Log Viewer Panel
The Log Viewer panel monitors .log files in your project and provides live tailing with powerful filtering.
Features
Auto-Discovery
Needlecast automatically finds .log files in your project directory. Select a log file from the dropdown.
Live Tailing
Watch logs update in real-time with 500ms polling. New entries appear automatically.
Log Rotation Detection
When log files are rotated (archived and new log started), Needlecast detects this and continues tailing the active log.
Level Filtering
Toggle visibility of log levels:
- ERROR — Red highlight
- WARN — Orange highlight
- INFO — Default
- DEBUG/TRACE — Grey highlight
Follow Mode
Enable “follow” to auto-scroll as new entries appear. Disable to scroll freely.
Search
Use Ctrl+F to search within the log. Matches are highlighted.
Supported Formats
- Plain text — Standard log files
- Logback — XML-formatted Logback logs
- Log4j2 — JSON-formatted Log4j2 logs
- Stack Traces — Grouped and formatted
Color Coding
| Level | Color | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ERROR | Red background | 2026-04-17 ERROR Something failed |
| WARN | Orange text | WARN Database slow |
| DEBUG | Grey text | DEBUG Request received |
| TRACE | Grey italic | TRACE Entering method |
Use Cases
- Monitor build output
- Watch server logs during development
- Debug application behavior in real-time