.. _client_logfile_placement:

Logfile placement
-----------------

The ThinLinc client logs its activities in human readable log files. For
the common use case of running one client at a time, the log file is
always called :file:`tlclient.log`. Once the first client has been
closed and a second client is started, the log file of the first client
is renamed :file:`tlclient.old.log` and the second client creates its
log file, again called :file:`tlclient.log`. At most two log files are
kept at a time for this use case - one for the current client and one
for the most recently closed client. If the file
:file:`tlclient.old.log` exists before starting a client, that file will
be permanently deleted once the client is started.

Another, more rare use case is running two or more clients
simultaneously. The first log file is again called :file:`tlclient.log`
and the log files of any additional clients are called
:file:`tlclient2.log`, :file:`tlclient3.log`, and so on, up to a maximum
of nine active log files. Once the maximum number of active log files is
reached, any additional clients started will not have any log files
associated with them.

If a client with an associated log file is closed, that log file is
considered inactive. If a new client is started when less than nine log
files are active, the client will once again have a log file associated
with it. Note, however, that a client can *reuse* an inactive log name.
In this context, *reuse* means that if e.g. the client associated with
log file :file:`tlclient3.log` is closed and a new client is opened, it
is possible for the log file of the new client to again be named
:file:`tlclient3.log`.

Every time a new client is opened, all :file:`.old.log` files will be
permanently deleted and all inactive log files will be renamed from
:file:`.log` to :file:`.old.log`. That means that when running multiple
clients simultaneously, there can be several :file:`.log` files as well
as several :file:`.old.log` files.

The locations of the log files differ between Linux and Windows systems
and are explained below.

Linux log file
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Linux systems the logfile is located in the home directory for the
user that runs the ThinLinc client. The path is
:file:`~/.thinlinc/tlclient.log`.

Windows log file
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Windows systems the logfile is located in the directory referenced
from the :environ:`%TMP%` variable. The value of this variable can be
achieved by running any of the following commands in a Windows command
window.

.. code:: doscon

   C:\> echo %TMP%

or

.. code:: doscon

   C:\> set

Observe that some directories in the Windows :environ:`%TMP%` path may
be flagged as hidden by the Windows system. This means that you need to
change directory options to display hidden files and directories to
navigate to the log file.

macOS log file
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On macOS systems the logfile is located in the home directory for the
user that runs the ThinLinc client. The path is
:file:`~/.thinlinc/tlclient.log`.