View UmbracoTraceLog.*.json and .clef log files produced by Serilog. Renders message templates, colours by level, and lets you search, filter and expand event details.
Installation
Launch VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl+P), paste the following command, and press enter.
A VS Code extension that turns UmbracoTraceLog.*.json files into a readable,
searchable log. Those files are CLEF (Compact Log Event Format) — one JSON
object per line, written by Serilog.Formatting.Compact — so a normal JSON
viewer can't parse them. This extension reads them line by line, renders each
Serilog message template with its properties filled in, and adds level
filtering, search, and expandable sections with the additional log item's information.
Features
Opens UmbracoTraceLog*.json and *.clef files automatically in the viewer
(double-click, or right-click → Open in Umbraco Log Viewer).
Log item line: timestamp, level, and rendered message, with additional structured data available in the dropdown.
Colour-coded levels (Verbose → Fatal) with per-level counts and one-click
filtering.
Full-text search across rendered messages, properties, and exceptions.
Expand any row to see structured properties, the original template, the
exception stack trace, and the raw event (with Copy JSON).
Live updates available as the file grows, plus an optional Follow tail mode.
Skips unparseable lines gracefully and reports the count.
How it maps CLEF fields
CLEF field
Meaning
@t
Timestamp
@l
Level (absent = Information)
@mt
Message template
@m
Rendered message (used if present)
@x
Exception
@i
Event id
@tr/@sp
Trace / span id
anything else
Structured property
Notes
For very large files the list draws the most recent 3,000 matching events at a
time; narrow with filters or search to see older ones.
If you'd rather see the raw text, click Raw in the toolbar (or right-click
the tab → Reopen Editor With… → Text Editor).
Contributions
Contributions and comments are very welcome! Please feel free to open issues or pull requests. Developers can find more information at ReadMeDevelopers.md.
