Monitoring Nginx Logs with ClickStack

service:
  pipelines:
    logs/nginx-demo:
      receivers: [filelog]
      processors:
        - memory_limiter
        - transform
        - batch
      exporters:
        - clickhouse
EOF
```

Run ClickStack with demo configuration

#### Run ClickStack with demo configuration[​](#run-demo "Direct link to Run ClickStack with demo configuration")

Run ClickStack with the demo logs and configuration:

```
docker run --name clickstack-demo \
  -p 8080:8080 -p 4317:4317 -p 4318:4318 \
  -e CUSTOM_OTELCOL_CONFIG_FILE=/etc/otelcol-contrib/custom.config.yaml \
  -v "$(pwd)/nginx-demo.yaml:/etc/otelcol-contrib/custom.config.yaml:ro" \
  -v "$(pwd)/access.log:/tmp/nginx-demo/access.log:ro" \
  clickhouse/clickstack-all-in-one:latest
```

Verify logs in HyperDX

#### Verify logs in HyperDX[​](#verify-demo-logs "Direct link to Verify logs in HyperDX")

Once ClickStack is running:

1. Open [HyperDX](http://localhost:8080/) and log in to your account (you may need to create an account first)
2. Navigate to the Search view and set the source to `Logs`
3. Set the time range to **2025-10-19 11:00:00 - 2025-10-22 11:00:00**

Here's what you should see in your search view:

Timezone Display

HyperDX displays timestamps in your browser's local timezone. The demo data spans 2025-10-20 11:00:00 - 2025-10-21 11:00:00 UTC. The wide time range ensures you'll see the demo logs regardless of your location. Once you see the logs, you can narrow the range to a 24-hour period for clearer visualizations.

## Dashboards and visualization[​](#dashboards "Direct link to Dashboards and visualization")

To help you get started monitoring nginx with ClickStack, we provide essential visualizations for Nginx Logs.

Download the dashboard configuration

#### [Download](/docs/examples/nginx-logs-dashboard.json) the dashboard configuration[​](#download "Direct link to download")

Import the pre-built dashboard

#### Import the pre-built dashboard[​](#import-dashboard "Direct link to Import the pre-built dashboard")

1. Open HyperDX and navigate to the Dashboards section.
2. Click "Import Dashboard" in the upper right corner under the ellipses.

3. Upload the nginx-logs-dashboard.json file and click finish import.

The dashboard will be created with all visualizations pre-configured

#### The dashboard will be created with all visualizations pre-configured[​](#created-dashboard "Direct link to The dashboard will be created with all visualizations pre-configured")

Note

For the demo dataset, set the time range to **2025-10-20 11:00:00 - 2025-10-21 11:00:00 (UTC)** (adjust based on your local timezone). The imported dashboard won't have a time range specified by default.

## Troubleshooting[​](#troubleshooting "Direct link to Troubleshooting")

### Custom config not loading[​](#troubleshooting-not-loading "Direct link to Custom config not loading")

- Verify the environment variable CUSTOM\_OTELCOL\_CONFIG\_FILE is set correctly

```
docker exec <container-name> printenv CUSTOM_OTELCOL_CONFIG_FILE
```

- Check that the custom config file is mounted at /etc/otelcol-contrib/custom.config.yaml

```
docker exec <container-name> ls -lh /etc/otelcol-contrib/custom.config.yaml
```

- View the custom config content to verify it's readable

```
docker exec <container-name> cat /etc/otelcol-contrib/custom.config.yaml
```

### No logs appearing in HyperDX[​](#no-logs "Direct link to No logs appearing in HyperDX")

- Ensure nginx is writing JSON logs

```
tail -f /var/log/nginx/access.log
```

- Check the collector can read the logs

```
docker exec `<container>` cat /var/log/nginx/access.log
```

- Verify the effective config includes your filelog receiver

```
docker exec `<container>` cat /etc/otel/supervisor-data/effective.yaml | grep filelog
```

- Check for errors in the collector logs

```
docker exec `<container>` cat /etc/otel/supervisor-data/agent.log
```

## Next steps[​](#next-steps "Direct link to Next steps")

- Set up [alerts](/docs/use-cases/observability/clickstack/alerts) for critical metrics (error rates, latency thresholds)
- Create additional [dashboards](/docs/use-cases/observability/clickstack/dashboards) for specific use cases (API monitoring, security events)

## Going to production[​](#going-to-production "Direct link to Going to production")

This guide extends ClickStack's built-in OpenTelemetry Collector for quick setup. For production deployments, we recommend running your own OTel Collector and sending data to ClickStack's OTLP endpoint. See [Sending OpenTelemetry data](/docs/use-cases/observability/clickstack/ingesting-data/opentelemetry) for production configuration.

- [Integration with existing Nginx](#existing-nginx)- [Demo dataset](#demo-dataset)- [Dashboards and visualization](#dashboards)- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
        - [Custom config not loading](#troubleshooting-not-loading)- [No logs appearing in HyperDX](#no-logs)- [Next steps](#next-steps)- [Going to production](#going-to-production)

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