For easier data parsing when going through logs can we add a color coding option. Each device will have its own color so you can very, very easily see which device is logging. This will help so much.
A button at the top to enable/disable the highlights. And optionally another pull down section where you can select a specific color per device.
In the mean time, you can do a CTL F in your browser to bring up the search and enter the dev number.
Just wondering how well that works when there are 50 or 100 (or more) devices displayed.
Thanks! That was the exact thought that went through my mind. Same issue with logs generated by apps.
To paraphrase, we're going to need a bigger color wheel... 
You select how many devices you need logged at the same time. But usually when you're troubleshooting an issue it between a few rules and a few devices withen the rules. If you need to see which rule is triggering or firing in which order a few colors on the screen will greatly help!
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I tried requesting this feature a few months ago but i'd like to bring this up again.
having the logs color coded will greatly help troubleshooting and rule diagnoses.
A simple check mark to enable/disable coloring.
in my previous post someone mentioned how well it will work if many devices are displayed.
The idea here is that only a few rules and devices are selected to be logged. This way you can CLEARLY see in what order which device or rule was triggered.
Personally, I don't see the point when there are filters available. I see you have it filtered down to four devices, but I rarely look at even four devices at once. The device ID column still distingues the devices in the list if I am looking at more than one. With using filters, I have never felt that I needed the devices I am looking at to be color coded. I usually just filter it by clicking on the one device on the top I want to look at.
Maybe a color chooser somewhere on the log page, so you can set the color of a specific device/app log on the fly? You don't mention how you expect the colors to be chosen. Seems like a lot of work to implement that without much bang for the buck.
I just think the developers have more important things to work on than logging by color.
I think the difference in perspective comes down to the complexity of use cases. For simpler automations—like tracking when a door opens—filters are often enough, and I totally understand why this feature wouldn’t feel necessary.
But in my case, I’ve built more advanced systems such as a gate access system, a grow tent, and a sprinkler irrigation system. Each of these involves multiple rules, watchdog functions, timers, sensors, and safety notifications. The sequence in which events are triggered (and how they interrelate across rules and devices) is absolutely critical to making sure the system runs reliably and safely.
When I’m logging 4 rules, 8 sensors, and 10+ devices all at once, filters don’t provide the full picture—because I need to see how everything is interacting together in real time. That’s where color-coding would be a game changer:
I know developers need to prioritize features carefully, but this small enhancement could save advanced users a lot of time diagnosing complex automations. It’s not about coloring for the sake of it—it’s about making the logging tool scale better as setups get more sophisticated.
I have many advanced systems which I have written into apps and drivers, though I usually only have to look at the app and driver logs for those systems at the same time, so I've never had those issues with needing to look at so many devices at once.
I don't have any rules running my system automations, so maybe using multiple rules is what complicates it for you in the logs. I also don't need to watch the sensors as the apps that subscribe to their events log the events in the app as they come in. I don't look at device logs because I log the commands that are sent to them in the app logs as well.
So part of it is that you've made you systems very difficult to troubleshoot by having to look at so many logs at once the way you have things set up.
That requires 22 different colors, there are only so many gradients before you run out and some colors just start looking the same. You really want to open the logs, and then click on 22 things to assign colors to them? It just doesn't seem practical.
Yes, you are right in that logging through apps and drivers makes things much easier. For those of us using RM, even when using a strict naming convention to filter the log entries, it is hard to keep track of the various devices and rules.
I like the idea of color coding, but only if it can be saved and automatically reused every time I pull up the log.
Yeah, my initial thinking was that the best way to implement this would be to add a forced preference to all devices, similar to the Default Current State preference that is added.
However, that doesn't help apps, specifically the child apps in Rule Machine. It is just not clear how a preference like that could be forced into all apps by the system like is done with drivers.
The more I think about it, this seemingly simple add gets complicated for developers pretty quickly. New database entries to store the colors for each device/app, new UI inputs for apps and drivers to set the color, and revamped logs that can pull in that data and then set the color for just that log line as it comes in.
Please see my feature request for regular expressions in log filters
Regex rules would be an easy way to assign colors based on rule names.
btw 22 colors as in your comment is a it of overkill. Most likely users would want to use the same color for all device of a particular type or rules for a room.
Yes, 22 colors will be crazy to view at the same time. This is not my intension, it was just a example to illustrate the intricacies of my devices/rules. Obviously when logging only a handful of the 22 interacting devices will be selected at a time.
Im now trying to build a chrome extension that can do this. I got it to work but only for past logs, not live logs. Any ideas on how this might be possible?
For anyone that is interested I have created a very basic Google Chrome extension that will color code live and past logs.
To Install:
Setup:
To disable color coding simple uncheck the Enable Highlighting check box.
Suggestion: Use the standard Log Filter by app/device to filter only the devices and app you are working with.
NOTE: In this version ONLY the app/device ids will work for keywords. You cannot use a word that is in the middle of a row.
Edit: Link removed. See new version in post below.
Download the Hubitat app
