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I'm currently developing on an Android 2.3.4 device. I've got root access to the file system, and I'm looking for the location of the system log files (like /var/log) so that I can delete them, but could not find these files on Android.

Does someone know where these files are located?

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4 Answers 4

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LogCat messages are not stored in files, but rather in circular memory buffers. You may clear these buffers using the following command: 

adb logcat -c

Source: Using LogCat

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  • The OP must have been referring to the` files` but not logs stored in memory
    – mr5
    Oct 6, 2015 at 1:46
  • This wouldn't necessarily clear the Logcat.
    – IgorGanapolsky
    May 17, 2016 at 18:16
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On a Samsung *#9900#, this will take you to SysDump.
Select 2nd option(Delete Dumpstate/Logcat).

enter image description here

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Here is an old question on StackOverflow about the same thing. It doesn't look like there's any way to view them directly, but there are various apps that can do it.

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  • Thank you, but sorry that doesn't help. I don't want to view it, I want to delete it.
    – truell
    Dec 14, 2011 at 9:17
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    @truell Delete what? The logs? Why? As far as I know, they don't persist for very long (reboot or max log line count, I think)
    – Bryan Denny ♦
    Dec 14, 2011 at 14:31
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Yes, you can delete log files on your device...

Using the app SD Maid (Explorer tab) on a rooted Samsung Galaxy Note 1 (N7000), Android 4.1.2, LT5 Build, I found 900+ log files in /data/log. After clearing the literally hundreds of dumpstate* files, I got my internal memory back from only 207mb up to 1040+ mb! Now I can complete all the missing updates. These files were dated back over more than 1 year and seemed to serve no valid function any more. Afterwards the device booted, was faster and no functionality was lost. Looking at the dates of these files they coincided with some system crashes and SD card mounting problems I had received in the past.

But in order to even see these files you will need a rooted device.

Using the clean master app on a rooted device also found a lot of files which could be deleted.

Here are the links to the Apps in Google Play Store as requested

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  • It'd be nice if you could add links to the apps you mention.
    – ale
    Sep 10, 2013 at 13:29
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    +1 for pointing out to /data/log/ folder. These logs aren't created by LogCat but rather by system itself (and looks like dumpstate* files are generated because of some CM bug: android.stackexchange.com/a/48281/19059)
    – Volo
    Sep 10, 2013 at 14:25
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    For me it solved my disappearing memory problem. I've been looking for a solution for ages without success. Only after rooting the phone and searching for log files and things did I find this. If you search for dumpstate* because you know about them you will find information but as a non rooted user, you will never see this name. The directory appears empty. I hope this information can help other users. Why the crashes occurred in the first case was because of a lost connection to the SD card or was the invisible SD caused by some other failure? I don't know. I'm at least happy at the moment.
    – Grockle
    Sep 10, 2013 at 22:43

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