Activity Logs
Track all SSH connections, file transfers, and user actions with comprehensive activity logging.
What Are Activity Logs?
Simple Explanation: Activity logs track what YOU do in Xermius—every connection, file transfer, command executed, and setting changed. It's your personal activity history.
Difference from Application Logs:
Application Logs: Activity Logs:
System events vs User actions
Technical errors vs What you did
Troubleshooting vs Activity tracking
Developer focus vs User focus
Viewing Activity Logs
Access:
Hosts Tab → Activity Logs
or
Dashboard → Recent Activity
Activity Log Interface
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Activity Logs [⋯] │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Search activity...] [Type ▼] [Time ▼] │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 📊 Today: 45 actions | 12 connections │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ● 10:45 Connected to Production Server │
│ SSH → production.example.com:22 │
│ Duration: 2h 15m │
│ [View Details] │
│ │
│ ⬆ 10:30 File Upload Completed │
│ SFTP → staging.example.com │
│ app.zip (5.2 MB) │
│ [View Details] │
│ │
│ ⚙ 09:15 Settings Changed │
│ General → Theme changed to Dark │
│ [View Details] │
│ │
│ + 09:00 Host Added │
│ dev-server-03 → 192.168.1.103 │
│ [View Details] │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Activity Types
SSH Connections
Connected:
● Connected to Production Server
Time: 10:45:32
Host: production.example.com
User: deploy
Port: 22
Method: Password
Disconnected:
○ Disconnected from Production Server
Time: 12:30:45
Duration: 2h 15m 13s
Reason: User closed
Connection Failed:
✗ Connection Failed: Staging Server
Time: 10:20:15
Host: staging.example.com
Error: Authentication failed
Attempts: 3
File Operations
File Upload:
⬆ File Upload Completed
File: deployment.zip
Size: 5.2 MB
From: /Users/you/Desktop/
To: /var/www/html/
Duration: 3.5s
Speed: 1.48 MB/s
File Download:
⬇ File Download Completed
File: database-backup.sql
Size: 125 MB
From: /backups/
To: /Users/you/Downloads/
Duration: 45s
Speed: 2.78 MB/s
Directory Upload:
⬆ Directory Upload Completed
Directory: app/
Files: 127
Total size: 45 MB
Duration: 2m 15s
Host Management
Host Added:
+ Host Added
Name: dev-server-03
Host: 192.168.1.103
User: ubuntu
Port: 22
Host Updated:
✎ Host Updated: Production Server
Changed: Port 22 → 2222
Changed: User deploy → admin
Host Deleted:
🗑 Host Deleted
Name: old-server
Host: 192.168.1.50
Reason: Server decommissioned
Port Forwarding
Tunnel Created:
⚡ Port Forward Started
Type: Local
Local: 3306 → Remote: 3306
Host: production.example.com
Status: Active
Tunnel Stopped:
⚡ Port Forward Stopped
Local: 3306
Duration: 1h 30m
Data transferred: 250 MB
Settings Changes
Theme Changed:
⚙ Settings Changed
Category: Appearance
Theme: Light → Dark
Sync Enabled:
⚙ Settings Changed
Category: Sync
Cloud Sync: Disabled → Enabled
Server: sync.xermius.com
Activity Details
Click any activity for full details:
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Activity Details [✕] │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Type: SSH Connection │
│ Action: Connected │
│ Time: 2024-01-17 10:45:32 │
│ │
│ ─── Connection Details ───────────────────── │
│ Host: production.example.com │
│ IP: 54.123.45.67 │
│ Port: 22 │
│ User: deploy │
│ Method: Password │
│ │
│ ─── Session Information ──────────────────── │
│ Session ID: sess_abc123xyz │
│ Started: 10:45:32 │
│ Ended: 12:30:45 │
│ Duration: 2h 15m 13s │
│ │
│ ─── Additional Info ──────────────────────── │
│ Terminal: xterm-256color │
│ Shell: /bin/bash │
│ Tunnels: 2 active │
│ Commands: 127 executed │
│ │
│ [Export] [Close] │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Filtering Activities
By Type
[Type ▼]
○ All activities
○ SSH connections
○ File transfers
○ Host management
○ Port forwarding
○ Settings changes
○ Snippets used
○ Sync events
Examples:
Review connections:
Type: SSH connections
→ See all connection activity
Check file transfers:
Type: File transfers
→ See uploads/downloads
Audit changes:
Type: Host management, Settings
→ See what was changed
By Time
[Time ▼]
○ All time
○ Today
○ Yesterday
○ Last 7 days
○ Last 30 days
○ Last 90 days
○ Custom range...
