Logger TXT

Logger TXT is a simple command-line tool to log activities throughout the day to a portable text file with timestamps. Options are available to log a specific entry under a type and project. Whether you track purchases, what you ate that day, progress on projects at work or all of the above and more, you will always have a simple, solid way of storing that information and a tool that gets out of your way to get it there.

Installation

Homebrew

brew install grantlucas/tap/logger-txt

Download Binary

Download a pre-built binary from the GitHub Releases page.

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/grantlucas/Logger-TXT.git
cd Logger-TXT
make build
make install

Quick Access

For faster usage, add an alias:

alias l="logger-txt"

Usage

Adding entries

logger-txt add "This is a general log entry"
logger-txt add -t personal "Entry with a type"
logger-txt add -p project "Entry with a project"
logger-txt add -t personal -p project "Entry with both"

To backfill an entry you missed, pass --at with a past date and time (DD/MM/YY HH:MM). The entry is inserted in chronological order rather than appended, so date-range queries stay correct:

logger-txt add --at "02/03/26 09:15" -t meeting "Sprint planning with the team"

Because a backfilled entry is usually not the last line, delete won't remove it. Edit the file directly instead.

Showing recent entries

Use show to browse entries by type or project. For free-text keyword matching, use search instead.

logger-txt show
logger-txt show -c 20
logger-txt show -t personal
logger-txt show -p myproject
logger-txt show --start "01/03/26" --end "14/03/26"

Running logger-txt with no subcommand is equivalent to logger-txt show.

Searching entries

Use search for free-text keyword searches across log entries. To browse entries by type or project without a search term, use show -t / show -p instead.

The search term matches anywhere in the full log line, including the timestamp, type, project, and message. Note that search WORK is not the same as show -t WORK — the search term will also match entries that mention "WORK" in their message body. Use show -t to filter strictly by the type tag.

logger-txt search "coffee"
logger-txt search --case-sensitive "API"
logger-txt search -c 5 "deploy"
logger-txt search -t work "meeting"
logger-txt search --start "01/03/26" --end "14/03/26" "deploy"

Filtering

Both show and search support the following filters:

• --type / -t - filter by entry type
• --project / -p - filter by project
• --start - start date (DD/MM/YY or DD/MM/YY HH:MM)
• --end - end date (DD/MM/YY or DD/MM/YY HH:MM)
• --count / -c - number of entries to display (default: 10)

Date ranges require both --start and --end. When a date range is active, all matching entries are returned — the default count of 10 does not apply. Pass -c explicitly to limit results within the range.

Filters can be combined:

logger-txt show -t work -p api --start "01/03/26" -c 50
logger-txt search -p backend --start "01/03/26" --end "07/03/26" "deploy"

Deleting the last entry

logger-txt delete
logger-txt delete -y

Version

logger-txt version

Example Output in log.txt

31/01/26 13:30 -0600 - PERSONAL (PROJECT) - This is a log note with a type and project
31/01/26 13:35 -0600 - PERSONAL - This is a log note with just a type
31/01/26 13:40 -0600 - (PROJECT) - This is a log note with just a project
31/01/26 13:45 -0600 - This is just a general event

Configuration

The log file path is resolved in the following order:

1. --file / -f flag
2. ./log.txt in the current directory (if the file already exists)
3. LOGGERTXT_PATH environment variable
4. ./log.txt (default)

Related Projects

• Logger TXT for macOS - A native macOS GUI for Logger TXT

Main Goals

The main goal of this project is to provide a simple logging tool which can be accessed quickly from the command line. By storing all data in a plain text file, you're not locked into always using this tool or limited to only viewing log entries with it. The data portability that a text file offers between tools, operating systems and environments is crucial to having a smooth workflow that is extremely dependable.

What do you use it for anyways?!?

Over time the act of logging will become habitual. Over the course of a day you may log any of the following and anything else you deem important.

• Progress of tasks related to work and/or specific projects
  • Extremely handy when it comes to filling in hours with an employer as you can easily look up what projects were worked on, on that Tuesday two weeks ago.
• Progress of personal tasks or projects
  • Progress logging is the main use of this tool
• Purchases made
  • Extremely useful when the credit card bill comes with cryptic names of companies.
• Log important events or anything where the time that it happened is important.
  • Had an important conversation with someone? Log that you had it so you can also know when it exactly happened.
• Log anything!

AI-Native CLI Design

Logger TXT started life as a shell script. The Go rewrite was partly about capabilities — date ranges, type and project filters, reverse scanning so a decade-deep log file stays fast — but just as much about a second goal: deliberately practising the design of a command-line tool that is genuinely good for both humans and coding agents.

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