Hostlog 🪵📡

Hostlog is a lightweight, high-performance syslog server designed to bring clarity to network chaos. Whether you're monitoring a fleet of hosts, routers, access points, or IoT devices, Hostlog provides the visibility you need to keep your network working smoothly.

📖 The Backstory

Born in the summer of 2025, Hostlog started as an exploration project to work with logs from my home network routers and access points. It was a tool built for personal troubleshooting and to see what was happening across my local infrastructure at a glance.

By December 2025, the project took a leap forward. I integrated Model Context Protocol (MCP) support, transforming Hostlog from a passive log viewer into a core component of automated AI workflows. Now, your logs aren't just sitting in a database; they're accessible to AI agents that can help you troubleshoot and analyze your network quickly and in real-time.

✨ Features

• 🚀 Dual-Protocol Syslog: Listen for logs over TCP and UDP (default port 514).
• 🧠 Smart Visibility Scoring: Hostlog uses a sophisticated algorithm to score host activity:
  • Visibility = α * e^(-λ * T) + β * V + γ * S
  • Recency (T): Newer logs have higher impact.
  • Volume (V): Busy hosts rise to the top.
  • Severity (S): Critical errors are prioritized.
• 🤖 MCP Integration: Seamlessly connect your logs to AI tools like Claude for automated troubleshooting and analysis.
• 🌐 Web Interface: A clean, Bulma-powered dashboard to visualize logs and host health in real-time.
• 📦 OpenWrt Ready: Native support for building as an OpenWrt package, making it perfect for custom firmware routers.

🛠️ Usage

Syslog Server & Web UI

To start the syslog and web server:

go run .

The web interface will be available at http://localhost:8080.

MCP Server

To run as an MCP server (via stdio):

go run . -mcp

MCP Tools

• list_hosts: List all hosts that have sent logs.
• get_logs: Get recent logs, optionally filtered by host IPs and page number.
• get_host_scores: Get visibility scores for all hosts.

⚙️ Configuration

Jetbrains AI

Modify the hostlog host and add the following to your MCP server settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hostlog": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "http://<hostlog host>:8080/mcp/sse",
        "--transport",
        "sse-only"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add the following to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hostlog": {
      "command": "/path/to/hostlog",
      "args": ["-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "HOSTLOG_DB_PATH": "/path/to/your/logs.db"
      }
    }
  }
}

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Created with ❤️ by a network enthusiast.