logpilot

README

LogPilot 🪵

A multi-source structured log viewer for the terminal. Tail files, pipe from Docker/kubectl, mix JSON and logfmt and plain text — all in one interactive TUI.

Why LogPilot?

• Structured-first. LogPilot parses your logs — JSON fields, logfmt pairs, timestamps, levels — not just regex-highlights keywords. That means real filtering, not cosmetic coloring.
• Format-agnostic. Auto-detects JSON, logfmt, and plain text. Tail a JSON API log and a plain syslog side by side in one view. No config files, no format declarations.
• Interactive, not passive. Live-scrolling TUI with search, vim keybindings, and color-coded levels. Not a pager you pipe through — a tool you work in.
• Lightweight and modern. Single binary, no runtime dependencies. Built with Go and Bubble Tea — starts instantly, stays under 20 MB RSS.

Features

Implemented

• 🔍 Auto-format detection — JSON, logfmt, plain text, no config needed
• 🎨 Color-coded log levels — DEBUG (gray), INFO (blue), WARN (yellow), ERROR (red), FATAL (red bold)
• 📂 Multi-source input — files, stdin/pipes, glob patterns (*.log)
• 🔄 Live tailing — follows files with rotation handling (rename, truncate)
• ⏱️ Flexible timestamps — relative (2s ago), ISO 8601, local time
• 🌗 Dark & light themes — auto-detects terminal background
• ⌨️ Vim-style navigation — j/k, G, gg, / search, n/N
• 🚦 Backpressure handling — configurable: block or drop-oldest when buffer is full

Roadmap

• ☸️ Kubernetes pod log source
• 🐳 Docker container log source
• 🔐 SSH remote log source
• 🏷️ Field-based filtering (level:error service:auth)
• 🔗 Trace correlation (group by trace ID)
• 📊 Timeline visualization

Quick Start

# View a log file
logpilot app.log

# Tail with live follow
logpilot -f /var/log/app/*.log

# Pipe from Docker
docker logs -f my-container 2>&1 | logpilot -

# Pipe from kubectl
kubectl logs -f deploy/api-server | logpilot -

# Mix multiple sources with glob
logpilot services/*.log /var/log/syslog

Installation

Go install (requires Go 1.22+)

go install github.com/clarabennettdev/logpilot@latest

Binary download

Grab a prebuilt binary from Releases:

# Linux (amd64)
curl -LO https://github.com/clarabennettdev/logpilot/releases/download/v0.3.0/logpilot_linux_amd64.tar.gz
tar xzf logpilot_linux_amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv logpilot /usr/local/bin/

# macOS (Apple Silicon)
curl -LO https://github.com/clarabennettdev/logpilot/releases/download/v0.3.0/logpilot_darwin_arm64.tar.gz
tar xzf logpilot_darwin_arm64.tar.gz
sudo mv logpilot /usr/local/bin/

# Windows (amd64)
# Download logpilot_windows_amd64.zip from the releases page and add to PATH

From source

git clone https://github.com/clarabennettdev/logpilot.git
cd logpilot
go build -o logpilot ./cmd/logpilot

Supported Formats

LogPilot auto-detects the format of each log line independently — you can mix formats in the same stream.

JSON

{"timestamp":"2026-02-19T12:00:01Z","level":"info","msg":"request handled","method":"GET","path":"/api/users","duration_ms":42}
{"timestamp":"2026-02-19T12:00:02Z","level":"error","msg":"connection refused","host":"db-primary","port":5432}

See demo

logfmt

ts=2026-02-19T12:00:01Z level=info msg="request handled" method=GET path=/api/users duration_ms=42
ts=2026-02-19T12:00:02Z level=warn msg="slow query" query="SELECT *" duration_ms=1250

See demo

Plain text

Feb 19 12:00:01 myhost sshd[1234]: Accepted publickey for deploy
Feb 19 12:00:02 myhost nginx: 192.168.1.1 - GET /health 200

See demo

Piped input

kubectl logs -f deploy/api | logpilot -

See demo

Keybindings

Key	Action
j / ↓	Scroll down
k / ↑	Scroll up
G	Jump to bottom (latest)
g g	Jump to top
f / Page Down	Page down
b / Page Up	Page up
/	Start search
n	Next search match
N	Previous search match
t	Toggle timestamp format
w	Toggle line wrap
Tab	Cycle theme
q / Ctrl+C	Quit

Comparison

	LogPilot	lnav	hl	tailspin	lazyjournal
Interactive TUI	✅	✅	❌	❌	✅
Structured parsing	✅	✅	❌	❌	Partial
Multi-source	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Format-agnostic	✅	Partial¹	✅	✅	❌²
Language	Go	C++	Rust	Rust	Go
Focus	Structured log TUI	Log file navigator	Log processor/pager	Highlight & tail	journald/docker/k8s

¹ lnav supports many formats but requires format definitions for custom structured logs. ² lazyjournal focuses on journald, Docker, and Kubernetes sources rather than arbitrary log files.

Honest take: lnav is the most mature and feature-rich tool here. tailspin and hl are excellent if you want fast, zero-config highlighting for piped output. lazyjournal is great if your logs come from systemd/Docker/k8s. LogPilot occupies the space between — an interactive TUI that understands structured fields across arbitrary log sources.

Architecture

logpilot/
├── cmd/logpilot/       # CLI entrypoint
├── internal/
│   ├── app/            # Bubble Tea application model
│   ├── parser/         # Format detection + parsing (JSON, logfmt, plain)
│   ├── source/         # Input sources (file, stdin, glob)
│   ├── tail/           # File tailing with rotation handling
│   ├── theme/          # Dark/light theme definitions
│   ├── buffer/         # Ring buffer with backpressure
│   └── ui/             # Lipgloss view components
├── docs/demos/         # GIF demos
└── go.mod

Development

# Build
go build ./cmd/logpilot

# Run tests
go test ./...

# Run tests with race detector
go test -race ./...

# Benchmarks
go test -bench=. ./internal/parser/

# Lint
golangci-lint run

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Whether it's a bug report, feature request, or pull request — all appreciated.

1. Fork the repo
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feat/my-feature)
3. Commit with clear messages
4. Open a PR against main

Please open an issue first for large changes so we can discuss the approach.

Acknowledgments

Built on the shoulders of the Charm ecosystem:

• Bubble Tea — TUI framework
• Lipgloss — Styling
• Bubbles — TUI components

License

MIT