/var/log/messages

This wiki page is about a path or a file in the Linux file system. Be bold and improve it! Describe its purpose and its use, which program created it and uses it, which configuration settings it might be dependent on, and which Linux distributions typically have this file by default while others might not.

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This file is the linux system's general logs.

Where is the format of the file defined / configured?

The format of the file include a timestamp, the name of the host and then the name of the script responsible for the log entry.
For details about important log entries, refer to the script or application for the entry.

Here is existing documentation: