analyze-log-files

name	analyze-log-files
description	Analyze log files by stripping ANSI escape sequences first. Use when asked to process, handle, read, or analyze log files that may contain terminal escape codes.

Analyze Log Files

When to Use

• When user asks to "analyze log.txt", "read the log file", "process logs", "check the logs"
• When dealing with any .log or log-related files that may contain ANSI escape sequences
• When terminal output has been captured to a file and needs analysis
• When log files appear garbled or contain escape sequence artifacts

Why This Matters

Log files captured from terminal sessions often contain ANSI escape sequences for:

• Colors (e.g., \x1b[31m for red)
• Cursor movements
• Text formatting (bold, underline)
• Screen clearing commands

These sequences make logs difficult to:

1. Read in plain text editors
2. Search with grep/ripgrep
3. Process with text analysis tools
4. Analyze accurately by LLMs

Instructions

Step 1: Strip ANSI Escape Sequences

Before analyzing any log file, first strip the ANSI sequences using ansifilter:

ansifilter -i log.txt -o /tmp/clean_log.txt

For other log file names, adjust accordingly:

ansifilter -i <input_file> -o /tmp/clean_log.txt

Step 2: Analyze the Clean Log

Read and analyze /tmp/clean_log.txt instead of the original file:

# Use the Read tool on /tmp/clean_log.txt

Step 3: Report Findings

When reporting findings to the user:

• Reference line numbers from the clean log
• Quote relevant sections
• Summarize errors, warnings, or patterns found

Common Log File Locations

• log.txt - General purpose log in project root
• target/ - Cargo build logs
• /tmp/*.log - Temporary logs

Example Workflow

User: "Can you analyze log.txt and tell me what's wrong?"

1. Run: ansifilter -i log.txt -o /tmp/clean_log.txt
2. Read: /tmp/clean_log.txt
3. Analyze the content for errors, warnings, patterns
4. Report findings to user

Troubleshooting

If ansifilter is not installed:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install ansifilter

# macOS
brew install ansifilter

# Or run bootstrap.sh to install all dependencies
./bootstrap.sh

Related Skills

• check-code-quality - For checking Rust code quality (may generate logs)
• analyze-performance - For performance analysis (generates flamegraph data)