diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 9533514..e017cb9 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -54,15 +54,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "libc",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "ansi_term"
-version = "0.12.1"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "d52a9bb7ec0cf484c551830a7ce27bd20d67eac647e1befb56b0be4ee39a55d2"
-dependencies = [
- "winapi",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "anyhow"
 version = "1.0.69"
@@ -420,7 +411,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "js-sys",
  "num-integer",
  "num-traits",
- "time",
+ "time 0.1.45",
  "wasm-bindgen",
  "winapi",
 ]
@@ -565,7 +556,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "tonic",
  "tracing",
  "tracing-core",
- "tracing-subscriber 0.3.16",
+ "tracing-subscriber",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1511,15 +1502,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "libc",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "matchers"
-version = "0.0.1"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "f099785f7595cc4b4553a174ce30dd7589ef93391ff414dbb67f62392b9e0ce1"
-dependencies = [
- "regex-automata",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "matchers"
 version = "0.1.0"
@@ -1695,12 +1677,23 @@ dependencies = [
  "tonic",
  "tonic-build",
  "tracing",
- "tracing-subscriber 0.2.25",
+ "tracing-appender",
+ "tracing-subscriber",
  "tungstenite",
  "url",
  "uuid",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "nu-ansi-term"
+version = "0.46.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "77a8165726e8236064dbb45459242600304b42a5ea24ee2948e18e023bf7ba84"
+dependencies = [
+ "overload",
+ "winapi",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "num"
 version = "0.2.1"
@@ -1861,6 +1854,12 @@ version = "6.4.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "9b7820b9daea5457c9f21c69448905d723fbd21136ccf521748f23fd49e723ee"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "overload"
+version = "0.1.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "b15813163c1d831bf4a13c3610c05c0d03b39feb07f7e09fa234dac9b15aaf39"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "parking"
 version = "2.0.0"
@@ -2990,6 +2989,33 @@ dependencies = [
  "winapi",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "time"
+version = "0.3.20"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "cd0cbfecb4d19b5ea75bb31ad904eb5b9fa13f21079c3b92017ebdf4999a5890"
+dependencies = [
+ "itoa",
+ "serde",
+ "time-core",
+ "time-macros",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "time-core"
+version = "0.1.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "2e153e1f1acaef8acc537e68b44906d2db6436e2b35ac2c6b42640fff91f00fd"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "time-macros"
+version = "0.2.8"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "fd80a657e71da814b8e5d60d3374fc6d35045062245d80224748ae522dd76f36"
+dependencies = [
+ "time-core",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "tinyvec"
 version = "1.6.0"
@@ -3223,6 +3249,17 @@ dependencies = [
  "tracing-core",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "tracing-appender"
+version = "0.2.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "09d48f71a791638519505cefafe162606f706c25592e4bde4d97600c0195312e"
+dependencies = [
+ "crossbeam-channel",
+ "time 0.3.20",
+ "tracing-subscriber",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "tracing-attributes"
 version = "0.1.23"
@@ -3265,51 +3302,22 @@ dependencies = [
  "tracing-core",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "tracing-serde"
-version = "0.1.3"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "bc6b213177105856957181934e4920de57730fc69bf42c37ee5bb664d406d9e1"
-dependencies = [
- "serde",
- "tracing-core",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "tracing-subscriber"
-version = "0.2.25"
+version = "0.3.16"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "0e0d2eaa99c3c2e41547cfa109e910a68ea03823cccad4a0525dcbc9b01e8c71"
+checksum = "a6176eae26dd70d0c919749377897b54a9276bd7061339665dd68777926b5a70"
 dependencies = [
- "ansi_term",
- "chrono",
- "lazy_static",
- "matchers 0.0.1",
+ "matchers",
+ "nu-ansi-term",
+ "once_cell",
  "regex",
- "serde",
- "serde_json",
  "sharded-slab",
  "smallvec",
  "thread_local",
  "tracing",
  "tracing-core",
  "tracing-log",
- "tracing-serde",
-]
-
-[[package]]
-name = "tracing-subscriber"
-version = "0.3.16"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "a6176eae26dd70d0c919749377897b54a9276bd7061339665dd68777926b5a70"
-dependencies = [
- "matchers 0.1.0",
- "once_cell",
- "regex",
- "sharded-slab",
- "thread_local",
- "tracing",
- "tracing-core",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index b04ef07..ce43d2b 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,8 +13,9 @@ categories = ["network-programming", "web-programming"]
 
