Log Command¶

The bamon log command allows you to view and manage daemon log files with advanced filtering, searching, and real-time following capabilities.

Usage¶

bamon log [OPTIONS]

Options¶

Option	Short	Description
`--lines <number>`	`-n`	Number of lines to display (default: 50)
`--follow`	`-f`	Follow log output in real-time (like tail -f)
`--level <levels>`	`-l`	Filter by log level (ERROR, WARN, INFO, DEBUG) - comma separated
`--since <time>`	`-s`	Show logs since time (e.g., '1h', '2d', '2023-01-01')
`--until <time>`	`-u`	Show logs until time (e.g., '1h', '2d', '2023-01-01')
`--search <pattern>`	`-g`	Search for keyword or pattern in logs
`--regex`	`-r`	Treat search pattern as regular expression
`--before <lines>`	`-b`	Show N lines before each match
`--after <lines>`	`-a`	Show N lines after each match
`--info`	`-i`	Show log file information (location, size, etc.)
`--format <format>`	`-o`	Output format: text, json (default: text)
`--no-color`		Disable color output

Examples¶

Basic Usage¶

# Show recent log entries
bamon log

# Show last 100 lines
bamon log --lines 100

# Follow logs in real-time
bamon log --follow

Filtering by Log Level¶

# Show only ERROR level logs
bamon log --level ERROR

# Show ERROR and WARN level logs
bamon log --level ERROR,WARN

# Show INFO level logs with last 20 lines
bamon log --level INFO --lines 20

Searching Logs¶

# Search for specific keyword (literal search)
bamon log --search "github"

# Search with regex pattern
bamon log --search "github.*completed" --regex

# Search for error patterns with regex
bamon log --search ".*failed.*" --regex

# Search with context lines
bamon log --search "error" --before 2 --after 2

Output Formatting¶

# JSON output format
bamon log --format json --lines 10

# Disable color output
bamon log --no-color

# Show log file information
bamon log --info

Advanced Filtering¶

# Combine multiple filters
bamon log --level ERROR --search "timeout" --lines 50

# Search with context and JSON output
bamon log --search "github" --before 1 --after 1 --format json

# Follow logs with level filtering
bamon log --follow --level ERROR,WARN

Search Types¶

Literal Search (Default)¶

By default, the --search option performs literal string matching:

# Searches for the exact string "github"
bamon log --search "github"

Regex Search¶

Use the --regex flag for pattern matching:

# Regex patterns
bamon log --search "github.*completed" --regex    # Lines containing "github" followed by "completed"
bamon log --search ".*failed.*" --regex           # Lines containing "failed" anywhere
bamon log --search "^\[ERROR\]" --regex           # Lines starting with "[ERROR]"

Note: Without --regex, the search treats the pattern as a literal string. With --regex, it uses regular expression syntax.

Log File Information¶

When using --info, the command displays:

Location: Full path to the log file
Size: Current file size in human-readable format
Last Modified: Timestamp of last modification
Lines: Total number of lines in the file
Rotated Logs: Number of rotated log files
Directory Size: Total size of the log directory

Output Formats¶

Text Format (Default)¶

Color-coded log levels (ERROR in red, WARN in yellow, INFO in green, DEBUG in cyan)
Human-readable timestamps and messages
Standard terminal output

JSON Format¶

Structured JSON output with separate fields for timestamp, level, and message
Suitable for programmatic processing
Each log entry is a separate JSON object

Real-time Following¶

The --follow option works like tail -f, continuously displaying new log entries as they are written. This is useful for monitoring daemon activity in real-time.

Note: Press Ctrl+C to stop following logs.

Error Handling¶

The command handles various error conditions gracefully:

Missing log file: Shows appropriate error message
Permission issues: Displays access denied messages
Invalid arguments: Shows usage help
Configuration issues: Falls back to default log location

Examples in Practice¶

Monitoring System Health¶

# Monitor for errors in real-time
bamon log --follow --level ERROR

# Check recent system activity
bamon log --lines 50 --level INFO

Debugging Issues¶

# Find all timeout-related errors
bamon log --search "timeout" --level ERROR

# Get context around specific errors
bamon log --search "failed" --before 3 --after 3

Log Analysis¶

# Export logs in JSON format for analysis
bamon log --format json --lines 1000 > logs.json

# Get log file statistics
bamon log --info

Integration with Other Commands¶

The log command works seamlessly with other BAMON commands:

# Check daemon status and then view logs
bamon status && bamon log --lines 20

# View logs after starting daemon
bamon start && bamon log --follow

Tips and Best Practices¶

Use appropriate line counts: Start with --lines 50 for recent activity, increase for historical analysis
Combine filters effectively: Use level filtering with search for targeted results
Monitor in real-time: Use --follow for active monitoring during troubleshooting
Export for analysis: Use JSON format for programmatic log analysis
Check log file info: Use --info to understand log file size and rotation status