MuffinTerm • Help • Log Files

Log files

The logging feature lets you save incoming text from a connection to a local file. The log will be saved as a regular, UTF-8-encoded text file (.txt) and can be viewed in your preferred text-editing software. The filename of a log is based on the BBS name and the time/date of the call, for easy reference. A log file will contain only the text data of a connection; if you download a file during a session, the file’s data will not be included in the log.

Setting a log file location (macOS only)

On macOS, you’ll need to specify a location for saving log files before you can enable logging. This is a requirement of Apple’s sandbox security (to prevent a rogue application from writing to locations on disk without the user’s consent).

You can select a log file folder via the preferences window. Once you select a folder, MuffinTerm will remember it, so you only have to do this once (unless you want to change where logs are stored later).

On iOS, logs are always saved under MuffinTerm’s application-specific document folder, accessible via the built-in Files application.

Opening and closing a log

You can open or close a log (i.e., start or stop logging) via the ⌘L keyboard shortcut. On macOS, you can also toggle logging via the Console → Start (or Stop) Logging menu command.

Logging is only available while you’re connected to a BBS; if a log is open, it will be closed automatically when you disconnect.

Automatic logging

You can enable automatic logging via preferences. When this option is enabled, MuffinTerm will automatically open a new log file each time you connect to a BBS.

Regular vs. raw logs

By default, terminal escape codes are filtered out and CP437 or PETSCII characters are translated to their UTF-8 equivalents when logging, for compatibility with modern software. You can optionally enable raw logs via preferences. When enabled, this will save a second file alongside the first when logging, with no filtering or translation performed on the second file. The raw log file will have the extension .rlog.

Viewing log files

On macOS, you can use the View → Reveal Logs In Finder menu command to open the log folder and access the files. If you haven’t yet selected a log file location, this menu will be replaced with View → Select Log File Folder…, which will open the preferences window where you can select a folder.

On iOS/iPadOS, the log files are stored in a folder within MuffinTerm’s document folder, accessible through the system’s built-in Files application.

Standard log files are plain text files (UTF-8); you can open them by double-clicking (macOS) or tapping (iOS), and can use them with any text-editing program. Raw log files (if enabled) will likely only work properly with programs that understand ANSI escapes and CP437 or PETSCII character encoding.