---
name: "mfsmetalogger"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "moosefs"
version: "4.59.2-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/mfsmetalogger"
---

# mfsmetalogger(8)

start, restart or stop MooseFS metalogger process

## NAME

mfsmetalogger - start, restart or stop MooseFS metalogger process

## SYNOPSIS

**mfsmetalogger** \[**-c** *CFGFILE*\] \[**-f**\] \[**-d**\] \[**-u**\] \[**-n**\] \[**-t** *LOCKTIMEOUT*\] \[*ACTION*\]

**mfsmetalogger -v**

**mfsmetalogger -h**

## DESCRIPTION

**mfsmetalogger** is the metadata replication server of MooseFS.

## OPTIONS

- **-v**

  print version information and exit

- **-h**

  print usage information and exit

- **-c** *CFGFILE*

  specify alternative path of configuration file (default is **mfsmetalogger.cfg** in system configuration directory)

- **-f**

  run in foreground, don't daemonize

- **-d**

  run with dangerous options (names: DANGEROUS\_\*)

- **-u**

  log undefined configuration values (when default is assumed)

- **-n**

  do not attempt to increase limit of core dump size

- **-t** *LOCKTIMEOUT*

  how long to wait for lockfile (in seconds; default is 60 seconds)

- *ACTION*

  tells metalogger to perform one of the following actions:

  - start

    Start metalogger process if the process is not already running, otherwise display error message.

  - stop

    Stop metalogger process if the process is running, otherwise display error message.

  - restart

    (default action) If the metalogger process is running, restart it, if it's not running, start it.

  - reload

    Send a signal to metalogger process to reload config files.

  - info

    Send a signal to metalogger process to dump debug information file in working directory.

  - test

    Displays "mfsmetalogger pid: PID" if the metalogger is running (and return 0) or  "mfsmetalogger is not running" otherwise (and return 1).

  - kill

    Send termination signal to metalogger process.

  - restore

    Not implemented.

## FILES

- **mfsmetalogger.cfg**

  configuration file for MooseFS metalogger process; refer to [**mfsmetalogger.cfg**(5)](/mfsmetalogger.cfg/5.md) manual for details

- **.mfsmetalogger.lock**

  lock file of running MooseFS metalogger process (created in data directory)

- **changelog\_ml.**\***.mfs**

  MooseFS filesystem metadata change logs (backup of master change log files, created in data directory)

- **metadata.ml.mfs.back**

  Latest copy of complete metadata.mfs.back file from MooseFS master (created in data directory)

- **.mfsmetalogger\_info.txt**

  metalogger info file, created by sending the process INFO signal, with work parameters that can be used for debugging/support purposes (created in data directory)

## REPORTING BUGS

Report bugs to \<bugs@moosefs.com\>.

## COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 2026 Jakub Kruszona-Zawadzki, Saglabs SA

This file is part of MooseFS.

MooseFS is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, version 2 (only).

MooseFS is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, see \<https://www.gnu.org/licenses/\>.

## SEE ALSO

[**mfsmaster**(8)](/mfsmaster/8.md), [**mfsmetalogger.cfg**(5)](/mfsmetalogger.cfg/5.md)