Use cases:
Daily review:
Time: Today
Weekly summary:
Time: Last 7 days
Monthly report:
Time: Last 30 days
Specific incident:
Time: Custom range
Jan 15 10:00 - Jan 15 12:00
By Host
[Host ▼]
○ All hosts
○ production.example.com
○ staging.example.com
○ dev-server-01
...
Track specific server:
Host: production.example.com
Time: Last 7 days
Shows all activity for that server:
- Connections
- File transfers
- Port forwards
- Commands
Search
Search box:
[Search activity... 🔍]
Search by:
- Host name
- File name
- User name
- IP address
- Action type
Examples:
Search: "production"
→ All production-related activity
Search: "deploy.sh"
→ All activities involving deploy.sh
Search: "failed"
→ All failed actions
Search: "192.168.1.100"
→ Activity for that IP
Activity Statistics
Daily Summary
┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Today's Activity │
├────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Total Actions: 45 │
│ │
│ SSH Connections: 12 │
│ Successful: 11 (92%) │
│ Failed: 1 (8%) │
│ │
│ File Transfers: 8 │
│ Uploads: 5 │
│ Downloads: 3 │
│ Total data: 127 MB │
│ │
│ Port Forwards: 4 │
│ Active now: 2 │
│ │
│ Most Used Host: │
│ production.example.com (7 times) │
└────────────────────────────────────┘
Weekly Report
┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Last 7 Days │
├────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Total Actions: 287 │
│ │
│ By Day: │
│ Mon: ████████████ 52 │
│ Tue: ██████████ 41 │
│ Wed: ███████████████ 68 │
│ Thu: █████████ 38 │
│ Fri: ████████████ 51 │
│ Sat: ███ 18 │
│ Sun: ████ 19 │
│ │
│ Peak Activity: │
│ Wed 10:00 - 11:00 (15 actions) │
│ │
│ Connection Success Rate: │
│ 95.2% (123/129) │
└────────────────────────────────────┘
Exporting Activity Logs
Export Options
Menu (⋯) → Export
→ Export All Activity
→ Export Filtered Activity
→ Export as Report
Export Formats
JSON:
{
"activities": [
{
"id": "act_123",
"type": "ssh_connection",
"action": "connected",
"timestamp": "2024-01-17T10:45:32.000Z",
"host": {
"id": "host_abc",
"name": "Production Server",
"hostname": "production.example.com"
},
"details": {
"user": "deploy",
"port": 22,
"duration": 8113
}
}
],
"summary": {
"total": 287,
"period": "last_7_days"
}
}
CSV:
Time,Type,Action,Host,User,Details
2024-01-17 10:45:32,SSH,Connected,production.example.com,deploy,"Duration: 2h 15m"
2024-01-17 10:30:15,SFTP,Upload,staging.example.com,admin,"File: app.zip, Size: 5.2MB"
Report (HTML):
Activity Report
Generated: January 17, 2024
Summary:
- Total Activities: 287
- Period: Last 7 days
- Success Rate: 95.2%
Detailed Activities:
[Table with all activities, formatted nicely]
Use Cases
Use Case 1: Security Audit
Track all access:
1. Open Activity Logs
2. Filter:
Type: SSH connections
Time: Last 30 days
3. Review:
- Who connected when
- From where
- Connection durations
- Failed attempts
4. Export report for compliance
Use Case 2: Troubleshoot Deployment
What happened during deploy?
