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SimpleLogs Team

We're excited to announce the release of SimpleLogs, a powerful VS Code extension for monitoring and analyzing log files without leaving your editor!

The Problem​

As developers, we constantly need to check log files while coding. This typically involves switching between your editor and a separate log viewer or terminal, interrupting your workflow and breaking concentration.

Traditional solutions include:

  • Switching to a terminal and using tail -f or similar tools
  • Opening logs in separate applications
  • Using built-in log viewers in IDEs that often lack advanced features

None of these solutions allow you to stay within your coding environment while efficiently monitoring and analyzing logs.

The Solution: SimpleLogs​

SimpleLogs brings powerful log monitoring capabilities directly into VS Code. With SimpleLogs, you can:

  • Watch log files update in real-time
  • Use advanced filtering to focus on what matters
  • Apply syntax highlighting for improved readability
  • Analyze patterns and trends with built-in tools
  • Bookmark important log entries for later reference
  • View multiple logs side by side
  • And much more!

All of this without ever leaving your editor.

Key Features​

Real-Time Monitoring​

SimpleLogs watches your log files and updates the view in real-time as new entries are added. You can keep the view auto-scrolling to always see the latest entries, or pause it to examine specific sections.

Advanced Filtering​

Quickly find exactly what you're looking for with:

  • Full-text search
  • Regular expression support
  • Time-based filters
  • Exclusion patterns
  • Saved filter presets

Syntax Highlighting​

Improved readability for common log formats:

  • Apache/Nginx server logs
  • JSON logs
  • Common application logs (.NET, Java, Node.js)
  • Syslog format
  • Custom formats (configurable)

Log Analysis​

Gain insights with built-in analysis tools:

  • Error and warning counting
  • Pattern recognition
  • Trend visualization
  • Statistics dashboard
  • Diff view for comparing log segments

Customization​

Configure the extension to match your preferences:

  • Custom highlighting patterns
  • Light and dark theme support
  • Adjustable display settings
  • Workspace-specific configurations

Getting Started​

Installing SimpleLogs is easy:

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Go to the Extensions view
  3. Search for "SimpleLogs"
  4. Click Install

Once installed, you'll see a new SimpleLogs icon in the Activity Bar. Click it to open the SimpleLogs view and start monitoring your logs.

What's Next?​

We're just getting started with SimpleLogs. Our roadmap includes:

  • Enhanced pattern detection and anomaly highlighting
  • Integration with other VS Code extensions
  • More visualization options in the statistics dashboard
  • Improved performance for very large log files
  • Additional format-specific features

Feedback Welcome!​

We'd love to hear your thoughts on SimpleLogs. If you have suggestions, feature requests, or encounter any issues, please open an issue on GitHub.

Happy logging!