Tacview Log Analyzer

A comprehensive tool to parse Tacview XML logs and generate detailed combat statistics and analysis. Features advanced weapon tracking, pilot performance metrics, air-to-air kill analysis, and interception detection.

Features

• Comprehensive Statistics: Pilot performance with shots, hits, kills, and flight times
• Weapon Analysis: Detailed breakdown by weapon type and effectiveness
• Air-to-Air Combat: Specialized A-A kill tracking grouped by target aircraft type
• Interception Detection: Identifies when A-G weapons are shot down before reaching targets
• Web Interface: Interactive browser-based analysis dashboard
• Standalone Executable: No Python installation required for end users
• CLI Tools: Command-line interface for automated analysis
• Multiple Output Formats: Summary reports, detailed chains, and web UI

End-User Guide (Standalone Executable)

Download and Setup

1. Download the latest TacviewLogAnalyzer.exe from the GitHub Releases page
2. No installation required - the .exe is completely standalone
3. Place the executable in any folder of your choice

Basic Usage

Quick Start - Double Click: Simply double-click TacviewLogAnalyzer.exe to start the web interface automatically! No command line required.

From Tacview: Load your .acmi file in Tacview, go to File → Export Flight Log, and export as .xml format.

Command Line Options (for advanced users):

# Generate comprehensive summary report
TacviewLogAnalyzer.exe --summary your_tacview_log.xml

# Launch interactive web interface (opens in browser)
TacviewLogAnalyzer.exe --web your_tacview_log.xml

# View detailed engagement chains
TacviewLogAnalyzer.exe --chains-combined your_tacview_log.xml

# Show all available options
TacviewLogAnalyzer.exe --help

Double-Click Mode: When you double-click the executable:

• 🚀 Automatically starts web interface
• 🌐 Opens your browser to the analysis page
• 📁 Looks for XML files in the same folder
• 🔧 Uses smart port detection (8000, 8090, 9000, etc.)

Custom Web Interface Templates

Advanced Feature: You can customize the web interface appearance by providing your own HTML template:

1. Create custom template: Copy the original index.html from inside the executable or create your own
2. Place alongside executable: Save your custom template as index.html in the same folder as TacviewLogAnalyzer.exe
3. Launch normally: The executable will automatically use your custom template instead of the built-in one

# Example directory structure for custom template:
MyAnalysisFolder/
├── TacviewLogAnalyzer.exe
├── index.html          <- Your custom template
└── mission_log.xml

# Run with custom template (automatically detected)
TacviewLogAnalyzer.exe --web mission_log.xml

Template Requirements:

• Must be valid HTML with Jinja2 template syntax
• Use the same template variables as the original (vm, xml, error, hasData)
• Include JavaScript for sorting functionality if desired
• Can completely customize styling, colors, fonts, and layout

Example Template: Download the example custom template from this repository to see:

• Dark theme with terminal-style aesthetics
• Custom colors and styling
• Comprehensive comments explaining customization options
• All functionality preserved from the original template

Understanding the Output

Summary Report includes:

• Pilot Statistics: Individual pilot performance with shots/hits/kills and flight time
• Weapon Breakdown: Shots fired per weapon type for each pilot
• Flight Outcomes: How each pilot's flight ended (Landed, Shot down, Ejected, etc.)
• A-A Kills by Target: Air-to-air kills grouped by target aircraft type (e.g., "MiG-29S Fulcrum-C 12 kills")

Web Interface provides:

• Interactive browsing of all engagement data
• Sortable tables and detailed event information
• Visual timeline of combat events
• Export capabilities for further analysis

Example Usage

# Double-click the executable (recommended for most users)
# - No command needed! Just double-click TacviewLogAnalyzer.exe

# OR use command line for specific analysis
TacviewLogAnalyzer.exe --summary "2025-10-22_Mission.xml"

# OR launch web interface with a specific file
TacviewLogAnalyzer.exe --web "2025-10-22_Mission.xml"

Double-Click Experience:

1. 🖱️ Double-click TacviewLogAnalyzer.exe
2. 📝 See friendly startup message with instructions
3. 🌐 Browser automatically opens to the analysis interface
4. 📂 Browse and select XML files from the web interface
5. ❌ Press Ctrl+C in the console window to exit

The web interface will automatically open in your default browser at http://localhost:8000.

System Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
• No additional software required - the executable is completely self-contained
• Memory: Sufficient RAM to load XML files (typically 100MB+ for large mission logs)
• Disk Space: Minimal (executable is ~15-20MB)

Troubleshooting

If double-click doesn't work:

• Ensure you're using a 64-bit Windows system
• If a console window opens but nothing happens, check for error messages
• Try running from Command Prompt to see detailed error output

If the executable doesn't run:

• Ensure you're using a 64-bit Windows system
• Try running from Command Prompt to see any error messages
• Check that your antivirus isn't blocking the executable

If the web interface doesn't open automatically:

• The console will show the URL (usually http://127.0.0.1:8000)
• Manually copy and paste this URL into your browser
• If port 8000 is in use, the tool will automatically try alternatives (8090, 9000, etc.)

If the web interface doesn't open:

• Manually navigate to http://localhost:8000 in your browser
• Ensure no other application is using port 8000
• Check Windows Firewall settings if needed

For large XML files:

• The tool can handle files up to several hundred MB
• Processing time scales with file size and number of events
• Consider using --summary mode for faster analysis of very large files

For custom templates:

• Ensure your custom index.html is in the same folder as the .exe
• Check the console output for template loading messages
• Refer to the example template in the GitHub repository for proper structure

For custom templates:

• Ensure your index.html is in the same directory as the executable
• Check browser console for JavaScript errors if sorting doesn't work
• Use the example template as a starting point
• Template must use valid HTML and Jinja2 syntax

Custom template issues:

• If your custom index.html causes errors, remove it to revert to the built-in template
• Ensure your template uses proper Jinja2 syntax and includes required template variables
• Test template changes incrementally to identify syntax errors

Developer Guide

Development Setup (Windows PowerShell)

# 1) Create & activate virtual environment
python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

# 2) Install development dependencies
pip install -U pip
pip install -e .[dev]

# 3) Run tests
pytest -q

# 4) Run from source
python -m tacview_log_analyzer --help
python -m tacview_log_analyzer --summary your_tacview_log.xml

# 5) Build standalone executable
pyinstaller TacviewLogAnalyzer.spec
# Output: dist/TacviewLogAnalyzer.exe

Building Releases

The project uses GitHub Actions for automated building:

• Push to master: Automatically builds and creates release artifacts
• Manual releases: Download from GitHub Releases page
• Local builds: Use pyinstaller TacviewLogAnalyzer.spec for development builds

Project Structure

• src/tacview_log_analyzer/ – Main package
  • cli.py – Command-line interface and summary reports
  • parser.py – Tacview XML parsing logic
  • linking.py – Event linking and chain analysis
  • stats.py – Statistics computation and rendering
  • viewmodel.py – Data transformation for web UI
  • webapp.py – FastAPI web application
  • webui/ – HTML templates and web assets
• tests/ – Unit tests and test data
• .github/workflows/ – GitHub Actions CI/CD
• TacviewLogAnalyzer.spec – PyInstaller build configuration

Key Features Explained

Air-to-Air Kill Analysis

Groups A-A kills by target aircraft type using sophisticated weapon classification:

• Automatically detects A-A vs A-G weapons based on target type and weapon characteristics
• Provides cumulative counts (e.g., "MiG-29S Fulcrum-C 12 kills")
• Excludes ground targets and non-combat events

Interception Detection

Identifies when air-to-ground weapons are intercepted before reaching their targets:

• Tracks AGM, GBU, JDAM, and other A-G weapons
• Detects when they are shot down by enemy missiles
• Classifies as "intercepted" rather than miss or hit

Web Interface

Provides comprehensive analysis dashboard:

• Real-time event browsing and filtering
• Interactive engagement chains
• Sortable pilot and weapon statistics
• Export capabilities for detailed analysis