applog

A shell script that wraps idevicesyslog to show clean, colorized log output for a specific iOS app. Cuts through the noise of the full system log and surfaces only lines relevant to your app or bundle ID.

Requirements

macOS

brew install usbmuxd libimobiledevice

Package	Role
`usbmuxd`	USB multiplexer daemon — manages the connection between the host and iOS devices over USB
`libimobiledevice`	Provides `idevicesyslog` and other iOS communication tools

On macOS, Apple ships its own usbmuxd as part of the OS. If idevicesyslog works without the brew version, you can skip usbmuxd.

Linux

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install usbmuxd libimobiledevice-utils

# Arch
sudo pacman -S usbmuxd libimobiledevice

iOS device setup

Trust the host machine — connect the device, tap Trust on the prompt, and enter your passcode.
Enable Developer Mode (iOS 16+) — Settings → Privacy & Security → Developer Mode. The device will reboot.
Pair the device (if prompted):
```
idevicepair pair
```

Other

bash 3.2+
USB cable (wireless/Wi-Fi connections are not supported by idevicesyslog)

Usage

./applog.sh <bundle-id-prefix|process-name>

Examples:

./applog.sh com.mycompany.myapp
./applog.sh MyApp

Press Ctrl+C to stop.

Output

Each matched line is colorized by log level and separated by a visual rule:

Color	Level
🔴 Red	`<Error>`, `<Fault>`
🟡 Yellow	`<Warning>`
🔵 Cyan	`<Notice>`
🟢 Green	`<Info>`
Gray	`<Debug>`

How filtering works

Lines are included if they contain the filter string anywhere — the app's own process logs, plus system services acting on its behalf (network, Bluetooth, etc.).

A blocklist of known noisy system daemons (runningboardd, tccd, launchd, and others) is excluded even when they reference your bundle ID, since those lines reflect system bookkeeping rather than app behavior.

To suppress additional processes, add them to BLOCKLIST_RE near the top of the script.

Installation

chmod +x applog.sh
# optionally move somewhere on your PATH
cp applog.sh /usr/local/bin/applog

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