docktail

docktail

A terminal UI for monitoring Docker and Kubernetes logs in real-time.

Docktail gives you a single-pane view of all container/pod logs across Docker Compose projects or Kubernetes namespaces, with search, filtering, navigation, clipboard support, and an integrated shell — all from your terminal.

Features

Log Streaming

• Stream logs from all containers in a Docker Compose project or all pods in a Kubernetes namespace
• Color-coded container/pod names with auto-assigned palette
• Timestamps in HH:MM:SS.mmm format (local time), toggleable with t
• Per-container log stream lifecycle — streams auto-restart after container start/restart

Navigation & Selection

• Freeze logs with f to navigate, select, and copy
• Keyboard cursor navigation (↑/↓, g/G, PgUp/PgDn)
• Line selection with Space, range select with Shift+↑/↓
• Mouse support: click to freeze and move cursor, shift+click for range select, ctrl+click for multi-select, double-click to copy a line, scroll wheel
• Copy selected lines to clipboard with y (uses system clipboard with OSC52 fallback for remote terminals)

Search & Filtering

• Text and regex search with / (Tab toggles regex mode)
• Log level filtering: cycle through ALL/ERROR/WARN/INFO/DEBUG with l
• Search and filter apply to both existing and new incoming logs

Container Management

• Sidebar with container/pod list, status icons, and visibility toggles
• Container actions via Enter menu: start, stop, restart, pause, shell
• Toggle individual containers with Space, all with a
• Hide stopped/exited containers with h

Integrated Shell

• Open a shell into any running container or pod with s or from the action menu
• Raw PTY mode — full interactive shell with command history, tab completion
• Resizable shell panel with drag handle
• Auto-closes when the shell session ends

Kubernetes Support

• Monitor pod logs across any Kubernetes namespace
• Uses your kubeconfig — specify --kube-context and/or --namespace
• Shell into pods via the same s key or action menu
• Delete pods (restart) from the action menu — controllers will recreate them

Theming

• Light and dark themes with auto-detection based on terminal background
• Toggle between themes at runtime with Shift+T
• --theme flag: dark, light, or auto (default)

Project Discovery

• Auto-detects Docker Compose project from current directory
• Interactive project picker when multiple projects are running
• Fallback Docker socket detection for Docker Desktop, Colima, and OrbStack
• Kubernetes context and namespace resolution from kubeconfig

Install

go install github.com/nilesh/docktail@latest

Or build from source:

git clone https://github.com/nilesh/docktail.git
cd docktail
make build

Usage

Docker (default)

# Auto-detect project from current directory
cd my-compose-project
docktail

# Specify project name
docktail --project myapp

# Monitor specific containers only
docktail --containers web,api,db

# Show logs from last hour
docktail --since 1h

Kubernetes

# Monitor pods in a namespace (uses current kubeconfig context)
docktail -n my-namespace

# Specify a different kube context
docktail --kube-context staging -n my-namespace

# Monitor specific pods
docktail -n my-namespace --containers pod-abc,pod-xyz

# Show last 30 minutes of logs
docktail -n my-namespace --since 30m

CLI Flags

Keyboard Shortcuts

Global

Sidebar (when focused)

Logs (when frozen)

Shell

Mouse

Requirements

• Go 1.22+
• Docker mode: Docker daemon running (Docker Desktop, Colima, or OrbStack) with a Compose project
• Kubernetes mode: A valid kubeconfig with access to the target cluster

License

MIT