Saropa Log Capture

Never lose your debug output again.

Saropa Log Capture automatically saves all VS Code Debug Console output to persistent log files, with a fast, feature-rich panel viewer. Works with any debug adapter (Dart, Node.js, Python, C++, Go, and more). No setup required—just hit F5 and your logs are safe.

Have feedback or ideas? Share them by opening an issue on GitHub!

Who is this for?

Developers who need to keep, search, and export debug output
Anyone frustrated by losing Debug Console logs after a session ends

Overview

Debug Console output is ephemeral in VS Code—this extension makes it persistent, searchable, and exportable.
Zero config: install and start debugging, logs are captured automatically.
Panel viewer (next to Output/Terminal) for real-time log viewing, search, filtering, and more.

Features

Click to expand full feature list

Capture & Storage

Auto-capture: Debug Console output is saved to .log files automatically.
Deduplication: Identical rapid lines grouped as Message (x54).
Flood protection: Suppresses >100/sec repeated messages.
File retention: Oldest logs auto-deleted when limit exceeded.
Auto file split: Split logs by line count, size, keywords, duration, or silence.
Context header: Each log file starts with session metadata.
ANSI preservation: Raw ANSI codes kept in files for external tools.
Gitignore safety: Offers to add log dir to .gitignore on first run.
Full Debug Console Capture: Toggle "App Only" or set saropaLogCapture.captureAll to capture all output including system/framework logs.

Viewer

Live panel viewer: Real-time output with virtual scrolling (100K+ lines), auto-scroll, and theme support (located in the bottom panel next to Output and Terminal).
Icon bar: Activity-bar-style vertical icon bar with icons for Project Logs, Search, Options, and Pop Out. Clicking an icon toggles its slide-out panel.
Pop-out viewer: Click the pop-out icon to open the viewer as a floating window, movable to a second monitor. Both the sidebar and pop-out receive live data simultaneously.
Click-to-source: Click file.ts:42 in logs to jump to source; Ctrl+Click for split editor.
Collapsible stack traces: Stack frames are grouped and collapsed by default. Click to cycle through preview (first 3 app frames), expanded, and collapsed.
Source hover preview: Hover source links for code context popup.
Insert markers: Press M to add visual separators in logs.
Inline peek: Double-click any log line to expand surrounding context inline. Press Escape to dismiss.
Pin lines: Press P to pin important lines above scroll area.
Line annotations: Press N to annotate a log line.
JSON rendering: Embedded JSON shown as collapsible pretty-printed blocks.
ASCII art detection: Box-drawing and separator characters styled for readability.
Scroll position memory: Viewer remembers scroll position per file when switching between logs.

Search panel: Slide-out search with regex, case sensitivity, and whole word toggles. Search history (last 10 terms) shown on open. Clear button (×) in input.
Category filter: Filter by DAP category (stdout, stderr, console).
Level filter: Colored dots in footer open a fly-up menu with toggle buttons for all 7 severity levels, plus Select All / Select None. Per-file level state is persisted.
Source tag filter: Auto-discovers logcat tags (e.g. D/FlutterJNI) and bracket prefixes (e.g. [log], [API]). Click chips to toggle visibility.
Exclusion filter: Patterns shown as removable chips in the Options panel. Chip count badge on the toggle label.
Keyword watch: Track patterns with live counters, flash alerts, and badges. Watch chips in the footer are clickable—opens search pre-filled with the keyword.
Filter presets: Save and apply filter combinations; built-in presets included.
Cross-session search: Search all log files via Quick Pick.

Error Intelligence

Smart error classification: Errors auto-classified as CRITICAL (NullPointerException, FATAL, etc.), TRANSIENT (TimeoutException, ECONNREFUSED, etc.), or BUG (TypeError, SyntaxError, etc.) with inline badges. Configurable detection mode (strict / loose) controls how aggressively keywords are matched.
Error breakpoints: Visual and audio alerts when errors appear—flash border, sound, counter badge, optional modal popup.
Multi-level classification: Seven severity levels—Error, Warning, Info, Performance, TODO, Debug/Trace, and Notice—each auto-detected with dedicated colors and filters.

Display & Layout

Line decorations: Severity dots, sequential counters, timestamps (with optional milliseconds), and whole-line coloring for all severity levels. Configurable in the Options panel.
Severity bar mode: Colored left borders by log level as an alternative/complement to dot indicators.
Visual spacing: Heuristic breathing room before/after level changes, markers, and stack traces.
Font size / line height: Adjustable via sliders in the Options panel.
Elapsed time: Show +Nms between lines; slow gaps highlighted.
Scrollbar minimap: Visual overview showing search matches, errors, warnings, and viewport position.
Highlight rules: Color lines matching patterns (configurable colors, labels). Defaults include Fatal, TODO/FIXME, Hack/Workaround, Deprecated, Info, Debug.

