LogdyPro: Advanced Terminal Log File Navigator with Powerful Compression
After multiple months of development effort, I'm excited to share a first preview version of the LogdyPro logs storage engine along with a powerful terminal log file navigator that revolutionizes how you browse, search, and manage logs. This comprehensive log file browser combines exceptional compression capabilities with lightning-fast search functionality. This post will walk you through the available features and outline the planned roadmap for this innovative logs browser.
The terminal UI will be developed alongside a web UI which is also in the works. Below you can see a short video demonstrating the core features of our log file navigator in action.
Key LogdyPro Log Browser Features
- Industry-leading compression rate - up to 20x (1GB of logs reduced to just 50MB)
- Lightning-fast search capabilities directly on compressed log data
- Efficient operation on commodity hardware using your existing infrastructure
- Seamless integration with S3-compatible storage for direct querying and browsing
- Intuitive terminal interface for navigating complex log structures
Similar to our open-source version, the LogdyPro log file navigator interface is built around 4 primary touchpoints designed for efficient log browsing and analysis, those are:
Intelligent Facet Generation for Log Navigation
Facets are low-cardinality log values that provide users with a quick overview of the distribution of specific log attributes. In the LogdyPro log file browser, facets serve as powerful navigation aids that automatically extract and categorize key dimensions from your logs, such as:
- Service names - Quickly filter logs by specific microservices or components
- Log levels - Instantly identify ERROR, WARNING, INFO, and DEBUG entries
- Status codes - Easily spot HTTP 4xx and 5xx errors in web service logs
- Request paths - Navigate logs by API endpoints or URL patterns
The facet system dynamically adapts to your log structure, automatically identifying the most relevant fields for navigation. This intelligent categorization transforms how you browse logs, allowing you to drill down from thousands of entries to the exact subset you need in seconds. The facet-based navigation is particularly valuable when dealing with compressed log files, as it provides structural insights without requiring full decompression.
Advanced Log Browsing and Filtering Capabilities
For the LogdyPro log file navigator, we've developed a sophisticated expression language that powers its search functionality. This gives users the ability to filter and search for any pattern imaginable within their log files. We've named it Breser which stands for Business Rules & Expression Syntax for Easy Retrieval.
Breser is also included in our open-source distribution. You can read more documentation here and on the official docs page. Breser provides lightning-fast search across compressed log datasets and forms the core of the LogdyPro log browser experience.
The LogdyPro terminal log navigator leverages Boolean operators (AND, OR) to create powerful compound queries that dramatically improve search efficiency. By combining multiple conditions, users can:
- Narrow search scope - Using AND operators to combine multiple conditions (e.g.,
level == "ERROR" AND service == "payment-api") reduces the search space exponentially, allowing the log browser to scan only relevant entries - Target specific scenarios - Create precise queries like
status_code >= 500 AND path == "/api/checkout"to immediately identify critical issues in specific application components - Perform complex diagnostics - Construct multi-condition filters such as
(user_id == "12345" OR session_id == "abc123") AND timestamp >= "2025-03-20"to trace user journeys across distributed systems
This Boolean filtering approach is particularly powerful when working with compressed log files, as it allows the log navigator to skip entire sections of logs that don't match the initial conditions, maintaining high performance even with massive datasets.
Customizable Column Selection for Efficient Log Browsing
The LogdyPro log file navigator offers flexible column selection capabilities, allowing you to customize exactly which log attributes are displayed in your terminal view. Currently, you can select columns that correspond to actual fields in your logs, creating a tailored view that focuses only on the information most relevant to your analysis.
This column customization is essential for efficient log browsing, especially when dealing with verbose log formats or when focusing on specific troubleshooting scenarios. By reducing visual noise and highlighting key fields, the log file browser makes patterns and anomalies immediately apparent.
For future releases, we plan to enhance this feature by adding the ability to specify middlewares similar to our open-source version, which will enable on-the-fly transformations and calculations on log data as you browse.
Comprehensive Full Log View with JSON Parsing
A critical component of any effective log file navigator is the ability to examine complete log entries in detail. The LogdyPro terminal log browser includes a powerful full log view feature that provides a reconstructed view of the original log line, with all fields and values preserved despite the compression.
Since the current version of LogdyPro works exclusively with JSON logs, this view presents a neatly parsed and formatted JSON structure, making it easy to examine complex nested objects and arrays within your logs. The full log view serves as an essential complement to the column-based browsing experience, allowing you to dive deep into specific entries when needed.
This detailed view is particularly valuable when investigating complex issues that require examining the complete context of a log entry, including fields that might not be displayed in your customized column view.
Revolutionary Log File Compression Technology
One of the most groundbreaking features of the LogdyPro log file navigator is its exceptional log compression capability. We set out to build a tool that dramatically reduces the size of log files (enabling extended retention periods) while maintaining full search capabilities without requiring predefined indexes or schemas.
This goal has been fully achieved, and I'm proud to share that LogdyPro delivers state-of-the-art log compression rates and search performance that rivals industry leaders and heavily-funded open source projects.
The compression technology powering our log file browser doesn't just save storage space—it fundamentally transforms how you can interact with your logs:
- Store months of logs instead of days - With up to 20x compression, retain complete logs for extended periods without infrastructure upgrades
- Search compressed logs directly - No need to decompress before searching, maintaining lightning-fast query performance
- Schema-free operation - No need to define log structures in advance, the system adapts to your existing log formats
If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading our series of articles that detail the problems LogdyPro solves, the innovative approach we've taken, and the remarkable results achieved. Below you can find all three articles in this series:
- Logdy Pro Part I: The Problem
The article clarifies the problems being solved by Logdy Pro and a way it does that
- Logdy Pro Part II: Storage
The article uncovers how Logdy Pro is able to achieve 15-20x compression rate while still maintain fast search and query capabilities
- Logdy Pro Part III: Benchmark
The article presents comprehensive benchmark results demonstrating Logdy Pro's performance metrics and storage efficiency compared to industry alternatives.
Summary: The Future of Log File Navigation
Thank you for exploring our innovative terminal log file navigator. LogdyPro represents a significant advancement in log management technology, combining powerful compression with intuitive browsing capabilities. Whether you're dealing with application logs, system logs, or infrastructure monitoring, our log browser provides the tools you need to efficiently navigate, search, and analyze your data.
The LogdyPro terminal log navigator addresses the core challenges faced by developers and system administrators:
- Managing ever-growing log volumes without expanding storage infrastructure
- Finding relevant information quickly without complex query languages
- Maintaining historical logs for compliance and troubleshooting
- Navigating complex log structures without specialized tools
Currently, LogdyPro is available in a closed beta version. To gain access to this powerful log file browser and compression technology, please get in touch with me at peter(at)logdy.dev and share your specific use case.