended, I also would like to be able to get the content of the appended line, so I can react on it.
- Contrary to the first approach, I don’t want to ‘watch’ the file all the time: I want to check it in a time interval (e.g. 3 minutes) and get the appended content since the last check.
Is something like this possible using powershell (keep in mind, I care about the file content)
In this post I will provide you with a simple script the is able to perform what Fasyx requested above.
Script details
In general, the script will get the content of the log file and with the use of a temp file, it compares the content and it will provide the user with the differences. After the script will find the differences it will provide them to the pre-configured user. The script is quite static but it does the job.
Declaration of variables
First we will need to declare our variables that will be used during the process. The below variables are used to send the email to the user.
$PasswordFile variable includes the encrypted password of the user that will send the email. $Key variable includes the key to decrypt the content of $PasswordFile. $EmailUser includes the user that will authenticate in Exchage Online to send the email. $Password variable will include the password that will be used during the authentication with Exchange Online to send the email. $EmailCredentials variable will include the credentials object that we will use to send email. $To variable need to include all recipients that will get the email with the new content of the log file.
$From is the user that will sent the email. This is will be shown as from in the email. $EmailResult variable is an empty string. We ensure that the email that we will compose will not have any other value during the setup of email. $EmailUp and $EmailDown variables include part of the HTML code that will compose the HTML email report.
Code:
$PasswordFile = "C:\Scripts\Password.txt" $Key = (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32) $EmailUser = "[email protected]" $Password = Get-Content $PasswordFile | ConvertTo-SecureString -Key $Key $EmailCredentials = New-Object -TypeName System.Management.Automation.PSCredential -ArgumentList $EmailUser,$Password $To = '[email protected]','[email protected]' $From = '[email protected]' $EmailResult = "" $EmailUp = @" <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-wp-preserve="%3Cstyle%3E%0D%0A%0D%0Abody%20%7B%20font-family%3ASegoe%2C%20%22Segoe%20UI%22%2C%20%22DejaVu%20Sans%22%2C%20%22Trebuchet%20MS%22%2C%20Verdana%2C%20sans-serif%20!important%3B%20color%3A%23434242%3B%7D%0D%0ATABLE%20%7B%20font-family%3ASegoe%2C%20%22Segoe%20UI%22%2C%20%22DejaVu%20Sans%22%2C%20%22Trebuchet%20MS%22%2C%20Verdana%2C%20sans-serif%20!important%3B%20border-width%3A%201px%3Bborder-style%3A%20solid%3Bborder-color%3A%20black%3Bborder-collapse%3A%20collapse%3B%7D%0D%0ATR%20%7Bborder-width%3A%201px%3Bpadding%3A%2010px%3Bborder-style%3A%20solid%3Bborder-color%3A%20white%3B%20%7D%0D%0ATD%20%7Bfont-family%3ASegoe%2C%20%22Segoe%20UI%22%2C%20%22DejaVu%20Sans%22%2C%20%22Trebuchet%20MS%22%2C%20Verdana%2C%20sans-serif%20!important%3B%20border-width%3A%201px%3Bpadding%3A%2010px%3Bborder-style%3A%20solid%3Bborder-color%3A%20white%3B%20background-color%3A%23C3DDDB%3B%7D%0D%0A.colorm%20%7Bbackground-color%3A%2358A09E%3B%20color%3Awhite%3B%7D%0D%0A.colort%7Bbackground-color%3A%2358A09E%3B%20padding%3A20px%3B%20color%3Awhite%3B%20font-weight%3Abold%3B%7D%0D%0A.colorn%7Bbackground-color%3Atransparent%3B%7D%0D%0A%3C%2Fstyle%3E" data-mce-resize="false" data-mce-placeholder="1" class="mce-object" width="20" height="20" alt="<style>" title="<style>" /> <body> <h3>Script has been completed successfully</h3> <h4>Log file changes:</h4> <table> <tr> <td class="colort">Changes</td> </tr> "@ $EmailDown = @" </table> </body> "@
The next variables are related to the data that the script will process later. $LogFile variable will contain the path of the log file that we need to check. $Checkfile variable will contain the path of a file that we will have in order to compare the content of the file and then update it to keep always the current. $OldLogContent variable will content the content of the file that we keep for the comparison. $NewLogContent variable will contain the content of our log file. $Difference variable compares the two variables with the contact of the files and keeps an object with the differences.
