New rsyslog AI Assistant — powered by DigitalOcean Gradient
We are excited to introduce a second rsyslog Assistant, now live at rsyslog.ai. It runs on the DigitalOcean Gradient platform and uses the Llama 3.3 Instruct (70B) open-source model — offering no-login, privacy-friendly, and open access to rsyslog expertise.
Modern Snare-Format Parsing Arrives: Introducing the mmsnareparse Module
Last September, Rainer Gerhards revisited a long-standing challenge: normalizing legacy Windows Snare logs for use in modern observability pipelines.
In his article Revisiting old style Windows Log Schema Mapping, he explored heuristic and AI-assisted methods to better handle these still-prevalent formats.
That effort has now resulted in production-ready code: the new mmsnareparse module — already part of the daily stable build and scheduled for inclusion in the 8.2510.0 stable release.
We’re looking for testers right now.
If your systems still forward Windows Security logs in Snare format, please deploy mmsnareparse and let us know how it performs in your environment.
Real-world feedback will directly shape future development.
DigitalOcean Renews Sponsorship – A Strong Foundation for rsyslog Innovation
We are pleased to announce that DigitalOcean has renewed its sponsorship of the rsyslog project. The partnership between rsyslog and DigitalOcean has been in place for many years and continues to be an essential part of our technical infrastructure.
CI extended: Debian 13, openEuler 24.03-LTS, Fedora 42, Debian sid
TL;DR: We added Debian 13, openEuler 24.03-LTS, Fedora 42, and Debian sid to rsyslog CI. We retired Ubuntu 18.04. CI runs use GitHub-hosted runners plus self-hosted workers, with infrastructure sponsored by GitHub, DigitalOcean, opencsv, and Adiscon.
Rsyslog project update: faster reviews, clearer process
Summary
We are tightening our contribution workflow to improve review speed and predictability. Expect reasonable turnaround times, not instant responses. This is rolling out now.
What changes now
- Initial PR look: Maintainer aims to glance at each new PR within 3 business days.
- AI review on PRs: Runs automatically on open. In our experience it is 90%+ correct and provides actionable items.
- Full review trigger: Deeper maintainer review typically follows when CI is green and AI items are fixed or clearly explained.
- Old issues policy: No mass closures. We are revisiting older items with AI assist and closing them for the right reasons, often by implementing what is needed.
- Labels and dashboards: We are formalizing labels (including good first issue) and lightweight dashboards to make navigation and triage easier. Details will follow in a separate post.
- Responsible AI First: We use AI to speed feedback, but only where it adds real value and the results make sense.
rsyslog 8.2508.0 (2025.08) – release announcement
Download: https://www.rsyslog.com/files/download/rsyslog/rsyslog-8.2508.0.tar.gz
Project-provided packages are building now and are expected later today. Ubuntu PPAs are already done.
We are excited to ship a large and meaningful rsyslog release. This cycle advances our responsible “AI First” strategy and moves decisively toward cloud native operations. It also delivers major quality, security, and documentation improvements.
Continue reading “rsyslog 8.2508.0 (2025.08) – release announcement”New Notification Channels for Rsyslog News
There are now two additional ways to get rsyslog news:
These channels are operated by maintainer Rainer Gerhards. They are meant for people who find it convenient to receive rsyslog updates via messenger platforms.
Continue reading “New Notification Channels for Rsyslog News”Introducing the rsyslog commit AI assistant
We are adding a new helper to our Responsible AI First toolbox: the rsyslog commit (message) assistant. It is an optional ChatGPT Custom GPT that helps contributors write clear, policy-compliant commit messages faster. You stay in full control. Nothing in your workflow changes unless you want it to.
It follows our responsible “AI First” strategy and is optional, transparent, and keeps the human in full control.
- Use it in your browser: https://www.rsyslog.com/tool_rsyslog-commit-assistant
- Review its exact behavior (full transparency):
https://github.com/rsyslog/rsyslog/blob/main/ai/rsyslog_commit_assistant/base_prompt.txt - Discuss and give feedback: https://github.com/rsyslog/rsyslog/discussions
Shipping Better Docs with AI: Restructuring Module Parameters for Clarity and Consistency
As you may know from past articles, we’re in the process of a major documentation overhaul. I wanted to share a focused task we’ve been working on over the past couple of days. This effort highlights our practical, responsible approach to an “AI-First” strategy, where AI is a powerful tool guided by human expertise, not a replacement for it.
Rsyslog Documentation Enters a New Era with AI-First Strategy
TL;DR: We are rolling out a major documentation overhaul for rsyslog, powered by an AI-first strategy. This is the next step after our 2024 announcement on documentation and AI. At that time, AI tools were not yet ready for large-scale improvements, but with recent advances, we’ve accelerated our work. The result: a much more accessible, modern, and maintainable documentation set.
