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"

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!