 [dependencies]
 clap = { version = "4.0.32", features = ["env", "default", "derive"]}
-tracing = "0.1.36"
-tracing-subscriber = "0.2.0"
+tracing = "0.1.37"
+tracing-appender = "0.2.2"
+tracing-subscriber = "0.3.16"
 tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full", "tracing", "signal"] }
 prost = "0.11"
 tonic = "0.8.3"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 09a66f7..5fbd233 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ Building `nostr-rs-relay` requires an installation of Cargo & Rust: https://www.
 
 The following OS packages will be helpful; on Debian/Ubuntu:
 ```console
-$ sudo apt-get install build-essentials cmake protobuf-compiler pkg-config libssl-dev
+$ sudo apt-get install build-essential cmake protobuf-compiler pkg-config libssl-dev
 ```
 
 Clone this repository, and then build a release version of the relay:
diff --git a/config.toml b/config.toml
index 3dea8ee..e6db8d5 100644
--- a/config.toml
+++ b/config.toml
@@ -57,6 +57,11 @@ description = "A newly created nostr-rs-relay.\n\nCustomize this with your own i
 # different nodes.  Ignore for single-database instances.
 #connection_write = "postgresql://postgres:nostr@localhost:7500/nostr"
 
+[logging]
+# Directory to store log files.  Log files roll over daily.
+#folder_path = "./log"
+#file_prefix = "nostr-relay"
+
 [grpc]
 # gRPC interfaces for externalized decisions and other extensions to
 # functionality.
diff --git a/docs/database-maintenance.md b/docs/database-maintenance.md
index 82b39e3..e475918 100644
--- a/docs/database-maintenance.md
+++ b/docs/database-maintenance.md
@@ -78,18 +78,24 @@ PRAGMA foreign_keys = ON;
 delete from event where event_hash=x'00000000000c1271675dc86e3e1dd1336827bccabb90dc4c9d3b4465efefe00e';
 ```
 
-### Deleting All Events for Pubkey
+### Querying and Deleting All Events for Pubkey
 