Code:
$LogFile = "C:\SourcePath\LogFile.log" $CheckFile = "C:\Scripts\Files\CheckFile.txt" $OldLogContent = Get-Content -Path $CheckFile $NewLogContent = Get-Content -Path $LogFile $Difference = Compare-Object $OldLogContent $NewLogContent
Processing of data
After all variables have been configured and filled, the script will check if the $Difference variable is empty or not so we will continue to find the new content of the log file. If the variable is not empty, for each value we keep the content only, we add the content in our file that we keep for the comparison, and then we fill a temporary variable that will compile and complete the final email report. By adding each difference to our check file we ensure that we always keep the current logs for comparison.
Code:
if ($Difference -ne ""){
Foreach ($DifferenceValue in $Difference){
$DifferenceValueIndicator = $DifferenceValue.SideIndicator
If ($DifferenceValueIndicator -eq "=>"){
$NewContentOnly = $DifferenceValue.InputObject
Add-Content -Path $CheckFile -Value $NewContentOnly
$EmailTemp = @"
<tr>
<td>$NewContentOnly</td>
</tr>
"@
$EmailResult = $EmailResult + $EmailTemp}}}
$Email = $EmailUp + $EmailResult + $EmailDown
Send email report
After everything is ready we will send our email report. The script will check if the email is emprty or not. If the email is empty, no email will be send to the recipients. If there differences then an email will be send containing each difference in a new line. Currently the script uses Exchange Online to send emails. If you have a different setup you will need to your own settings to send the email.
Code:
if ($EmailResult -ne ""){
$EmailParameters = @{
To = $To
Subject = "Log File Changed $(Get-Date -format dd/MM/yyyy)"
Body = $Email
BodyAsHtml = $True
Priority = "High"
UseSsl = $True
Port = "587"
SmtpServer = "smtp.office365.com"
Credential = $EmailCredentials
From = $From}
send-mailmessage @EmailParameters
}
You can download the script here or copy it from below. (Note that code within the script might not be copied correctly due to syntax highlighting.)
Hope you like it.
You feedback is appreciated.
If you have any questions or anything else please let me know in the comments below.
Related Links
- PowerShell Scripts
- PowerShell Tutorials
- Encrypt password with key using PowerShell
- Send Email using PowerShell
- Get-Content – Microsoft Docs
- ConvertTo-SecureString – Microsoft Docs
- New-Object – Microsoft Docs
- Compare-Object – Microsoft Docs
- Add-Content – Microsoft Docs
- Get-Date – Microsoft Docs
- Send-MailMessage – Microsoft Docs
Solution / Script
<# .SYNOPSIS Name: Get-LogFileChanges.ps1 The purpose of this script is to monitor and inform you when there is new information in a log file. .DESCRIPTION This is a simple script that needs to be configured as a Scheduled task or schedule job in order to monitor a specific log file and any additional entry. .RELATED LINKSHome.NOTES Version: 1.0 Release Date: 06-09-2018 Author: Stephanos Constantinou .EXAMPLE Run the Get-LogFileChanges.ps1 script. .