Check log files for file transfer I would like if there is a way to capture in a log file all the transfer file activities in a given time period. Let me give you an example. Let's say that on 16 Aug 2017 13:35 I copy/move a file/folder from my Mac to a usb device without giving any special arguments when using the cp/mv commands (in any case copying/moving files/folders can be achieved through GUI). 

Is there any text file on the Mac which records the activity history (such as copying/moving files/folders)? I would like this text file to include information in a way like:

16 Aug 2017 13:35 path/to/folderA was copied to /path/to/usb/stick/ or something similar.
You can manually use the Terminal command cp (copy) or mv (move) with the -v (for verbose) qualifier to keep a log of what is being copied. Verbose only shows file names, no dates.

You should look at man cp and man mv for more details.

Ex:



If you're looking for capturing log data for Finder drags, or disk activity from within apps, I'm not sure how that would be done.