 ```console
 PRAGMA foreign_keys = ON;
+
+select lower(hex(author)) as author, count(*) as c from event group by author order by c asc;
+
 delete from event where author=x'000000000002c7831d9c5a99f183afc2813a6f69a16edda7f6fc0ed8110566e6';
 ```
 
-### Deleting All Events of a Kind
+### Querying and Deleting All Events of a Kind
 
 
 ```console
 PRAGMA foreign_keys = ON;
+
+select printf('%7d', kind), count(*) as c from event group by kind order by c;
+
 delete from event where kind=70202;
 ```
 
diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
index 32ac2d3..9d92d39 100644
--- a/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/config.rs
@@ -166,6 +166,13 @@ impl VerifiedUsers {
     }
 }
 
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+#[allow(unused)]
+pub struct Logging {
+    pub folder_path: Option<String>,
+    pub file_prefix: Option<String>,
+}
+
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 #[allow(unused)]
 pub struct Settings {
@@ -180,6 +187,7 @@ pub struct Settings {
     pub verified_users: VerifiedUsers,
     pub retention: Retention,
     pub options: Options,
+    pub logging: Logging,
 }
 
 impl Settings {
@@ -320,6 +328,10 @@ impl Default for Settings {
             options: Options {
                 reject_future_seconds: None, // Reject events in the future if defined
             },
+            logging: Logging {
+                folder_path: None,
+                file_prefix: None,
+            },
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 6a9116d..6e8994e 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -7,9 +7,11 @@ use nostr_rs_relay::server::start_server;
 use std::sync::mpsc as syncmpsc;
 use std::sync::mpsc::{Receiver as MpscReceiver, Sender as MpscSender};
 use std::thread;
-use tracing::info;
 #[cfg(not(target_env = "msvc"))]
 use tikv_jemallocator::Jemalloc;
+use tracing::info;
+use tracing_appender::non_blocking::WorkerGuard;
+use tracing_subscriber::EnvFilter;
 
 #[cfg(not(target_env = "msvc"))]
 #[global_allocator]
@@ -22,6 +24,8 @@ fn main() {
     // get config file name from args
     let config_file_arg = args.config;
 
+    let mut _log_guard: Option<WorkerGuard> = None;
+
     // configure settings from the config file (defaults to config.toml)
     // replace default settings with those read from the config file
     let mut settings = config::Settings::new(&config_file_arg);
@@ -32,7 +36,27 @@ fn main() {
         ConsoleLayer::builder().with_default_env().init();
     } else {
         // standard logging
-        tracing_subscriber::fmt::try_init().unwrap();
+        if let Some(path) = &settings.logging.folder_path {
+            // write logs to a folder
+            let prefix = match &settings.logging.file_prefix {
+                Some(p) => p.as_str(),
+                None => "relay",
+            };
+            let file_appender = tracing_appender::rolling::daily(path, prefix);
+            let (non_blocking, guard) = tracing_appender::non_blocking(file_appender);
+            let filter = EnvFilter::from_default_env();
+            // assign to a variable that is not dropped till the program ends
+            _log_guard = Some(guard);
+
+            tracing_subscriber::fmt()
+                .with_env_filter(filter)
+                .with_writer(non_blocking)
+                .try_init()
+                .unwrap();
+        } else {
+            // write to stdout
+            tracing_subscriber::fmt::try_init().unwrap();
+        }
     }
     info!("Starting up from main");
 
diff --git a/src/notice.rs b/src/notice.rs
index d243acc..6875de9 100644
--- a/src/notice.rs
+++ b/src/notice.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ pub enum EventResultStatus {
     Blocked,
     RateLimited,
     Error,
+    Restricted,
 }
 
 pub struct EventResult {
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ impl EventResultStatus {
     pub fn to_bool(&self) -> bool {
         match self {
             Self::Duplicate | Self::Saved => true,
-            Self::Invalid | Self::Blocked | Self::RateLimited | Self::Error => false,
+            Self::Invalid | Self::Blocked | Self::RateLimited | Self::Error | Self::Restricted => false,
         }
     }
 
@@ -37,6 +38,7 @@ impl EventResultStatus {
             Self::Blocked => "blocked",
             Self::RateLimited => "rate-limited",
             Self::Error => "error",
+            Self::Restricted => "restricted",
         }
     }
 }
@@ -81,6 +83,11 @@ impl Notice {
         Notice::prefixed(id, msg, EventResultStatus::Error)
     }
 
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn restricted(id: String, msg: &str) -> Notice {
+        Notice::prefixed(id, msg, EventResultStatus::Restricted)
+    }
+
     #[must_use]
     pub fn saved(id: String) -> Notice {
         Notice::EventResult(EventResult {
diff --git a/src/repo/sqlite.rs b/src/repo/sqlite.rs
index b156f0c..3ad59bd 100644
--- a/src/repo/sqlite.rs
+++ b/src/repo/sqlite.rs
@@ -1203,6 +1203,11 @@ pub fn build_pool(
         .max_lifetime(Some(Duration::from_secs(30)))
         .build(manager)
         .unwrap();
+    // retrieve a connection to ensure the startup statements run immediately
+    {
+        let _ = pool.get();
+    }
+
     info!(
         "Built a connection pool {:?} (min={}, max={})",
         name, min_size, max_size
diff --git a/src/server.rs b/src/server.rs
index cfc5a5c..91625b1 100644
--- a/src/server.rs
+++ b/src/server.rs
@@ -1317,7 +1317,7 @@ async fn nostr_server(
                                                 },
                                                 Err(e) => {
                                                     info!("authentication error: {} (cid: {})", e, cid);
-                                                    ws_stream.send(make_notice_message(&Notice::message(format!("Authentication error: {e}")))).await.ok();
+                                                    ws_stream.send(make_notice_message(&Notice::restricted(event.id, format!("authentication error: {e}").as_str()))).await.ok();
                                                 },
                                             }
                                         }