iosout

iosout is a data-interchange format and accompanying tooling designed to standardize the export of runtime output from iOS applications. It provides a structured, timestamped stream of logs, events, and diagnostics from devices running iOS to development environments, monitoring dashboards, or cloud services.

The iosout format supports versioned schemas, with each record containing a header (version, timestamp, device identifier with privacy controls) and a payload encoded in JSON Lines or a compact binary form. It emphasizes low overhead, streaming compatibility, and privacy safeguards, including optional field redaction and user-consent flags. The design aims to be easy to implement on mobile devices while remaining interoperable with common backend systems.

The iosout ecosystem includes a Swift library for producing and consuming records, an exporter module for sending data over TLS, and a command-line tool to capture and route streams. Transports include HTTP(S), WebSocket, or local pipes; backends may store streams in time-series stores, document databases, or other suitable stores. The format also provides a simple schema registry and versioning to evolve data models without breaking existing consumers.

Usage typically involves instrumenting apps with the iosout API to emit logs, errors, and user interactions, optionally applying sampling to reduce data volume. Privacy considerations are central, with configurable redaction, consent flags, and user preferences respected by both producers and consumers. The specification serves debugging, QA, and observability workflows, enabling consistent telemetry across development and production environments.