LLxprt Privacy-First Telemetry

July 29, 2026 · View on GitHub

Overview

LLxprt takes a privacy-first approach to telemetry and logging. All data stays on your local machine, with no external transmission to Google or any other third-party services. This documentation explains our privacy-centered telemetry system and how to use it effectively for debugging and analysis.

Key Privacy Principles

  • Local Only: No data is sent to external services
  • Opt-in persistence: Conversation logging and OTEL output are disabled by default; ephemeral /stats aggregation remains in memory
  • Transparent: You can see exactly what is logged and where it's stored
  • User-Controlled: Simple commands to enable, disable, and configure all features
  • Data Redaction: Sensitive information is automatically redacted from logs
  • No Upstream Telemetry: Unlike the original gemini-cli, LLxprt never sends data to Google

Conversation Logging

When enabled, LLxprt logs conversations locally to help with debugging, analysis, and improving your AI interactions.

Storage Details

  • Location: <data>/conversations/ (see Application Directories)
  • Format: JSONL (one JSON object per line)
  • File Naming: conversation-YYYY-MM-DD.jsonl (daily rotation)
  • Permissions: Files are readable only by your user account
  • Retention: Configurable retention period (default: 30 days)

What Gets Logged

When conversation logging is enabled, the following data is stored locally:

Request Data

  • User prompts and messages
  • Provider selection (e.g., "openai", "anthropic", "gemini")
  • Model parameters and configuration
  • Tool call requests and parameters
  • Timestamp and session information

Response Data

  • AI assistant responses
  • Tool call results
  • Token usage statistics
  • Response metadata (model, provider, timing)

Metadata

  • Session identifiers
  • Performance metrics
  • Error information (when applicable)

What Gets Redacted

LLxprt automatically redacts sensitive information before writing to log files:

  • API Keys and Tokens: Automatically detected and replaced with [REDACTED_API_KEY]
  • Credentials: Passwords, auth tokens, and secret keys
  • File Paths: Local file system paths (configurable)
  • URLs: Web URLs with potentially sensitive parameters
  • Email Addresses: Personal email addresses
  • Personal Information: Phone numbers, SSNs, and other PII patterns

The /logging Command

The /logging command provides complete control over conversation logging features.

/logging status

Shows the current state of conversation logging.

/logging status

Example Output:

Conversation Logging: Disabled

/logging enable

Enables conversation logging with automatic local storage.

/logging enable

Example Output:

Conversation logging enabled. Data stored locally only.

After enabling, all new conversations will be logged to your local <data>/conversations/ directory (see Application Directories).

/logging disable

Disables conversation logging. No future conversations will be logged.

/logging disable

Example Output:

Conversation logging disabled. No conversation data will be collected.

Note: This does not delete existing log files. Use your system's file manager to remove old logs if desired.

/logging show [N]

Displays the last N log entries from your conversation history (default: 50).

/logging show 25

Example Output:

Conversation Logs (3 entries):
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[1] 14:32:15 → openai: What is TypeScript and how does it differ from JavaScript?...
[2] 14:32:18 ← openai: TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript that adds static typing...
[3] 14:35:22 → gemini: Can you help me debug this React component?...
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

/logging redaction

Configure what types of data get automatically redacted from logs.

View Current Settings

/logging redaction

Example Output:

Current Redaction Settings:
  • API Keys: Enabled
  • Credentials: Enabled
  • File Paths: Disabled
  • URLs: Enabled
  • Email Addresses: Enabled
  • Personal Info: Enabled

To modify settings:
  /logging redaction --api-keys=false
  /logging redaction --file-paths=true

Modify Redaction Settings

/logging redaction --file-paths=true --emails=false

Available Options:

  • --api-keys=true/false: Redact API keys and authentication tokens
  • --credentials=true/false: Redact passwords and credentials
  • --file-paths=true/false: Redact local file system paths
  • --urls=true/false: Redact URLs with sensitive parameters
  • --emails=true/false: Redact email addresses
  • --personal-info=true/false: Redact phone numbers, SSNs, and PII

Example Output:

Redaction settings updated:
  • redactFilePaths: enabled
  • redactEmails: disabled

Configuration Options

LLxprt's telemetry can be configured through settings files, environment variables, and command-line flags.

Settings File Configuration

Add telemetry configuration to your user settings.json (in LLxprt's config directory) or workspace .llxprt/settings.json:

{
  "telemetry": {
    "logConversations": false,
    "logResponses": false,
    "redactSensitiveData": true,
    "redactFilePaths": false,
    "redactUrls": true,
    "redactEmails": true,
    "redactPersonalInfo": true,
    "conversationLogPath": "",
    "maxLogFiles": 10,
    "maxLogSizeMB": 50,
    "retentionDays": 30,
    "maxConversationsStored": 1000
  }
}

Leave conversationLogPath empty (or omit it) to use the default <data>/conversations location; set it to an absolute path to override.

