tail

Tail - Log Streaming

Stream and tail logs from background processes using the tail: MCP tools.

Quick Reference

Tool	Purpose
tail:start_process	Launch a command in the background (cwd, env)
tail:tail_logs	Show last N log lines (optional pattern filter)
tail:read_logs	Read new output since last read (optional pattern filter)
tail:wait_for	Block until output matches / goes idle / exits / times out
tail:kill_process	Stop a running process and its child tree
tail:restart_process	Restart a process (waits for full exit first)
tail:list_processes	Show all managed processes
tail:remove_process	Remove a process from the list

Common Workflows

Start and monitor a dev server

1. tail:start_process with command: "npm run dev" and id: "dev-server"
2. tail:read_logs with id: "dev-server" to check startup output
3. Periodically tail:tail_logs with id: "dev-server" to see recent logs

Watch a build

1. tail:start_process with command: "npm run build -- --watch"
2. tail:read_logs to stream incremental output

Get instant feedback from a watch process

1. tail:start_process with command: "npm test -- --watch" and id: "tests"
2. After editing code, tail:wait_for with id: "tests" and idle_ms: 1500 to block until the re-run settles
3. tail:tail_logs with pattern: "fail|✗|Error" to see only failures

Wait for a server to be ready

1. tail:start_process with command: "npm run dev" and id: "dev"
2. tail:wait_for with id: "dev" and pattern: "listening on|ready" -- returns as soon as it's up (or reason: "exit" if it crashed first)

Debug a failing process

1. tail:tail_logs with pattern: "error|warn" to surface problem lines
2. tail:restart_process after applying a fix (old instance is fully stopped first)