Swatch (Simple Log Watcher) is a command-line utility for monitoring system and application logs and responding to messages that match configured patterns.
The application was developed for monitoring syslog output but can be used with other text-based log sources. It examines incoming messages using regular expressions and performs actions when matching entries are detected.
Swatch is primarily an event-monitoring tool rather than a statistical log analyzer. It is useful when administrators need immediate notification of particular messages or want to run a command when a specific event appears in a log.
Its behaviour is defined through configuration rules that specify the patterns to match and the actions to perform.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Monitors system and application logs for specified message patterns.
- Uses regular expressions to match incoming log entries.
- Supports multiple monitoring rules in a configuration file.
- Allows different actions to be associated with different matching patterns.
- Highlights matching messages using configurable colours.
- Supports bold, underline and reverse-video terminal attributes.
- Can send email notifications when selected messages are detected.
- Executes external commands in response to matching log entries.
- Supports ignoring messages that match selected patterns.
- Can operate continuously in the background.
- Provides a configurable mechanism for watching operational and security-related events.
Website: sourceforge.net/projects/swatch
Support:
Developer: Todd Atkins
License: GNU General Public License v2.0
Learn Perl with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Command-Line Log Filters, Highlighters and Watchers | |
|---|---|
| tailspin | Highlights log output automatically without predefined log formats |
| hl | Filters, searches and highlights structured logs in the terminal |
| humanlog | Formats structured logs into readable, colourised terminal output |
| fblog | Formats and filters JSON logs using configurable fields and Lua expressions |
| Logalize | Customisable log colouriser with regex patterns and themes |
| swatch | Monitors log files and triggers actions when specified patterns match |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
| Console Log File Analyzers | |
|---|---|
| journalctl | Query and display messages from the journal |
| lnav | Curses-based tool for viewing and analyzing log files |
| Gonzo | Go based TUI for log analysis |
| angle-grinder | Slice and dice logs |
| MultiTail | Monitor logfiles and command output in multiple windows |
| Chipmunk | Fast logfile viewer that can deal with huge logfiles (>10 GB) |
| TWSLA | Work with large log sets without deploying a heavier log management stack |
| Swatch | Simple Log Watcher is a useful tool to monitor just about any type of log |
| reqlog | Search, track and stream logs |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
 LinuxLinks helps you discover the best free and open source software for Linux. Explore our extensive collection of recommended applications, including alternatives to popular proprietary software.We also publish software reviews, Linux tutorials, hardware reviews, free programming books and articles covering the wider open source community. Browse our Linux resources to discover more. Know a useful free and open source Linux application we haven't covered? Suggest a program for inclusion. Has your software been featured on LinuxLinks? Display one of our Featured on LinuxLinks badges on your website or GitHub README. |
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.