1. Set time range:
Jan 17, 09:00 - 11:00
2. Filter:
Host: production.example.com
3. See sequence:
09:15 Connected
09:20 Uploaded app.zip
09:25 Extracted files
09:30 Restarted service
09:35 Connection closed
4. Identify any issues
Use Case 3: Track File Transfers
Monitor uploads/downloads:
1. Filter:
Type: File transfers
Time: Today
2. Review:
- What was transferred
- File sizes
- Transfer speeds
- Success/failures
3. Verify deployment files uploaded
Use Case 4: Team Activity
What did team members do?
Multi-device sync enabled:
1. View activity logs
2. Each device's actions logged
3. See team activity:
- Who connected where
- What files transferred
- What changes made
4. Coordinate better
Use Case 5: Performance Analysis
Connection patterns:
1. Export last 30 days
2. Analyze:
- Peak usage times
- Average connection duration
- Most used servers
- Transfer volumes
3. Optimize workflows
Activity Log Settings
Settings → Activity Logs:
Activity Tracking:
[✓] Enable activity logging
[✓] Track SSH connections
[✓] Track file transfers
[✓] Track host changes
[✓] Track settings changes
[ ] Track terminal commands
Retention:
Keep activity logs for:
○ 30 days
● 90 days (recommended)
○ 1 year
○ Forever
Privacy:
[ ] Include terminal commands in logs
[✓] Anonymize sensitive data
[✓] Encrypt logs at rest
Storage:
Activity logs location: ~/Library/Application Support/Xermius/
Current size: 15.3 MB
Managing Activity Logs
Auto-Cleanup
Automatic cleanup:
[✓] Delete old activities
Delete activities older than: 90 days
Next cleanup: In 15 days
Estimated deletion: ~500 entries
Manual Cleanup
Menu (⋯) → Clear Activities
→ Delete activities older than 30 days
→ Delete activities older than 90 days
→ Delete all activities
Warning prompt:
┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Delete Old Activities? │
├────────────────────────────────────┤
│ This will permanently delete: │
│ 543 activity entries │
│ (older than 90 days) │
│ │
│ ⚠️ This cannot be undone │
│ │
│ Tip: Export before deleting │
│ │
│ [Cancel] [Delete] │
└────────────────────────────────────┘
Tips & Best Practices
1. Regular Review
Daily: Check today's activity
Weekly: Review connection patterns
Monthly: Export for records
2. Use for Security
Monitor:
- Unusual connection times
- Failed login attempts
- Unknown IP addresses
- Unexpected file transfers
Set up notifications for suspicious activity
3. Deployment Tracking
Before deployment:
1. Note current time
2. Perform deployment
3. Review activity log
4. Verify all steps completed
5. Export deployment report
4. Compliance & Auditing
For compliance:
1. Enable all activity tracking
2. Set retention to 1 year
3. Regular exports (monthly)
4. Store securely
5. Review for audits
5. Performance Insights
Analyze patterns:
- Peak usage hours
- Slowest connections
- Large file transfers
- Frequent actions
Optimize based on insights
Troubleshooting
No Activities Shown
Check settings:
Settings → Activity Logs
[✓] Enable activity logging
If disabled, no new activities logged
Activities Disappeared
Check retention:
Settings → Activity Logs → Retention
Keep logs for: 30 days
Older logs auto-deleted
Export important ones!
Large Log Files
Reduce size:
1. Clear old activities
2. Reduce retention period
3. Disable command tracking
4. Export and archive
Next Steps
- 📋 Application Logs - System logs
- 🔔 Notifications - Activity alerts
- 🔐 Security - Security best practices
- ⚙️ Settings - Configure activity tracking