check-logs

name	check-logs
description	Check logs in an existing turborepo dev TUI inside herdr. Use when the user asks about an app's dev output, whether an app is running, or an error shown by a `bun dev` / `turbo run dev` pane. Read-only: navigate the existing TUI; never start, stop, or restart the server.
user-invocable	true
argument-hint	[app name, e.g. cms or frontend]

Check Logs

The user already has a turborepo dev TUI running in another herdr pane. Find that existing pane, focus the requested task, read its logs, and answer from evidence. Never start a new dev server from this skill.

If the user gave an app name in the argument, use it. If not, infer from context — the most recent app they were editing, what they just mentioned, or what shows a failure glyph (⨯) in the sidebar.

Turbo TUI reference

• The screen has two columns: a sidebar listing every task (e.g. @gam3s/frontend#dev, //#dev:cms, @gam3s/backend#dev) and a log column showing the selected task's stdout/stderr.
• The sidebar has glyphs: » for running, ⨯/✗ for failed. The header at the top of the right column is <task-name> > <message> — that tells you which task you're actually looking at.
• Only the focused task's logs appear in the buffer. Other tasks' output is not in scrollback until you select them.
• Keybinds (turbo ≥ 2.x): ↑/↓ or j/k move sidebar selection (also swaps the log column), / opens a search/filter, u/d scroll logs, U/D page logs, t/b jump to top/bottom of the focused task's logs, m shows the keybind help.
• Never press q (quits the TUI) or i (gives the user's keyboard to the running process). Use Enter only to confirm a / search selection — outside search it can focus/interact depending on TUI state. The skill is read-only.

Steps

1. Find the existing turbo TUI pane

herdr pane get "$HERDR_PANE_ID"           # capture your workspace_id
herdr pane list --workspace <workspace_id>

Only inspect panes in the same workspace, and skip your own agent pane. Read likely panes with:

herdr pane read <pane_id> --source visible --lines 80

Use a pane only if the visible buffer has clear turbo TUI evidence: task rows like <pkg>#dev / //#dev:<app> / <app>:dev, plus a log column or turbo strings such as Tasks:, cache bypass, cache hit, Packages in scope:, or command finished with error. Conversation panes, diffs, and shell history that merely mention turbo or bun dev are not enough.

If no existing pane matches, stop and tell the user: "No existing turborepo dev TUI found in this workspace. I did not start one." Do not start one yourself.

Done when one existing turbo TUI pane is identified, or the user has been told that none exists.

2. Select the target task

Match the user's app name against sidebar entries. The user typically says cms, frontend, backend; the sidebar entry is the full package/task name like //#dev:cms or @gam3s/frontend#dev. Match by substring, case-insensitive.

If you are unsure whether / is search in this turbo version, press m first and read the keybind help. Don't guess with random keys.

Fastest way — use / to filter:

herdr pane send-keys <turbo_pane> /
sleep 0.3
herdr pane send-text <turbo_pane> 'cms'   # or whatever the user said
sleep 0.3
herdr pane send-keys <turbo_pane> Enter
sleep 0.5
herdr pane read <turbo_pane> --source visible --lines 60

If / search is unavailable or confusing, fall back to arrow keys manually:

1. Read the screen.
2. Check the right-column header (the line at the top of the right pane, e.g. //#dev:cms > ...), not the sidebar. Stop only when that header names the target task.
3. If the target is only visible in the sidebar, press Down once.
4. Read again.
5. Repeat, capped at about 20 keypresses or the number of visible task rows.

herdr pane read <turbo_pane> --source visible --lines 60
herdr pane send-keys <turbo_pane> Down
sleep 0.3
herdr pane read <turbo_pane> --source visible --lines 60

Do not automate the stop condition with a substring match. The sidebar always contains the target name, so grep cms or case *cms* will false-positive before the log column is focused.

Done when the right-column header names the requested target task.

3. Read and answer

Once the target task is focused, its logs fill the right column. Read a generous window:

herdr pane read <turbo_pane> --source visible --lines 200

If the logs are long, scroll within the task:

herdr pane send-keys <turbo_pane> b   # jump to bottom (most recent)
herdr pane send-keys <turbo_pane> U   # page up

Then answer the user. Quote the relevant log lines verbatim, especially errors. If logs look clean, say so plainly: "frontend looks healthy — last output is ready in 1.2s, no errors in the visible buffer."

Done when the answer names the focused task and is grounded in visible log lines.

Don'ts

• Don't press q or i. Ever, unless the user explicitly asked you to stop or interact with the TUI.
• Don't restart the dev server to "get a clean run" — that destroys the evidence.
• Don't invent errors. If the logs look fine, the answer is "looks fine, here's what I see."
• Don't paste 500 lines of raw output. Trim to what's relevant, preserve error lines exactly.