Change the default log and report output paths

Overview

By default, Boring writes:

• Service logs to a path starting with %PROGRAMDATA%

• Report run outputs to a path starting with %PROGRAMDATA%

You can change both to a different drive/folder (for example, E:\logs\The Boring Lab\...) by editing each service’s appsettings.json.

Important: For cluster enviornmnets, you must do this on every node in the cluster.

Before you start

• Pick a target root folder (example): E:\logs\The Boring Lab\

• Make sure the folder exists (or create it).

• Ensure the Windows services/IIS identities have write permissions to the new location.

Part 1 — Change log write path (Serilog → WriteTo → path)

1) Go to the Boring install directory

Default install location:

• C:\Program Files\The Boring Lab\

2) Find the appsettings.json files in these folders

Each folder below contains an appsettings.json:

• Boring API

• Live Monitoring

• Milestone Proxy

• Service Host

3) Edit appsettings.json

Open appsettings.json in a text editor (Notepad++, VS Code, etc.).

4) Update the Serilog file sink path

In the JSON, locate:

• Serilog → WriteTo → the entry with "Name": "File" → "Args" → "path"

You’ll see something like this:

"Serilog": {
  "WriteTo": [
    {
      "Name": "File",
      "Args": {
        "path": "%PROGRAMDATA%\\The Boring Lab\\Boring API\\Logs\\BoringAPI-.log",
        "rollingInterval": "Day"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Only replace the %PROGRAMDATA% portion with your new location.

✅ Example
If you want logs under: E:\logs\The Boring Lab\

Then update the path like:

"path": "E:\\logs\\The Boring Lab\\Boring API\\Logs\\BoringAPI-.log"

Note: In JSON, Windows backslashes must be escaped: use \\

5) Repeat for each service folder

Repeat steps 3–4 for:

• Boring API

• Live Monitoring

• Milestone Proxy

• Service Host

Part 2 — Change Report Runs output path (%PROGRAMDATA%)

Report output paths are configured separately and must also be updated.

A) Boring API — Reports directory

1. Edit Boring API appsettings.json

2. Locate the Reports section and its Directory value

3. Replace %PROGRAMDATA% with the new location

Example pattern:

"Reports": {
  "Files": {
    "Directory": "%PROGRAMDATA%\\The Boring Lab\\Reports"
  }
}

Update to:

"Directory": "E:\\logs\\The Boring Lab\\Reports"

B) Service Host — ReportRuns directory

1. Edit Service Host appsettings.json

2. Locate the ReportRuns section and its Directory value

3. Replace %PROGRAMDATA% with the new location

Example update:

"ReportRuns": {
  "Files": {
    "Directory": "E:\\logs\\The Boring Lab\\Reports"
  }
}

Recommendation: Use the same root path you chose for logs (keeps everything together).

Restart required

After updating all relevant appsettings.json files:

1. Restart all Boring Windows services

2. Restart the related IIS application pools

Cluster note (very important)

If you’re running a cluster:

• Apply these changes on each node

• Restart services/app pools on each node

Quick checklist

• Updated Serilog:WriteTo[*].Args.path in all 4 services

• Updated report output directory in:

  • Boring API (Reports → Directory)

  • Service Host (ReportRuns → Directory)

• Confirmed folder exists + permissions

• Restarted services and IIS app pools

• Repeated on every cluster node