nless is a terminal-based pager for exploring structured and semi-structured data. It takes a different approach from conventional text pagers by presenting information in columns that can be manipulated interactively.
The application is useful when examining command output, application logs and other data that contains identifiable fields. Instead of manually assembling a series of text-processing commands, users can explore the information directly and progressively refine the results.
nless is built using the Textual framework and provides a keyboard-driven interface with optional mouse interaction. It is designed for both existing files and continuously arriving data, making it suitable for development, troubleshooting and general data exploration.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Automatic format detection – recognises CSV, TSV, JSON, aligned text and other delimited formats.
- Delimiter switching – changes how incoming data is divided into columns.
- Regular-expression parsing – extracts fields from unstructured messages using named capture groups.
- Interactive filtering – selects or excludes records based on column values and search expressions.
- Sorting – orders records using selected columns.
- Pivot tables – groups data into summaries with interactive drill-down capabilities.
- Streaming support – processes incoming information as it arrives.
- Time-window filtering – displays records received within selected periods.
- Timestamp conversion – recognises and transforms common date and time representations.
- JSON extraction – converts nested JSON properties into individual columns.
- Buffer history – preserves previous views when performing operations that transform data.
- Pipeline integration – writes processed data to standard output or operates without the interactive interface.
- Multiple file merging – combines input files while retaining their source information.
- Mouse interaction – supports column sorting, context menus and navigation.
- Cross-platform support – runs on Linux and macOS.
Website: github.com/mpryor/nothing-less
Support:
Developer: Matt Pryor
License: MIT License
nless is written in Python. Learn Python with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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| logrifle | Quickly browse and search records with a keyboard-driven interface |
| nless | Interactive pager with structured data navigation |
| MultiTail | Monitor multiple files simultaneously with colour-coded output |
| Logria | Aggregate multiple data streams with live filtering and highlighting |
| logana | Fast, interactive exploration with filtering and search |
| JSON Log Viewer | Explore structured JSON records with interactive filtering and navigation |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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