Session Management

Project Logs panel: In-webview slide-out panel listing past sessions with filename, debug adapter, file size, date, and timestamp availability. Active sessions highlighted with a recording icon.
Historical log viewing: Open sessions into the panel viewer with parsed timestamps, proper coloring, and async loading.
Session renaming/tagging: Right-click to rename or tag sessions. Auto-tags by content patterns.
Session comparison: Side-by-side diff view with color highlighting.
Session templates: Save/load project-specific configurations (Flutter, Node.js, Python built-in).
Deep links: Share vscode:// URLs to open logs/lines.

Export

Per-level export: Export filtered logs with preset templates (Errors Only, Warnings + Errors, Production Ready, Full Debug, Performance Analysis) or custom level selection. Options for timestamps, decorations, and ANSI codes.
HTML export: Static or interactive with search, filters, and theme toggle.
CSV / JSON / JSONL export: Structured export formats for external tools.
Hover copy icon: Hover any log line to reveal a copy button on the right edge. Click to copy the line's plain text to clipboard with a "Copied" toast confirmation.
Multi-format copy: Shift+click to select, Ctrl+C for text, Ctrl+Shift+C for markdown, Ctrl+Shift+A for all lines.
Copy to Search: Right-click a line to open search pre-filled with its text.
Source link context menu: Right-click a filename reference to Open File, Copy Relative Path, or Copy Full Path.

Status Bar & Audio

Status bar: Two separate items—a pause/resume icon that toggles capture, and a text display (line count + watch counts) that focuses the viewer panel.
Live statistics: Real-time counters for errors, warnings, performance issues, and other levels in the footer.
Audio alerts: Configurable alert sounds for errors and warnings with volume slider, rate limiting, and preview buttons.
Real-time repeat notifications: Immediate notification when duplicate lines are detected, with message preview and repeat counter.

Infrastructure

Script fault isolation: Each viewer feature runs in a separate script block—a SyntaxError in one feature won't break the rest.
App-only stack traces: Press A to hide framework/library frames.
Stack deduplication: Identical stacks collapsed with count badge.
Session summary: End-of-session stats notification.

Installation & Quick Start

Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace
Start a debug session (F5)
Output is automatically captured to the reports/ directory
Open the Saropa Log Capture panel (bottom panel, next to Output/Terminal) to view output in real time

Usage

Full Debug Console Capture ("App Only: OFF")

By default, Saropa Log Capture filters out some system/framework logs for clarity. To capture all Debug Console output (including system, framework, and app logs):

Toggle "App Only: OFF" in the Log Viewer panel
Or, set saropaLogCapture.captureAll to true in your VS Code settings

This is useful for troubleshooting, framework debugging, or when you want a complete record of all debug output. Toggle back to "App Only: ON" to restore filtering.

Power Shortcuts (Panel Viewer)

Key	Action
Ctrl+F	Open search panel
F3 / Shift+F3	Next / previous search match
Escape	Close search panel / inline peek
Space	Toggle pause/resume
W	Toggle word wrap
M	Insert marker
P	Pin/unpin center line
Shift+Click	Select line range
Ctrl+C	Copy selection as plain text
Ctrl+Shift+C	Copy selection as markdown
Ctrl+Shift+A	Copy all visible lines to clipboard
N	Annotate center line
A	Toggle app-only stack trace mode
Double-click	Open inline peek with context lines
Home	Scroll to top
End	Scroll to bottom

Key Commands

Command	Description
`Saropa Log Capture: Start Capture`	Start capturing to a new log file
`Saropa Log Capture: Stop Capture`	Stop capturing and finalize the file
`Saropa Log Capture: Pause/Resume Capture`	Toggle capture on/off
`Saropa Log Capture: Insert Marker`	Insert a visual separator into the log
`Saropa Log Capture: Open Active Log File`	Open the current log file in the editor
`Saropa Log Capture: Open Log Folder`	Reveal the log directory in the file explorer
`Saropa Log Capture: Clear Current Session`	Reset the line counter
`Saropa Log Capture: Delete Log File`	Delete log files from the reports directory
`Saropa Log Capture: Split Log File Now`	Manually split the current log file
`Saropa Log Capture: Search Log Files`	Search across all log files with Quick Pick
`Saropa Log Capture: Apply Filter Preset`	Apply a saved filter preset
`Saropa Log Capture: Save Current Filters as Preset`	Save current filter state as a named preset
`Saropa Log Capture: Toggle Inline Log Decorations`	Toggle inline log decorations in the editor
`Saropa Log Capture: Compare Sessions`	Side-by-side diff of two log sessions
`Saropa Log Capture: Apply Session Template`	Apply a saved session template
`Saropa Log Capture: Save Settings as Template`	Save current settings as a reusable template

Configuration

All settings are prefixed with saropaLogCapture.

