Configuring syslog for bash script logging

Question

I want to use syslog to do some bash script logging.

I see /etc/rsyslog.d/50-default.conf, but I'm new to syslog. I want to configure local0 for logging for my scripts.

Should I be editing this configuration file? It has a bizarre name that throws me off. Or should I be creating some new file for my configuration that gets read somehow?

I just want to follow established standards here.

Solution

You could use the utility logger, as in the following example:

logger -p local0.notice -t MYTAG "my message"

In the default rsyslog configuration, it will appear on /var/log/syslog as

Jul 11 12:16:23 enzotib-laptop MYTAG: my message

If you want to log to some other file, you should modify /etc/rsyslog.d/50-default.conf, or better add another files under the same directory.