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Stream Forwarder

Stream Forwarder Description

Stream Forwarder is a high-performance Windows command-line utility designed to pipe standard input stream directly to modern communication and logging platforms including Slack, Discord, and Grafana Loki.

It is ideal for monitoring long-running scripts, forwarding build logs, or creating simple notification triggers within CI/CD pipelines.

Installation​

  • Stream Forwarder is available for Windows via Scoop. To install, add the official bucket and install the package:
scoop bucket add stream-forwarder https://github.com/relbis-labs/stream-forwarder.git
scoop install stream-forwarder
  • Verify the installation by checking the version:
stream-forwarder --version

Core Concepts​

The application operates as a "sink" in a command pipeline. It listens for data on the Standard Input (stdin) and forwards every line or batch of data to a configured webhook or API endpoint.

Basic Syntax​

<input-command> | stream-forwarder [command] [options] <URL>

Command Reference​

Global Options​

  • --version: Displays the current version and build number.

  • -?|-h|--help: Shows help information.

Slack​

Forwards input to a Slack incoming webhook.

Usage: stream-forwarder slack [options] <URL>

Arguments and options:

  • URL - The unique Slack webhook URL (e.g., https://hooks.slack.com/...)
  • -o | --output-to-console - Mirror the input back to the console window while forwarding.
  • -t | --output-template <TEMPLATE> - Wrap the input in a specific string format. Default is {0}.

Discord​

Forwards input to a Discord channel via webhook.

Usage: stream-forwarder discord [options] <URL>

Arguments and options:

  • URL - The Discord webhook URL (e.g., https://discord.com/api/webhooks/...)
  • -o | --output-to-console - Mirror the input back to the console window.
  • -t | --output-template <TEMPLATE> - Format the Discord message. Default is {0}.

Loki​

Forwards log streams to a Grafana Loki instance for centralized logging.

Usage: stream-forwarder loki stream-forwarder loki <LOKI-URL> --username <username> --password <password>

Advanced Formatting​

The --output-template (or -t) flag allows you to structure the message before it reaches the destination. The placeholder {0} represents the raw data received from the stream.

Common Patterns:

  • Status Reporting: --output-template "Build Server: {0}"
  • Severity Tagging: --output-template "[CRITICAL] {0}"

Examples​

1. Simple Slack Notification​

Send a success message once a task completes.

echo "Backup Completed Successfully" | stream-forwarder slack https://hooks.slack.com/services/T000/B000/XXXX

2. Monitoring a Log File​

Pipe a tailing log file to Discord with console mirroring enabled.

Get-Content -Path "C:\logs\app.log" -Wait | stream-forwarder discord https://discord.com/api/webhooks/123 -o -t "Log Entry: {0}"

3. Piping Script Output​

Forward the output of a custom Python script to Slack.

python my_script.py | stream-forwarder slack <WEBHOOK_URL> --output-template "Alert from Production: {0}"

Future plans​

  • Linux support.
  • Support more platforms for sending messages.

Changelog​

See Releases

Data Collection​

The application may collect basic usage statistics for diagnostic purposes. It does not collect personal data or any information passed to the application via parameters or the standard input.

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