IBM i Job Log Detective

A VS Code extension for analyzing IBM i job logs. Quickly find errors and issues in large job log files.

What's New

See the GitHub Releases page for the latest updates and release notes.

Features

• Custom Tree View: Dedicated "Job Log Detective" panel with filtering and navigation
• Smart Analysis: Highlights high-severity messages and analyzes the log for errors
• Timeline View: Chronological view with time buckets to identify when issues occurred
• Outline View Integration: View messages grouped by type and message ID in the VS Code Outline
• Quick Navigation: Click on any message to jump to its location in the file
• Rich Tooltips: Hover over messages to see full details including cause and recovery
• Automatic Detection: Automatically detects IBM i job log files by content or filename pattern
• Multi-Language Support: Parses job logs in English, German, Dutch, French, Italian, and Spanish

Supported Languages

The extension automatically detects and parses job logs in:

Message Types

The extension recognizes all IBM i message types:

• Escape - Program termination messages (highest priority)
• Diagnostic - Error messages
• Information - General informational messages
• Completion - Task completion status
• Command - Command execution (hidden by default)
• Request - Command requests
• Inquiry - Messages requiring a reply
• Reply - Responses to inquiries
• Notify - Notification messages
• Sender Copy - Copies of sent messages

Tree View Sections

The Job Log Detective panel organizes messages into these sections:

Summary

Shows job completion status, total message count, and high severity statistics.

High Priority

Recent high-severity messages (Escape and Diagnostic) that likely indicate the root cause of issues.

Timeline

All filtered messages grouped by time buckets. Helps identify when issues occurred.

Buckets show 🔥 icons based on the percentage of high-severity messages:

• 1-20% = 🔥
• 21-40% = 🔥🔥
• 41-60% = 🔥🔥🔥
• 61-80% = 🔥🔥🔥🔥
• 81-100% = 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Message Types

Messages grouped by type (Escape, Diagnostic, Information, etc.), then by message ID.

Editor Decorations

The extension provides visual indicators directly in the editor for filtered job log messages:

Features:

• Gutter icons: Flame icons appear in the gutter next to relevant lines
• Background highlighting: Subtle background colors (theme-aware for light/dark themes)
• Overview ruler: Color markers on the scrollbar for quick navigation
• Minimap: Color bands showing message locations
• Hover tooltips: Message details when hovering over decorations

Decorations automatically update when filters change, showing only the currently filtered messages.

Usage

1. Open a job log file (files named QPJOBLOG or containing IBM i job log format)
2. The extension will automatically detect and analyze the file
3. Use the Outline view or Job Log Detective panel to navigate
4. Click on messages to jump to their location
5. Use the filter buttons to focus on specific message types or severity levels

Manual Activation

If automatic detection doesn't work:

1. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
2. Run "Job Log Detective: Set as IBM i Job Log"

Configuration

Commands

• Job Log Detective: Analyze Job Log - Manually trigger analysis
• Job Log Detective: Set as IBM i Job Log - Force the current file to be treated as a job log
• Job Log Detective: Refresh Analysis - Re-parse and refresh the analysis
• Job Log Detective: Filter by Message Type - Filter to specific message types
• Job Log Detective: Show High Severity Only - Toggle to show only high severity messages
• Job Log Detective: Toggle Editor Decorations - Enable/disable flame icons and highlighting

File Detection

The extension detects job logs by:

1. File named QPJOBLOG (any extension)
2. Files with .joblog extension
3. Content containing:
   • IBM i product ID (5770SS1 or similar)
   • Version pattern (V7R6M0 format)
   • "Job Log" header text (in any supported language)

Notifications

When a job log is opened, the extension shows notifications based on the analysis results:

Note: Job logs containing only Information, Command, Completion, or Request messages are considered "clean" and do not trigger a warning popup. The Job Log Detective panel still displays all parsed messages for analysis.

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile
npm run compile

# Test
npx vitest run

# Watch for changes
npm run watch

# Run extension in development
Press F5 in VS Code

Adding New Parsing Languages

To add support for a new language, edit src/localization.ts:

1. Create a new LanguageDefinition object following the pattern of existing languages
2. Add the language to the ALL_LANGUAGES array
3. The extension will automatically detect and parse job logs in the new language

Example language definition structure:

const NEW_LANGUAGE: LanguageDefinition = {
    name: 'Language Name',
    jobLogTitle: 'Localized Job Log Title',
    messageTypes: {
        'Local Command': 'Command',
        'Local Completion': 'Completion',
        // ... map local names to English
    },
    detailFields: {
        fromModule: 'From module|Localized from module',
        // ... other field patterns
    }
};

National Language Support

Translations can be added to the i18n directory.

License

MIT