vault/website/content/api-docs/system/audit.mdx

---
layout: api
page_title: /sys/audit - HTTP API
description: The `/sys/audit` endpoint is used to enable and disable audit devices.
---

# `/sys/audit`

@include 'alerts/restricted-root.mdx'

The `/sys/audit` endpoint is used to list, enable, and disable audit devices.
Audit devices must be enabled before use, and more than one device may be
enabled at a time.

## List enabled audit devices

This endpoint lists only the enabled audit devices (it does not list all
available audit devices).

- **`sudo` required** – This endpoint requires `sudo` capability in addition to
  any path-specific capabilities.

| Method | Path         |
|:-------|:-------------|
| `GET`  | `/sys/audit` |

### Sample request

```shell-session
$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/sys/audit
```

### Sample response

```javascript
{
  "file": {
    "type": "file",
    "description": "Store logs in a file",
    "options": {
      "file_path": "/var/log/vault.log"
    }
  }
}
```

## Enable audit device

This endpoint enables a new audit device at the supplied path. The path can be a
single word name or a more complex, nested path.

- **`sudo` required** – This endpoint requires `sudo` capability in addition to
  any path-specific capabilities.

| Method | Path               |
|:-------|:-------------------|
| `POST` | `/sys/audit/:path` |

### Parameters

- `path` `(string: <required>)` – Specifies the path in which to enable the audit
  device. This is part of the request URL.

- `description` `(string: "")` – Specifies a human-friendly description of the
  audit device.

- `options` `(map<string|string>: nil)` – Specifies configuration options to pass to the audit device itself.
  There are a set of [common options](#common-configuration-options)
  which can be applied to all types of audit device.
  For more details, please see the relevant page for an audit device `type`,
  under [Audit Devices docs](/vault/docs/audit).

- `type` `(string: <required>)` – Specifies the type of the audit device.
  Valid types are `file`, `socket` and `syslog`.

Additionally, the following options are allowed in Vault Community Edition, but
relevant functionality is only supported in Vault Enterprise:

- `local` `(bool: false)` – Applies exclusively to performance replication. Specifies if the audit device is local within the cluster only. Local
  audit devices are not replicated nor (if a secondary) removed by replication.

#### Common configuration options

@include 'audit-options-common.mdx'

### Sample payload

```json
{
  "type": "file",
  "options": {
    "file_path": "/var/log/vault/log"
  }
}
```

### Sample request

```shell-session
$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request POST \
    --data @payload.json \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/sys/audit/example-audit
```

## Disable audit device

This endpoint disables the audit device at the given path.

~> Note: Once an audit device is disabled, you will no longer be able to HMAC values
for comparison with entries in the audit logs. This is true even if you re-enable
the audit device at the same path, as a new salt will be created for hashing.

- **`sudo` required** – This endpoint requires `sudo` capability in addition to
  any path-specific capabilities.

| Method   | Path               |
|:---------|:-------------------|
| `DELETE` | `/sys/audit/:path` |

### Parameters

- `path` `(string: <required>)` – Specifies the path of the audit device to
  delete. This is part of the request URL.

### Sample request

```shell-session
$ curl \
    --header "X-Vault-Token: ..." \
    --request DELETE \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/sys/audit/example-audit
```