For real-time log monitoring with colors, consider these powerful alternatives to plain tail:

# 1. Using multitail (best for multiple logs)
sudo pkg install multitail
multitail -c /var/log/httpd-error.log

# 2. Using ccze (colorizes any log stream)
tail -f /var/log/php_errors.log | ccze -A


For systems where you can't install additional packages:

# Colorize with grep highlighting
tail -f /var/log/httpd-access.log | grep --color -E 'GET|POST|404|500'

# Using sed for basic coloring
tail -f error.log | sed -e 's/error/\x1b[31m&\x1b[0m/g' -e 's/warning/\x1b[33m&\x1b[0m/g'


For serious production environments:

# Watch multiple logs with different color schemes
multitail -cS apache /var/log/httpd-access.log -cS php /var/log/php_errors.log

# Persistent logging with lnav
lnav /var/log/httpd/*.log


For ccze users, create ~/.cczerc:

[httpd]
color info = blue
color warning = yellow,bold
color error = red,underline

For multitail, add to ~/.multitailrc:

# Apache scheme
colorscheme:apache
cs_re:green:\d+\.\d+\.\d+\.\d+
cs_re:yellow:\s4\d\d\s
cs_re:red:\s5\d\d\s



When monitoring Apache and PHP error logs in FreeBSD environments, colorized output significantly improves readability and quick pattern recognition. The standard tail -f command lacks this capability, but we can enhance it with these approaches:


Install the powerful log colorizer:

pkg install grc
Create a custom configuration file at ~/.grc/apache_logs:
regexp=====.*=====
colour=blue
======
regexp=\\d{1,3}\\.\\d{1,3}\\.\\d{1,3}\\.\\d{1,3}
colour=magenta
======
regexp=\$$.*\$$
colour=cyan
======
regexp=PHP (Warning|Error|Notice|Fatal error)
colour=red
======
Then monitor logs with:
grc tail -f /var/log/httpd-error.log
Another excellent alternative using the log colorizer ccze:
pkg install ccze
tail -f /var/log/php_errors.log | ccze -A
For professional environments, consider these powerful tools:
Option 1: MultiTail
Monitor multiple logs simultaneously with colors:
pkg install multitail
multitail -cS apache /var/log/httpd-access.log -cS php_errors /var/log/php_errors.log
Option 2: lnav
The log file navigator provides syntax highlighting and SQL query capabilities:
pkg install lnav
lnav /var/log/httpd-*.log
Add this to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:
colorlog() {
    case $1 in
        apache) grc tail -f /var/log/httpd/${2:-error}.log ;;
        php) tail -f /var/log/php_errors.log | ccze -A ;;
        *) echo "Usage: colorlog [apache|php] [logtype]" ;;
    esac
}
Now simply run:
colorlog apache access
colorlog php
When monitoring high-traffic servers:

Use grc --buffered to reduce flickering
Consider ccze -m ansi for minimal overhead
For critical servers, implement log rotation monitoring