splitlog

A developer tool that supercharges debug by routing logs over UDP and visualizing them in a multi-pane CLI interface.

splitlog helps separate and monitor logs from multiple services or modules with ease by using logical channels, dynamic port mapping, and structured JSON output.

Features

• Tiny Logging Library
  Pipe logs over UDP with ease, from any debug logger.

• CLI Log Monitor
  Real-time multi-tab terminal UI using blessed, showing logs per channel.

• Channel Registry
  Auto-discovers ports via a naming registry (/tmp/splitlog_channel), so clients don’t need to know port info up front.

• JSON Mode
  Supports structured logging for better parsing and formatting.

Use Cases

• 🧩 Multi-service debugging
• 🔀 Frontend/backend log separation
• 🧹 Cleaner, isolated dev environments
• 🧪 Live observation of microservices or workers

Installation

npm install @dsheiko/splitlog

CLI Monitor

Start a UDP listener and terminal UI for logs:

splitlog

Options

-p, --port <number>    UDP port to listen on (defaults to first available port)

The CLI will automatically:

• Start a UDP listener
• Register the port in /tmp/splitlog_channel
• Show logs grouped by channels in separate panes

Logger Usage

import debug from "debug";
import splitlog from "@dsheiko/splitlog";

const logApp = splitlog( debug( "APP" ) );
const logDb = splitlog( debug( "DB" ) );
const logError = splitlog( debug( "ERROR" ) );

logApp( "Application started" );
logDb( "Connected to database" );
logError( "Failed to fetch user data", { userId: 42, error: "User not found" } );

API

splitlog( debugNamespaceLogger: Function, options?: {
  port?: number,
  host?: string
} ): Function

If no options are provided, the logger reads the current listener port from /tmp/splitlog_channel.

Contributing

PRs welcome! If you want to suggest a feature or report a bug, please open an issue.