ccze

A robust log colorizer

TLDR

Colorize log file

$ cat [/var/log/syslog] | ccze

Follow log with colors

$ tail -f [/var/log/syslog] | ccze

Raw ANSI output for less

$ cat [logfile] | ccze -A | less -R

HTML output

$ cat [logfile] | ccze -h > [output.html]

Disable lookups for speed

$ cat [logfile] | ccze -A -o nolookups | less -R

List available plugins

$ ccze -l

Colorize using only a specific plugin

$ cat [logfile] | ccze -p [httpd]

Use an alternate configuration file

$ cat [logfile] | ccze -F [~/.my_cczerc] -A

ccze is a robust log colorizer written in C, designed as a drop-in replacement for colorize with better performance and lower resource usage. It reads log data from standard input and outputs colorized text using ncurses, raw ANSI escape codes, or HTML.The tool uses a plugin architecture to recognize and colorize different log formats including syslog, Apache httpd, Postfix, Squid, Exim, fetchmail, procmail, and vsftpd. Each plugin understands the structure of its target log format and applies appropriate colors to timestamps, hostnames, severity levels, and other fields.Output defaults to ncurses mode but the `-A` flag produces raw ANSI output suitable for piping to `less -R` or other tools.

PARAMETERS

-a PLUGIN=ARGUMENTS, --argument PLUGIN=ARGUMENTS

Pass whitespace-separated arguments to the specified plugin.

-A, --raw-ansi

Generate raw ANSI color sequences instead of using ncurses.

-c KEY=COLOR, --color KEY=COLOR

Set the color of a keyword, as in configuration files.

-C, --convert-date

Convert UNIX timestamps to human-readable date format (e.g. in squid or oops logs).

-F rcfile, --rcfile rcfile

Read the specified file as configuration instead of the defaults.

-h, --html

Generate HTML output instead of console colors.

-l, --list-plugins

List all available (loaded) plugins with their type and description.

-m mode, --mode mode

Set output mode: curses, ansi, or html.

-o option, --options option

Toggle a feature. Available options: scroll, wordcolor, lookups, transparent, cssfile. Prefix with "no" to disable (e.g., nolookups). All are enabled by default except cssfile.

-p plugin, --plugin plugin

Load only the specified plugin(s) for a slight speedup.

-r, --remove-facility

Remove syslog-ng facility level information from log lines.

-V, --version

Display version information.

--help

Display usage summary and exit.

CONFIGURATION

/etc/cczerc

System-wide configuration.

~/.cczerc

Per-user configuration.

PLUGINS

Located in /usr/lib/ccze and ~/.ccze. Support for:- syslog, httpd, postfix- squid, exim, fetchmail- procmail, vsftpd, xferlog- ulogd, apm

INSTALL

sudo apt install ccze

sudo dnf install ccze

sudo zypper install ccze

nix profile install nixpkgs#ccze

CAVEATS

Use -o nolookups for faster processing of long logs. When enabled (the default), lookups resolve usernames and service names but slow down colorization significantly.