Click to expand settings table

Setting	Default	Description
`enabled`	`true`	Enable/disable automatic log capture
`categories`	`["console","stdout","stderr"]`	DAP output categories to capture
`maxLines`	`100000`	Maximum lines per log file
`includeTimestamp`	`true`	Prefix each line with a timestamp
`includeSourceLocation`	`false`	Include source file and line number in log lines
`includeElapsedTime`	`false`	Show elapsed time since previous line in log files
`format`	`"plaintext"`	Output format (plaintext only for now)
`logDirectory`	`"reports"`	Where to save log files (relative to workspace root)
`autoOpen`	`false`	Open log file when debug session ends
`maxLogFiles`	`10`	Max log files to retain (0 = unlimited)
`gitignoreCheck`	`true`	Offer to add log directory to .gitignore on first run
`redactEnvVars`	`[]`	Env var patterns to redact from headers
`captureAll`	`false`	Capture all Debug Console output, bypassing filters
`exclusions`	`[]`	Patterns to exclude from viewer (string or `/regex/`)
`showDecorations`	`true`	Show severity dots, counters, and timestamps on lines
`filterContextLines`	`3`	Context lines shown around level-filter matches
`contextViewLines`	`10`	Context lines shown in inline peek on double-click
`watchPatterns`	`[{keyword:"error",...},{keyword:"exception",...},{keyword:"warning",...}]`	Keywords to watch with alert type
`showElapsedTime`	`false`	Show elapsed time between consecutive log lines
`slowGapThreshold`	`1000`	Elapsed time threshold (ms) for highlighting slow gaps
`suppressTransientErrors`	`false`	Hide expected transient errors (timeout, socket, etc.)
`breakOnCritical`	`false`	Show notification when critical errors appear
`levelDetection`	`"strict"`	Error detection mode: `strict` (label positions) or `loose` (keywords anywhere)
`verboseDap`	`false`	Log all raw DAP protocol messages to the log file
`highlightRules`	(3 built-in rules)	Pattern-based line coloring rules
`filterPresets`	`[]`	Saved filter presets for quick application
`autoTagRules`	`[]`	Rules for auto-tagging sessions by content patterns
`splitRules.maxLines`	`0`	Split file after N lines (0 = disabled)
`splitRules.maxSizeKB`	`0`	Split file after N KB (0 = disabled)
`splitRules.keywords`	`[]`	Split when keyword or `/regex/` matched
`splitRules.maxDurationMinutes`	`0`	Split after N minutes (0 = disabled)
`splitRules.silenceMinutes`	`0`	Split after N minutes of silence (0 = disabled)

Known Limitations

Panel viewer caps at 50,000 lines for performance (file on disk keeps all lines up to maxLines).

Contributing

Great tools are built by communities, not companies. Contributions and feedback are welcome.

If you think a feature is:

Broken — tell us what happened, we'll fix it
Missing — propose it, or better yet, submit a PR
Confusing — help us improve the docs or UX

How to contribute

See CONTRIBUTING.md for developer setup, code quality standards, and contribution guidelines.

Quick start:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Run npm run compile to verify your changes
Open a Pull Request

Reporting issues:

Include steps to reproduce and your debug adapter (Dart, Node, Python, etc.)
Mention your VS Code version and OS
If possible, attach a sample log file

Discussing ideas

Not sure if something is a bug or a feature request? Open a discussion issue. We're happy to talk through ideas.

Documentation

Document	Description
CONTRIBUTING.md	Developer setup, code standards, and how to contribute
CHANGELOG.md	Version history and release notes
ROADMAP.md	Planned features and project direction
STYLE_GUIDE.md	Code style conventions and patterns

License

MIT — see LICENSE. Use it however you like.

Built by Saropa. Questions? Ideas? Open an issue — we'd love to hear from you.

GitHub | Issues | Saropa

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