tail++ is a modern, C-based alternative to tail -f — built for developers, DevOps, and companies that need fast, reliable, and readable log analysis.
It combines regex-based highlighting, RTL (right-to-left) fixes for Persian/Arabic filenames, and a minimal terminal UI for interactive navigation.

• 🔎 Regex Filtering: Highlight ERROR/WARN or any custom regex.
• 🎨 Colorized Output: ANSI highlighting for better readability.
• 🌐 RTL Fix: Proper handling of Persian/Arabic file names & log text.
• 📊 Terminal UI (ncurses):
  • Scroll with j/k, PgUp/PgDn
  • Jump to top/bottom with g/G
  • Pause/resume follow with f
  • Quick exit with q
  • Built-in help with h
• 📂 Follow Mode: Track files as they grow (tail -f behavior).
• ⚡ Lightweight & Fast: Written in pure C, depends only on pcre2 and ncurses.

• GCC / Clang
• libpcre2-dev
• libncursesw5-dev

git clone https://github.com/hesamworks/tailpp.git
cd tailpp
make

./tailpp --file sample_logs/app.log --regex "(ERROR|WARN)"

./tailpp --file /var/log/syslog --regex "timeout|denied" --follow

./tailpp --file sample_logs/app.log --rtl-mode marks

./tailpp --file sample_logs/app-big.log --regex "(ERROR|WARN)" --rtl-mode marks --ui

-- sample_logs/app.log → Small test file -- scripts/gen_big_log.sh → Generate millions of lines for benchmarking -- scripts/live_append.sh → Simulate a real-time growing log file

./scripts/gen_big_log.sh sample_logs/app-big.log 3000000
./tailpp --file sample_logs/app-big.log --regex "(ERROR|WARN)" --ui

-- VS Code’s built-in terminal may show bidi control characters (‏, ‫) when using RTL fix. -- Solution: Use an external terminal (gnome-terminal, kitty, etc.) for clean output.

• Add JSON log parsing mode

• Export filtered logs to file

• Support themes (light/dark/solarized)

• Plugin system for custom highlight rules

Developed with ❤️ by Hesam Focused on building practical developer tools, blockchain systems, and low-level C utilities.

MIT License – free to use, modify, and share.