pygtail
Reads log file lines that have not been read.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need incremental log reading with rotation support and can accept a copyleft license. The package is stable and has no known vulnerabilities, but maintenance is stalled since 2022; verify compatibility with your Python version and log rotation setup before relying on it for production use.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Low install friction with no runtime dependencies.
- Maintenance is aging—last release was 2022-11-06 and the repository shows no recent activity, though it remains unarchived with a final commit in 2025-09-04.
License · maintenance · safety
GPL v2 (copyleft) — Licensed under GPL v2 (copyleft). Any code that imports and uses pygtail must also be distributed under a compatible copyleft license; proprietary or permissive-licensed projects may face licensing conflicts.
last release 2022-11-06 (1377 days) · last repo commit 2025-09-04 · 257 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 225,547 downloads/mo, #9,220 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
from pygtail import Pygtail
for line in Pygtail("some.log"):
print(line, end='')- Whether the package works reliably with modern Python versions beyond those listed in classifiers (2.6, 2.7, 3.x unspecified).
- Current compatibility with contemporary log rotation schemes and whether the copytruncate and inode-based rotation modes remain effective.
What it is and what it does
Pygtail is a Python port of logcheck's logtail2 utility. It maintains an offset file to track which lines of a log file have already been read, then returns only the new lines on subsequent calls. It handles log rotation transparently, supporting both copytruncate-style rotation (where the file is copied then truncated) and inode-based rotation (where the file is moved and a new one created).
The package works both as a command-line tool and as a Python library. From the CLI, you point it at a log file and it prints unread lines; in code, you instantiate a Pygtail object and iterate over lines. It offers fine-grained control over when the offset is written back to disk, custom log rotation patterns, and options to read from the end of large files if the offset file is missing.
Use it for
- Monitor application logs in real time by reading only new entries since the last check, avoiding re-processing old lines.
- Build log aggregation pipelines that track which lines have been shipped to a central system, using the offset file as a checkpoint.
- Process rotated logs without losing track of position across rotation boundaries, especially in high-volume logging scenarios.
- Implement custom log watchers that need fine-grained control over when offset state is persisted to disk.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need incremental log reading with rotation support and can accept a copyleft license.
The package is stable and has no known vulnerabilities, but maintenance is stalled since 2022; verify compatibility with your Python version and log rotation setup before relying on it for production use.
Install
pygtail on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Maintenance is aging—last release was 2022-11-06 and the repository shows no recent activity, though it remains unarchived with a final commit in 2025-09-04.
License in practice
Licensed under GPL v2 (copyleft). Any code that imports and uses pygtail must also be distributed under a compatible copyleft license; proprietary or permissive-licensed projects may face licensing conflicts.
Quickstart
from pygtail import Pygtail
for line in Pygtail("some.log"):
print(line, end='')Verify before relying
- Whether the package works reliably with modern Python versions beyond those listed in classifiers (2.6, 2.7, 3.x unspecified).
- Current compatibility with contemporary log rotation schemes and whether the copytruncate and inode-based rotation modes remain effective.
Package facts
| License | GPL v2 copyleft |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Aging 1,377 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 225,547 / month, #9,220 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: GNU General Public License (GPL)Operating System :: MacOS :: MacOS XOperating System :: POSIX :: LinuxOperating System :: UnixProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 2.6Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python ModulesTopic :: System :: Logging |
Evidence: pygtail-0.14.0-py3-none-any.whl
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