Audit log

Overview

The Audit Log is also available as a JSON export via the v1 API.

The Audit Log displays a list of significant activity within your Matillion ETL instance. Matillion ETL stores user actions in the Audit Log, and every user is accountable for any changes they make. This guide explains how to access and manage the Audit Log in your Matillion ETL instance, as well as providing a full list of Command Types that the log produces.

Accessing the Audit Log

Click Admin → Audit.

The Audit Log will be displayed. Each row is a unique action taken by you within your Matillion ETL instance. Each page displays 25 rows. Cycle through pages to see more.

Using the Audit Log

Once you have gained access to the Audit Log, you can use the sub-menus in each of the headings to view filtered information of your choosing. To do this, click the downward-facing arrow in the intended heading, and select either Columns or Filters.

Filter column

The Audit Log might not automatically update if it has already been opened. To refresh the displayed information, click the Refresh icon, situated at the lower-left of the Audit Log tab.

Columns

Each record (row) in the Audit Log is defined by five pieces of metadata. These metadata columns can be made visible or hidden by hovering over the top-right of any column and using the checkboxes in the Columns drop-down menu:

ID: The ID of the audited action.
Specifier: A hierarchical path to the point of action. For example, if a user changes a component parameter, the specifier will provide: the parameter change, component, job, version, and the project it belongs to. Therefore, the specifier can provide a direct path to recreate the changes made by the user.
Command Type: A quick reference for the type of action performed. Command types are named in a self-explanatory manner. For example, deleting a job produces the Command Type "DeleteJobs" and creating an orchestration component produces "CreateOrchestrationComponent".
User: The name of the user that made this change.
Time: The time that the change occurred. This is based on the server's timezone.

Filter

Records in the Audit Log can be filtered according to their values in each column. The filters can be accessed by hovering over the upper-right of any column and using the Filters drop-down menu. Each column has a context-specific filter:

ID: The ID filter displays three arguments that can filter all rows with an ID above, below, or equal to a specified value (integer).
Specifier: Allows the user to filter based on almost any part of a Matillion ETL workflow, such as the names, IDs, and types of components, jobs, versions, and projects. If the filtered property is an integer (such as a component ID), the filter will allow the option to filter rows above, below, or equal to a specified value. If the filtered property is a text value, such as a component name, the user can input a string to include only rows that give a partial match.
Command Type: Filters via a text box that allows the user to make a partial match of the command type to a specified string. Matched values are not filtered.
User: Filters via a text box that allows the user to make a partial match of the user's name to a specified string. Matched values are not filtered.
Time: Gives a set of calendars, allowing users to filter rows if they occurred before, after, or on a specified date.

Command types

Many command types exist in the Audit Log. Each command type has a name that is as self-explanatory as possible. A small selection of commands are listed below:

CreateOrchestrationComponent: Creation of a component inside an orchestration job. Expanding this entry will expose the project group, project, version, and job that the new component belongs to.
SetParameterElements: Changing the parameters (properties) of a component. This command will appear in the Audit Log every time a parameter is changed. Expanding this will expose the project group, project, version, job, component, and parameter.
CleanEnvironmentViews: The user has cleaned all views in an environment by right-clicking the environment and selecting "Delete Views". Expanding this will expose the project group, project, and version this environment belongs to.

Data retention

The Audit Log retains audit data for 21 days by default. Users can change this value with the following steps:

SSH to your Matillion instance.
Gain root access: sudo su -
Change directory to the location of the Emerald.properties file: cd /usr/share/emerald/WEB-INF/classes
Create a backup of the Emerald.properties file, if desired: cp Emerald.properties Emerald.properties.bak
Edit Emerald.properties (for example, using vi): vi Emerald.properties
Add the below property and chosen value to the bottom of the file. The time audits is always given in days: MAX_AUDIT_RECORD_AGE_DAYS=<value>
Save and close the file: :wq
Restart Tomcat: systemctl restart tomcat

Upon the next pruning interval, your settings will be applied. If you configured a value shorter than the default, any records that fall outside the new retention window will be removed.