The Settings Changes log records administrative configuration changes across your Files.com site. It serves as the primary audit log for administrative activity performed by Site Administrators, Workspace Administrators, Group Admins, and Folder Admins. For file activity and end-user actions like uploads, downloads, and file modifications, see History Logs.

Administrators, security teams, and compliance teams rely on the Settings Changes log to audit activity, investigate configuration changes, troubleshoot operational issues, and meet compliance requirements. Each entry identifies the user who made the change, the timestamp, and the specific configuration values that changed, giving auditors a clear record of who did what and when.

Files.com retains these logs indefinitely while the site remains active.

Types of Events Included in Settings Changes Log

Site-Level Configuration

The log captures changes to site-wide settings that affect how the Files.com site operates. These configuration events span storage and infrastructure, identity and access management, security and compliance, workflows, integrations, and branding.

Recorded changes include storage regions, Remote Servers, user accounts, Groups, Partners, SSO providers, SCIM provisioning, User Lifecycle Rules, API keys, password and authentication policies, IP address restrictions, two-factor authentication requirements, session and login policies, GPG keys, watermarks, and data governance settings like retention rules and legal holds.

The log also records Automations, Webhooks, Bundle and Inbox defaults, notification policies, custom domains, site branding, login page customization, and email template configuration.

Configuration changes appear in the log whether they originate in the default Workspace or in a custom Workspace.

Per-Folder Configuration

The log records changes to folder settings, which control the features, integrations, and data governance applied to individual folders.

Recorded events include Inbox configurations, Remote Server Mounts, Syncs, Webhooks, Publicly Serve Folders, Watermarks, Retention Rules, User Lifecycle Rules, Key Lifecycle Rules, and other folder-specific behaviors or settings.

Each entry identifies the folder by path and the configuration that changed.

Permissions

The log records permission grants and removals. When a permission is created or deleted, the entry describes the permission level, the path, and the target user, Group, or Partner.

User, Group, and Partner Administration

The log records user account lifecycle events, including creation, updates, and deletion. Each entry identifies the user and records the fields that changed.

Group activity in the log includes lifecycle events like creation, updates, and deletion; membership additions and removals; and Group Admin role assignments.

Partner activity in the log includes lifecycle events like creation, updates, and deletion, along with membership updates and Partner-level access changes.

SCIM-managed user and Group activity also appears in the log, covering create, update, and delete events. SCIM Group membership-only changes are summarized as member updates.

API Keys

The log records create, update, and delete events for API keys. Each entry includes the key name, owner type, owner name, and the specific fields that changed.

API keys issued for the Desktop App, Mobile App, and Online Editor integrations are not recorded here. These keys function like session-style access rather than customer-managed API keys, so their lifecycle events are intentionally excluded from the logs.

Accessing Settings Changes Log

Site Administrators and Read-only Administrators can review Settings Change logs directly in the Web App under the Logging section. The Web App also lets administrators export the report for offline review, reporting, or archival use.

In addition to manual review in the Web App, Settings Changes logs are available through APIs and the Files.com CLI. Files.com also supports automated log delivery to SIEM platforms and through Log File Streaming for analysis and processing outside of the Web App.

Details Recorded in the Settings Changes Log

Each entry in the Settings Changes log contains the following details.

Column	Description
User Making the Change	Username associated with the account that performed the change.
API Key ID	API key identifier used when the change occurs through an API request.
Files Support?	Indicates that Files.com support performed the change after support access was granted to the site.
From Parent Site?	Indicates that a user on a parent site performed the change in a child site environment.
Change Details	Markdown-formatted messages describing the configuration changes and the objects created, updated, or deleted.
Date	Date and time when the configuration change occurred.

Settings Changes Log vs. History Logs

Use Settings Changes Log to audit configuration-style events: site settings, folder configurations, permissions, Group administration, and API keys.

Use History Logs for file and activity events like uploads, downloads, file modifications, and end-user actions.