Linux: Find a Log and Search Its Contents
Find an application log by filename, then use grep to locate and count failed requests. Work through it yourself in the live host terminal below.
Symptom
Find an application log by filename, then use grep to locate and count failed requests.
Your mission
Inspect, recover, then verify
Format
Linux shell
Investigate before you configure.
Use the CLI evidence to isolate the fault, make the smallest safe correction, then verify the network state changed.
Observe the symptom and link state.
Diagnose by comparing the protocol evidence.
Verify the expected device state and confirm the original symptom is resolved.
Console access: Linux
This workspace stacks for portrait phones. Rotate to landscape for the full split-screen console.
Need a hint?
Reveal the root cause when you're ready.
Try the investigation first, then use this as your escape hatch, not a dead end.
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Lab debrief
Turn the session into a repeatable troubleshooting pattern.
Use this reference after your attempt: first explain the symptom, then verify the evidence, then confirm the repair.
The problem
The webapp returned errors, but the log path is unknown and the file contains many routine entries.
What you'll practice
- Search a directory tree with find -name
- Keep filename patterns quoted
- Show matching line numbers with grep -n
- Count matching lines with grep -c
The topology
One Linux host has a webapp project with logs/access.log beneath the user's home directory.
Commands to run yourself
The real diagnostic commands for this lab, copy-paste ready. Run these in the same order to reproduce the investigation on your own session.
ls projects/webappfind projects/webapp -name '*.log'Topology diagram
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Fact-checked references
The commands and behaviour in this lab were checked against these primary references.
Frequently asked
Why quote the filename pattern?
Quoting keeps the shell from expanding wildcard characters before find sees them.
What does grep -c count?
Matching lines, not every occurrence within a line.
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