# TAIL TALES
A TUI log viewer written in Rust
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<a href="./screenshot.png" >
<img src="./screenshot.png" alt="Screenshot of TAIL TALES" style="width: 25%">
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<a href="./screenshot2.png">
<img src="./screenshot2.png" alt="Screenshot of TAIL TALES" style="width: 25%">
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## Objetives
To easy inspect existing logs or streaming logs, with some filters, marking of messages
and easy finding information in the logs.
## Use
- Can set default command or file to open: `tt`
- Can read exisitng files, checks for changes: `tt /var/log/messages`
- Can be used as pipe destination: `journalctl -f | tt`
- Can execute commands and show stdout / stderr: `tt !journalctl -f` -- AS bash does not like use of `!` in commands there is an alternative format: `tt -- journalctl -f`. Another option is `tt \!journalctl -f`.
## Commands
All keybindings are transalted to internal commands. It's possible to execute commands directly entering
command mode (: by default).
| quit | Exit the application |
| clear | Refresh the screen, usefull when its damaged because of non controlled ANSI characters |
| open_help | Opens the help URL with teh current record original data, slightly anonymized |
| open_url <url> | Open a specified URL. Used in default keybindings to open help |
| command | Opens command mode with a new command (not enough with `mode command` as that woudl not clear the current command) |
| search_next | Search for the next occurrence |
| search_prev | Search for the previous occurrence |
| vmove <ammount> | Move vertically, positive down, negative up |
| hmove <ammount> | Move horizontally, positive right, negative left |
| vgoto <lineno> | Goto to specific line number |
| clear_records | Clear all records |
| warning <msg...> | Display a warning message |
| toggle_mark <color> | Toggle a mark on the current line. Its a data for the record with that color as mark, and will be used at render. |
| move_to_next_mark | Move to the next marked line |
| move_to_prev_mark | Move to the previous marked line |
| settings | Open the xdg program with the local settings file. If the file does not exist yet it is created with the default settings. |
| mode <mode> | Switch between different modes: normal, command, search or filter |
| toggle_details | Toggle the display of details |
## Keybindings
| : | command |
| \| | mode filter |
| f | mode filter |
| / | mode search |
| n | search_next |
| shift-n | search_prev |
| control-del | clear_records |
| control-l | refresh_screen |
| F1 | open_url https://github.com/davidmoreno/tailtales/#use |
| F2 | open_help |
| q | quit |
| control-c | quit |
| o | help |
| up | vmove -1 |
| k | vmove -1 |
| page up | vmove -10 |
| down | vmove 1 |
| j | vmove 1 |
| page down | vmove 10 |
| left | hmove -1 |
| control-left | hmove -10 |
| right | hmove 1 |
| control-right | hmove 10 |
| home | vgoto 0 |
| end | vgoto 2000000000 |
| G | goto_line |
| space | toggle_mark yellow |
| 1 | toggle_mark red |
| 2 | toggle_mark green |
| 3 | toggle_mark blue |
| 4 | toggle_mark magenta |
| 5 | toggle_mark cyan |
| tab | move_to_next_mark |
| shift-back tab | move_to_prev_mark |
| esc | mode normal |
| v | toggle_details |
## Settings
It comes with some sensible default settings from the settings.yaml file. It can overwriten, by section at
`~/.config/tailtales/settings.yaml` or the appropiate XDG config directory. See the file for further information.
## Rules
The settings file have several default rules, and more may be added (send your pull request with new file formats!).
It has a basic pattern on the file name to discover which rules to use and acording to the matrched rule it can set:
- Data extractors: as logfmt, patterns and regex. These extracted data allows easy filtering and search.
- Columns: From the extracted data, it can show some data into the columns.For example to easily format timestamp or processing time.
- Filters: Acording filters from the filtering language, allows to color the lines, or add a gutter (symbol at the left of the table).
## Filter Language
Its possible to search and filter based on both the line and the structured parsed contents.
- Just `text` will look for text
- The proper way is `"text"`, but if just a simple text is given its understood as text (converts the variable name to a string)
- `~ regex` or better `~ "regex"` can also be used to search / filter by regex
- Basic operations as >, <, >=, <=, ==, != between variablers (record fields) and strings or numbers
More will be added.
### Example expressions
- `INFO`
- `"^INFO` -- The closing " is assumed
- `timestamp <= "2025-01-01"` -- The comparison is string based, so timestamps better in ISO format
- `line_number > 1000 && line_number < 2000` -- TODO, no priority, no parenteheiss, will not work
## Features
- [x] TUI
- [x] Read a log file and be able to navigate using arrows and simple search commands
- [x] Read stdout/stderr from executed commands
- [x] Filter messages with some simple expressions
- [x] Parse the lines and provide a formated simple dictionary (key:value). Can see
the log lines and the formatted data. Firswt version bassed on patterns.
- [x] Logfmt format parsing
- [x] Pattern format parsing
- [x] Regex format parsing
- [x] Filtering language
- [x] Filtering and marking based on these filters
- [x] Streaming input. Changes in the file, or pipe in, or executed command are seen inmediately.
- [x] As it may have many many lines, be able to scroll efficiently
- [x] Never blocking
