# Logchef

> Logchef is a lightweight, self-hosted log analytics and observability platform for teams that want a strong query and control plane on top of existing log backends (ClickHouse and VictoriaLogs). Query with LogchefQL, native SQL, or LogsQL, build dashboards, set up alerting, and manage access, all from a single binary.

Logchef supports two datasource backends with different query languages:

- **ClickHouse** sources: query with LogchefQL (Logchef's own simplified filter syntax) or native ClickHouse SQL.
- **VictoriaLogs** sources: query with LogsQL.

Key areas of the docs:

- Getting Started: install, configure, and understand the architecture.
- Querying Logs: LogchefQL syntax, SQL examples, the query interface, and the field sidebar.
- Features: collections/saved queries, dashboards, alerting, AI SQL generation, user management, service tokens, and declarative provisioning.
- Integration: CLI, MCP server (for AI assistants), and schema design guidance.
- Tutorials: connecting VictoriaLogs, ingesting via Vector/OTEL, and a worked NGINX logs example.
- Operations: database backends (SQLite vs Postgres) and the Prometheus metrics reference.

## Documentation Sets

- [Abridged documentation](https://logchef.app/llms-small.txt): a compact version of the documentation for Logchef, with non-essential content removed
- [Complete documentation](https://logchef.app/llms-full.txt): the full documentation for Logchef

## Notes

- The complete documentation includes all content from the official documentation
- The content is automatically generated from the same source as the official documentation

## Optional

- [GitHub repository](https://github.com/mr-karan/logchef): Source code, issues, and releases.