tail

name	tail
description	Tail and stream logs from background processes. View recent output, read new lines, and monitor running applications. Use when tailing logs, checking process output, streaming application logs, or monitoring background tasks.

Tail - Log Streaming

Stream and tail logs from background processes using the tail: MCP tools.

Quick Reference

Tool	Purpose
tail:start_process	Launch a command in the background (cwd, env)
tail:tail_logs	Show last N log lines (optional pattern filter)
tail:read_logs	Read new output since last read (optional pattern filter)
tail:wait_for	Block until output matches / goes idle / exits / times out
tail:kill_process	Stop a running process and its child tree
tail:restart_process	Restart a process (waits for full exit first)
tail:list_processes	Show all managed processes
tail:remove_process	Remove a process from the list

Common Workflows

Start and monitor a dev server

1. tail:start_process with command: "npm run dev" and id: "dev-server"
2. tail:read_logs with id: "dev-server" to check startup output
3. Periodically tail:tail_logs with id: "dev-server" to see recent logs

Watch a build

1. tail:start_process with command: "npm run build -- --watch"
2. tail:read_logs to stream incremental output

Get instant feedback from a watch process

1. tail:start_process with command: "npm test -- --watch" and id: "tests"
2. After editing code, tail:wait_for with id: "tests" and idle_ms: 1500 to block until the re-run settles
3. tail:tail_logs with pattern: "fail|✗|Error" to see only failures

Wait for a server to be ready

1. tail:start_process with command: "npm run dev" and id: "dev"
2. tail:wait_for with id: "dev" and pattern: "listening on|ready" -- returns as soon as it's up (or reason: "exit" if it crashed first)

Debug a failing process

1. tail:tail_logs with pattern: "error|warn" to surface problem lines
2. tail:restart_process after applying a fix (old instance is fully stopped first)