Tailing Logs

Grep Badger is designed to stream logs as they change.

In this app, tailing means watching a log file for new lines as they are written.

1. Open a log file

1. Click the + icon to the right of Files in the left sidebar.
2. In the file explorer, select your host.
3. Navigate to the log file you want to open.

Once you select a log file, Grep Badger opens it in the main view and begins tailing the file with a clear history.

Remote log files are streamed directly from the host over SSH/SFTP. They are not copied locally.

2. Watch new lines arrive

After the log is open, Grep Badger will stream new lines as they arrive.

Use this when you want to watch live output from:

• application logs
• system logs
• container logs
• any other streamed text source

Tailing is useful when you are troubleshooting an issue as it happens.

3. Pause the tail

You can pause tailing at any time by clicking the Pause/Tail button in the CONTROLS section in the left sidebar.

Use pause when you want to:

• inspect lines without the view moving
• select lines for AI
• review a problem in the current chunk
• stop the log from continuing to scroll

When tailing is paused, the log viewer stays where it is until you start tailing again.

4. Resume the tail

Click the Pause/Tail button again to start tailing again.

When you resume tailing, Grep Badger loads the latest chunk first and continues streaming from there.

This helps you return to the newest log output quickly.

5. Tailing and chunk navigation

Grep Badger streams files instead of loading them directly into memory. This helps keep memory usage low and performance responsive.

If you use chunk navigation in the CONTROLS section, such as Load Latest, Previous, Next or Go to a line, tailing will be paused.

When you start tailing again, the latest chunk will always be loaded first.

Due to streaming, line numbers are estimated. When navigating to a line, treat it as a ballpark rather than a definitive position.

6. Local and remote tailing

Tailing works for both local and remote log files.

• Local files are streamed from your machine.
• Remote files are streamed over SSH/SFTP.

In both cases, Grep Badger is designed to keep the view near real time while avoiding loading the full file into memory.

Important notes

• Very large files may take a moment to load depending on file size and network speed.
• Network speed and remote system load may affect how quickly remote tail updates appear.
• A short delay is normal when new lines are written.
• If you navigate through chunks, tailing will pause until you start it again.
• If the connection drops for a remote file, you may need to reconnect or reopen the file.