MRmr-karan·Apr 27, 2025Submission
Show HN: Logchef – Schema-agnostic log viewer for ClickHouse
Hey HN! I’m Karan, creator of Logchef (https://logchef.app), an open-source log viewer built specifically for exploring logs stored in ClickHouse.
This tool grew directly out of my $day job managing massive log volumes. Like many orgs, we migrated our log workloads to ClickHouse for its performance, but found the ecosystem lacked dedicated UI tooling for actually browsing and analyzing those logs effectively.
We were using Metabase, and while great for general BI, it wasn't designed for log exploration workflows. Common pain points included:
- Clunky Ad-hoc Querying: Writing/modifying raw ClickHouse SQL for quick checks was slow and error-prone, especially during incidents.
- Disconnect Between Viz & Raw Logs: Visualizing trends (like error counts) then drilling down to the specific raw logs often required separate, complex queries and wr
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estling with row limits. The intuitive "slice-and-dice" was missing.
- UI Friction: Simple things like selecting precise time ranges ("last 90 minutes"), easily viewing surrounding log context, or dealing with truncated columns added unnecessary friction.
Debugging sessions were taking longer than they should. So, over the last 3-4 months, I built Logchef to scratch this itch.
Logchef's Core Ideas:
- Purpose-Built for ClickHouse Logs: Designed from the ground up for the specific task of log exploration on top of ClickHouse, focusing on speed and intuitive workflows.
- Schema-Agnostic: Logchef doesn't force OTEL or any other schema. Connect it directly to your existing ClickHouse log tables (it just needs a timestamp column). Bring your own schema!
- Focus on Viewing/Querying: Logchef intentionally doesn't handle log collection/ingestion. It complements great tools like Vector, Fluentbit, etc., by focusing purely on the exploration layer once data is in ClickHouse.
- Simple Search Syntax: Includes a simple query syntax (e.g., `status=200 and path~"/api/"`) that translates to efficient ClickHouse SQL behind the scenes, integrated with the Monaco editor.
Tech Stack: Go backend, SQLite for metadata, Vue.js + shadcn/ui + Tailwind CSS frontend.
You can try a live public demo here: https://demo.logchef.app
(It's pre-populated with sample data using Vector, so you can dive right in. Uses Dex for OIDC auth - creds are on the login page).
What's Next & Getting Involved:
Logchef is already used internally at Zerodha, and I'm driving towards v1.0 this year. The roadmap includes features like Alerting, Live Tail Logs, and Enhanced Dashboarding.
It's open source (AGPLv3), and I'd love to get more eyes on it and build a community.
Check out the repo: https://github.com/mr-karan/logchef
I’d love to hear your feedback, whether positive or negative. Please open issues on GitHub with suggestions or bug reports!
Thanks so much, HN!