\Get-LogFileChanges.ps1 #> $PasswordFile = "C:\Scripts\Password.txt" $Key = (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32) $EmailUser = "[email protected]" $Password = Get-Content $PasswordFile | ConvertTo-SecureString -Key $Key $EmailCredentials = New-Object -TypeName System.Management.Automation.PSCredential -ArgumentList $EmailUser,$Password $To = '[email protected]','[email protected]' $From = '[email protected]' $LogFile = "C:\SourcePath\LogFile.log" $CheckFile = "C:\Scripts\Files\CheckFile.txt" $EmailResult = "" $OldLogContent = Get-Content -Path $CheckFile $NewLogContent = Get-Content -Path $LogFile $Difference = Compare-Object $OldLogContent $NewLogContent $PasswordFile = "C:\Scripts\Password.txt" $Key = (5,10,20,40,80,160,2,4,8,16,32,64,128,3,6,12,24,48,96,192,7,14,28,56,112,224,9,18,36,72,144,1) $EmailUser = "[email protected]" $Password = Get-Content $PasswordFile | ConvertTo-SecureString -Key $Key $EmailCredentials = New-Object -TypeName System.Management.Automation.PSCredential -ArgumentList $EmailUser,$Password $To = '[email protected]' $From = '[email protected]' $EmailUp = @" <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-wp-preserve="%3Cstyle%3E%0D%0A%0D%0Abody%20%7B%20font-family%3ASegoe%2C%20%22Segoe%20UI%22%2C%20%22DejaVu%20Sans%22%2C%20%22Trebuchet%20MS%22%2C%20Verdana%2C%20sans-serif%20!important%3B%20color%3A%23434242%3B%7D%0D%0ATABLE%20%7B%20font-family%3ASegoe%2C%20%22Segoe%20UI%22%2C%20%22DejaVu%20Sans%22%2C%20%22Trebuchet%20MS%22%2C%20Verdana%2C%20sans-serif%20!important%3B%20border-width%3A%201px%3Bborder-style%3A%20solid%3Bborder-color%3A%20black%3Bborder-collapse%3A%20collapse%3B%7D%0D%0ATR%20%7Bborder-width%3A%201px%3Bpadding%3A%2010px%3Bborder-style%3A%20solid%3Bborder-color%3A%20white%3B%20%7D%0D%0ATD%20%7Bfont-family%3ASegoe%2C%20%22Segoe%20UI%22%2C%20%22DejaVu%20Sans%22%2C%20%22Trebuchet%20MS%22%2C%20Verdana%2C%20sans-serif%20!important%3B%20border-width%3A%201px%3Bpadding%3A%2010px%3Bborder-style%3A%20solid%3Bborder-color%3A%20white%3B%20background-color%3A%23C3DDDB%3B%7D%0D%0A.colorm%20%7Bbackground-color%3A%2358A09E%3B%20color%3Awhite%3B%7D%0D%0A.colort%7Bbackground-color%3A%2358A09E%3B%20padding%3A20px%3B%20color%3Awhite%3B%20font-weight%3Abold%3B%7D%0D%0A.colorn%7Bbackground-color%3Atransparent%3B%7D%0D%0A%3C%2Fstyle%3E" data-mce-resize="false" data-mce-placeholder="1" class="mce-object" width="20" height="20" alt="<style>" title="<style>" /> <body> <h3>Script has been completed successfully</h3> <h4>Log file changes:</h4> <table> <tr> <td class="colort">Changes</td> </tr> "@ $EmailDown = @" </table> </body> "@ if ($Difference -ne ""){ Foreach ($DifferenceValue in $Difference){ $DifferenceValueIndicator = $DifferenceValue.SideIndicator If ($DifferenceValueIndicator -eq "=>"){ $NewContentOnly = $DifferenceValue.InputObject Add-Content -Path $CheckFile -Value $NewContentOnly $EmailTemp = @" <tr> <td>$NewContentOnly</td> </tr> "@ $EmailResult = $EmailResult + $EmailTemp}}} $Email = $EmailUp + $EmailResult + $EmailDown if ($EmailResult -ne ""){ $EmailParameters = @{ To = $To Subject = "Log File Changed $(Get-Date -format dd/MM/yyyy)" Body = $Email BodyAsHtml = $True Priority = "High" UseSsl = $True Port = "587" SmtpServer = "smtp.office365.com" Credential = $EmailCredentials From = $From} send-mailmessage @EmailParameters }
Great script, thank you for sharing. I’m sure this will come in useful one day for me