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Local System Sources

A Local System source represents the Mac you're running LogRaker on. There's only ever one Local System needed per machine (though you can have several if you want different sidebar icons / names).

Creating one

+ ▸ New Local System…

Fill in:

• Name - what shows in the sidebar.
• Icon - pick any SF Symbol.
• Group - optional sidebar grouping.

That's it. Save and the Local System appears in the sidebar. Streams under it pick a file path.

Quick add: open or drop a log file

To turn a local log file into a Stream without opening the Stream editor, use any of these:

• Finder ▸ right-click ▸ Open With ▸ LogRaker - for .log files. LogRaker registers as a viewer for .log, so it appears in the Open With list but never takes over as your default handler.
• Drop on the Dock icon - drag a .log file onto LogRaker's Dock icon.
• Drag into the sidebar - drag a file from Finder onto your Local System row, or into the free area below the sidebar's sections. (Sidebar drag-and-drop accepts any file, not just .log.)

However you do it, LogRaker:

• finds or creates the Local System (named after this Mac) and adds a Stream for the file under it;
• selects it and starts tailing right away;
• de-dupes - if a Stream for that exact file already exists, it just re-selects it instead of adding a duplicate;
• is undoable (⌘Z) - drop several files at once and you get one Stream each, removed by a single Undo.

Sidebar drops are accepted only in the Sources section - a local source row, or the free area below the sections. Non-local sources (SSH / GCP), the Layouts and Monitors sections, and folders are ignored.

File access

LogRaker uses Apple's standard open panel to let you pick files. Behavior differs between editions:

App Store Edition (sandboxed)

The sandbox restricts what LogRaker can read. After you pick a file via the Browse… button in the Stream editor, macOS grants the app a security-scoped bookmark for that specific file (or its enclosing directory).

You can pick:

• Anything inside your home folder (/Users/<you>/), including hidden directories like ~/.ssh/.
• Files in /private/tmp/ and similar shared scratch spaces if you explicitly pick them.

You cannot pick:

• System paths: /Library/, /private/, /var/, /etc/, /tmp/, /System/, /usr/, /bin/, /sbin/.
• TCC-protected vaults: ~/Library/Mail/, ~/Library/Messages/, ~/Library/Safari/, ~/Library/Cookies/, ~/Library/HomeKit/, ~/Library/IdentityServices/, ~/Library/Accounts/, ~/Library/Suggestions/.

If you try to pick a file in one of these locations, a sheet explains that the path is blocked and offers a link to the Web Edition.

Web Edition (not sandboxed)

The Web Edition can read anywhere your user account can read. If cat /var/log/system.log works in Terminal, LogRaker can tail it too. No bookmark dance, no blocked paths.

What gets tailed

A Local stream uses DispatchSource.makeFileSystemObjectSource on a FileHandle. No tail -f subprocess; no ssh spawn. That means:

• Rotation (the file getting moved + recreated) is detected cleanly and the tail reopens automatically.
• Backlog: LogRaker reads the last N lines on first open (configurable in Settings ▸ General ▸ Initial History Lines), then waits for new writes.