We have logs from an application that are formatted as JSON. Normally they are sent to a central logging tool like LogStash. On the terminal, we can read them using a tool like jq. But if I attach a log file to a ticket or email it with a name ending in .log OS X opens it in Console by default. I am trying to find a straightforward way to view it formatted or pretty-printed within the Console application.
Formatting logs in OS X Console
consoleformatting
Related Solutions
Console.app's logs are stored in the following locations:
/var/log
/Library/Logs
~/Library/Logs
To back up all the logs, simply copy the contents of these three folders to another location.
To back up a single log, look in Console.app for the log that you want to back up, select it in the sidebar, then press ⌘R (or right-click and select Reveal in Finder). This file can then be copied to another location.
Yes, this is completely normal behavior. Here is an example of how to break down the messages in the console app.
This is my what appears when I open my console app.
Look how many messages came in within a second at 14:03:04! That's a lot of data to process! But you don't have to process this data.
Let's say you're looking for an error message, click on the box in the top left labelled Errors and Faults. This is what mine looks like.
Less than an error per second. Much easier to process. But my guess is that even this is not what you were looking for. Check out the sidebar here:
These are the various files and folders that contain various logs for both built-in and third party apps. If you click on one of these files or navigate through the folders to the log file you are looking for you can view the log file in app. My guess is the what you are looking for is the system.log which records information for built-in system functions.
This is an example of what an open system.log file looks like.
Best Answer
Check out this article: https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPSystemStartup/Chapters/LoggingErrorsAndWarnings.html
It looks like there isn't any way to nicely format JSON for the console app, but you might be able to use the tagging system for some increased clarity.
Probably a better idea to include instructions on how to open the log in a more capable program.