Export and Pipe¶

Export filtered logs to files or pipe to external commands.

Export to File¶

Basic Export¶

pgtail> export /tmp/errors.log

Exports the current buffer (filtered entries) to a file.

Export Formats¶

export --format text /tmp/logs.txt    # Plain text (default)
export --format json /tmp/logs.json   # JSON Lines
export --format csv /tmp/logs.csv     # CSV

Append Mode¶

export --append /tmp/logs.txt

Appends to existing file instead of overwriting.

Time-Scoped Export¶

export --since 1h /tmp/recent.log

Export only entries from the last hour.

Continuous Export¶

export --follow /tmp/live.log

Continuously writes new entries (like tail -f | tee). Shows entries on screen while writing to file.

Press Ctrl+C to stop.

Pipe to Commands¶

Basic Pipe¶

pgtail> pipe wc -l

Pipes filtered entries to an external command.

With Format¶

pipe --format json jq '.message'

Examples¶

pipe grep ERROR                      # Search within entries
pipe wc -l                           # Count entries
pipe sort | uniq -c                  # Count unique messages
pipe --format json jq -r '.sql_state' | sort | uniq -c

Buffer Behavior¶

Export and pipe commands work with the tailer buffer:

Buffer holds up to 10,000 entries (configurable)
Entries are filtered before export
Both streaming mode and Textual mode populate the buffer

Requirements¶

For export/pipe to work:

You must have tailed an instance first (tail <id>)
The buffer must have entries

If you see "No log file loaded", run tail <id> first.

Configuration¶

Buffer Size¶

[buffer]
tailer_max = 10000

Export After Textual Mode¶

After exiting Textual tail mode, the buffer is preserved. You can immediately export:

pgtail> tail 0
# ... view logs, exit with 'q' ...
pgtail> export /tmp/session.log