Configuration Options Reference

Core Logging Settings

  • logConversations (boolean): Enable conversation logging (default: false)
  • logResponses (boolean): Include full AI responses in logs (default: false)
  • conversationLogPath (string): Directory for log files (default: <data>/conversations, see Application Directories)

Data Retention Settings

  • retentionDays (number): Days to keep log files (default: 30)
  • maxLogFiles (number): Maximum number of log files to keep (default: 5)
  • maxLogSizeMB (number): Maximum size of each log file in MB (default: 10)
  • maxConversationsStored (number): Maximum conversations to store (default: 1000)

Privacy and Redaction Settings

  • redactSensitiveData (boolean): Enable API key/credential redaction (default: true)
  • redactFilePaths (boolean): Redact local file paths (default: false)
  • redactUrls (boolean): Redact URLs with parameters (default: true)
  • redactEmails (boolean): Redact email addresses (default: true)
  • redactPersonalInfo (boolean): Redact PII patterns (default: true)

Environment Variables

You can also control telemetry through environment variables:

  • LLXPRT_LOG_CONVERSATIONS: Set to "true" to enable conversation logging
  • LLXPRT_CONVERSATION_LOG_PATH: Override the log directory path

Configuration Precedence

Settings are applied in the following order (highest precedence first):

  1. Command-line flags (when using the llxprt CLI)
  2. Environment variables
  3. Workspace settings (.llxprt/settings.json in current directory)
  4. User settings (your user settings.json in LLxprt's config directory)
  5. Default values

Testing and Development

Local Telemetry for Tests

During testing and development, configure a temporary local outfile when tests need to inspect telemetry output:

const telemetryConfig = {
  enabled: true,
  outfile: '/tmp/llxprt-telemetry.jsonl',
  logConversations: true,
};

This ensures that:

  • No test data leaves your development machine
  • Test telemetry is isolated from production usage
  • Integration tests can verify logging functionality safely

Debugging with Conversation Logs

To debug issues with LLxprt:

  1. Enable logging: /logging enable
  2. Reproduce the issue: Run the problematic commands
  3. View recent logs: /logging show 20
  4. Examine log files: Check <data>/conversations/ (see Application Directories) for detailed JSONL data

The log files contain structured data that can be analyzed with standard JSON tools:

# View today's conversation log. This Linux example honors LLXPRT_DATA_HOME,
# then LLXPRT_CONFIG_HOME, then the Linux default; see Application Directories
# for the macOS and Windows defaults.
DATA_DIR="${LLXPRT_DATA_HOME:-${LLXPRT_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share/llxprt-code}}"
cat "${DATA_DIR}/conversations/conversation-$(date +%Y-%m-%d).jsonl" | jq '.'

# Filter for specific providers
cat "${DATA_DIR}/conversations/conversation-"*.jsonl | jq 'select(.provider == "openai")'

# Count conversations by provider
cat "${DATA_DIR}/conversations/conversation-"*.jsonl | jq -r '.provider' | sort | uniq -c

Privacy Guarantees

What LLxprt Does NOT Do

  • No telemetry transmission: Conversation logs and telemetry are never uploaded to Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, or another analytics service
  • No uploaded analytics: Local session statistics are not transmitted
  • No cloud log storage: LLxprt does not upload conversation logs to cloud storage
  • No telemetry profiling: Conversation logging exists for local inspection and debugging

What LLxprt DOES Do

  • Local Storage Only: All logs are written to your local file system with proper permissions
  • Automatic Redaction: Sensitive information is automatically removed before logging
  • User Control: You have complete control over what gets logged and for how long
  • Transparency: All logging behavior is documented and configurable
  • Data Ownership: You own and control all logged data

Difference from Upstream Gemini CLI

LLxprt fundamentally differs from the original Google Gemini CLI in its approach to telemetry:

Upstream Gemini CLI (What We Don't Do)

  • May send telemetry data to Google services
  • Has different privacy policies and data handling
  • May collect usage statistics for Google's analysis
  • Telemetry configuration optimized for Google's needs

LLxprt Privacy-First Approach

  • Zero telemetry transmission: Telemetry and conversation logs always stay local
  • Persistent output disabled by default: OTEL telemetry and conversation logging require explicit enablement; in-memory /stats remains active
  • Complete user control: Users manage all persistent telemetry and conversation logging
  • Enhanced redaction: Advanced privacy protection with configurable redaction
  • Open transparency: Full documentation of all privacy practices

Best Practices

For Daily Use

  1. Start with logging disabled: Only enable when you need debugging information
  2. Configure redaction: Enable redaction for all sensitive data types in your workflow
  3. Regular cleanup: Periodically review and clean old log files
  4. Check settings: Verify your privacy settings match your comfort level

For Development

  1. Use temporary output files: Keep test telemetry isolated in local temporary files
  2. Sensitive data awareness: Be mindful of API keys and credentials in test scenarios
  3. Log analysis: Use standard JSON tools to analyze conversation patterns
  4. Documentation: Document any privacy-related configuration for your team

For Team Environments

  1. Consistent settings: Share redaction configurations across team members
  2. No shared logs: Never share raw conversation log files (they may contain sensitive data)
  3. Privacy policies: Establish team policies for conversation logging
  4. Access control: Ensure log files have appropriate file system permissions

Support and Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Q: I enabled logging but don't see any log files A: Check that the log directory exists and you have write permissions. The default path is <data>/conversations/ (see Application Directories).

Q: My log files are very large A: Configure maxLogSizeMB and maxLogFiles in your settings to control file rotation and size limits.

Q: I see sensitive information in logs despite redaction being enabled A: Some patterns may not be caught by automatic redaction. Consider adding custom redaction patterns or disabling logging for sensitive workflows.

Q: How do I permanently delete all conversation logs? A: Remove the entire conversation log directory. This Linux example honors LLXPRT_DATA_HOME, then LLXPRT_CONFIG_HOME, then the Linux default; see Application Directories for the macOS and Windows defaults:

DATA_DIR="${LLXPRT_DATA_HOME:-${LLXPRT_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share/llxprt-code}}"
rm -rf "${DATA_DIR}/conversations/"

Getting Help

For privacy-related questions or concerns:

  1. Check this documentation first
  2. Review your current settings with /logging status and /logging redaction
  3. Examine log files to understand what data is being stored
  4. File an issue in the LLxprt repository for additional support

Remember: Your privacy and data control are fundamental to LLxprt's design. All telemetry features are designed to serve you, not external parties.