Journal Reader

A modern, native Linux desktop application for reading and filtering system journal logs. Built with Tauri, React, and Rust, it provides an intuitive GUI alternative to the command-line journalctl tool.

Features

• Advanced Filtering - Filter logs by priority level, time range, systemd units, boot sessions, and syslog identifiers
• Powerful Search - Grep-based pattern matching with regex support and case-sensitivity toggle
• Virtual Scrolling – Efficiently browse large log sets with smooth infinite scroll
• Expandable Entries - Click any log entry to view full metadata (PID, UID, executable, hostname, etc.)
• Theme Support - Dark/light themes with system-aware defaults, plus custom theme creation
• Multi-Boot Support – View and compare logs across different boot sessions

Screenshots

Coming soon

Requirements

• Linux with systemd/journald
• Node.js 18+
• Rust toolchain (1.70+)
• journalctl command available in PATH

Installation

From Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/linx-systems/journalreader.git
cd journalreader

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the application
npm run tauri build

The built application will be available in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/ as:

• AppImage (portable)
• DEB package (Debian/Ubuntu)

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in development mode with hot reload
npm run tauri dev

Usage

Filter Panel

The left sidebar provides filtering options:

Filter	Description
Search	Text search with regex support
Priority	Filter by syslog priority (0=Emergency to 7=Debug)
Time Range	Predefined presets or custom date ranges
Boot	Select specific boot session or offset
Units	Filter by systemd units/services

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Toggle the filter sidebar for more viewing space
• Click any log entry to expand and view full details

Themes

Access Settings from the toolbar to:

• Switch between light/dark themes
• Follow system theme preference
• Create and customize themes
• Import/export theme configurations

Tech Stack

Frontend:

• React 19 with TypeScript
• Vite for build tooling
• Tailwind CSS for styling
• Zustand for state management
• TanStack Virtual for virtualized scrolling

Backend:

• Tauri 2 for native desktop integration
• Rust for system-level journal access
• Tokio async runtime

Project Structure

journalreader/
├── src/                    # React frontend
│   ├── components/         # UI components
│   │   ├── filters/        # Filter panel components
│   │   ├── logs/           # Log display components
│   │   ├── toolbar/        # Toolbar components
│   │   └── settings/       # Settings/theme components
│   ├── hooks/              # Custom React hooks
│   ├── stores/             # Zustand state stores
│   └── lib/                # Utilities and types
├── src-tauri/              # Rust backend
│   └── src/
│       ├── commands/       # Tauri command handlers
│       └── journal/        # journalctl integration
├── package.json
└── README.md

Development

Available Scripts

Command	Description
npm run dev	Start Vite dev server
npm run build	Build frontend for production
npm run preview	Preview production build
npm run tauri dev	Run full Tauri app in dev mode
npm run tauri build	Build distributable application

IDE Setup

Recommended: VS Code with:

• Tauri
• rust-analyzer

License

MIT