LogLens is a powerful log processing engine with an interactive Terminal UI for viewing and analyzing system logs.
Think of it as a Linux equivalent to Windows Event Viewer.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
Core Engine
- Pluggable Sources: Extensible architecture for different log sources
- journalctl (systemd journal) – fully implemented
- File-based logs (text & JSON Lines)
- Easy to add: Docker, nginx, remote syslog, cloud APIs
- Structured Output: Normalized LogRecord objects with:
- ISO-8601 timestamps (auto-converted to local timezone)
- Severity numbers (0-7) and labels (EMERG, ALERT, CRIT, ERROR, WARNING, NOTICE, INFO, DEBUG)
- Message content
- Raw data preservation for debugging
- Powerful Filtering:
- Exact severity match
- Minimum severity threshold (e.g., “WARNING and above”)
- Keyword search (case-sensitive or insensitive)
- Combinable filters with AND logic
Interactive TUI
- 3-Pane Layout: Categories sidebar | Log table | Details panel
- Color-Coded Severity Levels: Instantly spot critical issues
- EMERG/ALERT: Bright red/magenta
- ERROR: Red
- WARNING: Yellow
- INFO: Green
- DEBUG: Dim
- Real-Time Filtering: Click categories in sidebar for instant filtering
- Dual Details View: Toggle between curated (human-readable) and raw (full JSON)
- Time Range Queries: Filter logs by time with no memory limits when –since is used
- Latest-First Sorting: Most recent logs always on top
- Keyboard Navigation: Full keyboard control for efficient workflow
Website: github.com/nirakar24/loglens
Support:
Developer: LogLens Contributors
License: MIT License
LogLens is written in Python. Learn Python with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| LogFile Viewers | |
|---|---|
| lnav | Curses-based utility for viewing and analyzing log files. |
| tailspin | Terminal log file highlighter designed for inspecting log output in the shell |
| journalctl | Query and display messages from the journal |
| hl | Inspect structured logs from the terminal |
| Nerdlog | Remote-first terminal log viewer |
| lazyjournal | Inspect logs from multiple sources |
| KSystemLog | System log viewer for KDE |
| Logdy | Lightweight log viewer that works just like grep, awk, sed, or jq |
| humanlog | Reads logs from stdin and prints them back to stdout, but prettier. |
| toolong | View, tail, merge, and search log files |
| Xlogmaster | GTK+ based program to keep track of logfiles and devices |
| QJournalctl | Graphical User Interface for systemd’s journalctl |
| logrifle | Designed to "rifle through" large logfiles |
| Gnome-logs | View and search logs with this graphical utility |
| frontail | Stream logs to your web browser |
| nless | Pager for exploring structured and semi-structured data |
| glogg | Qt graphical log explorer |
| Chipmunk | Fast logfile viewer that can deal with huge logfiles (>10 GB) |
| SEE | Inspect logs from systemd services |
| MultiTail | View multiple logfiles windowed on the console |
| Logria | Log aggregation tool |
| logana | Work efficiently with very large log files, including multi-GB logs |
| QLogExplorer | Qt-based tool for exploring log files |
| Grafito | Simple, self-contained web-based log viewer for journalctl |
| swatch | Logfile viewer with regexp matching, highlighting & hooks |
| logmaster-gtk-d | Log viewer for Linux built with GTK and D |
| LogLens | Linux equivalent to Windows Event Viewer |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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