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+Introduction
+============
+
+The Log File Navigator, **lnav**, is an advanced log file viewer for the
+terminal.  It provides an :ref:`easy-to-use interface<ui>` for monitoring and
+analyzing your log files with little to no setup.  Simply point **lnav** at
+your log files and it will automatically detect the :ref:`log_formats`, index
+their contents, and display a combined view of all log messages.  You can
+navigate through your logs using a variety of :ref:`hotkeys<hotkeys>`.
+:ref:`Commands<commands>` give you additional control over **lnav**'s behavior
+for doing things like applying filters, tagging messages, and more.  You can
+then analyze your log messages using the :ref:`sql-ext`.
+
+Dependencies
+------------
+
+When compiling from source, the following dependencies are required:
+
+* `NCurses <http://www.gnu.org/s/ncurses/>`_
+* `PCRE2 <http://www.pcre.org>`_
+* `SQLite <http://www.sqlite.org>`_
+* `ZLib <http://wwww.zlib.net>`_
+* `Bzip2 <http://www.bzip.org>`_
+* `Readline <http://www.gnu.org/s/readline>`_
+* `libcurl <https://curl.haxx.se>`_
+* `libarchive <https://libarchive.org>`_
+
+Installation
+------------
+
+Check the `downloads page <http://lnav.org/downloads>`_ to see if there are
+packages for your operating system.  To compile from source, use the following
+commands:
+
+.. prompt:: bash
+
+   ./configure
+   make
+   sudo make install
+
+
+Viewing Logs
+------------
+
+The arguments to **lnav** are the log files, directories, or URLs to be viewed.
+For example, to view all of the CUPS logs on your system:
+
+.. prompt:: bash
+
+   lnav /var/log/cups
+
+The formats of the logs are determined automatically and indexed on-the-fly.
+See :ref:`log_formats` for a listing of the predefined formats and how to
+define your own.
+
+If no arguments are given, **lnav** will try to open the syslog file on your
+system:
+
+.. prompt:: bash
+
+   lnav
+
+
+Setup
+-----
+
+After starting **lnav**, you might want to set the
+:ref:`configuration options<Configuration>` mentioned below.  Configuration in
+**lnav** is done using the :code:`:config` command.  To change a configuration
+option, start by pressing :kbd:`:` to enter the command prompt.  Then,
+type "config" followed by the option name and value.
+
+.. note::
+
+   Tab-completion is available for these configuration options and, in some
+   cases, their values as well.
+
+
+Keymap
+^^^^^^
+
+The keymap defines the mapping from :ref:`hotkeys<hotkeys>` to commands to
+execute. The default mapping is for "U.S." keyboards.  The following command
+can be used to change the keymap:
+
+.. code-block:: lnav
+
+   :config /ui/keymap <keymap-name>
+
+The builtin keymaps are:
+
+  :de: `German <https://github.com/tstack/lnav/blob/master/src/keymaps/de-keymap.json>`_
+  :fr: `French <https://github.com/tstack/lnav/blob/master/src/keymaps/fr-keymap.json>`_
+  :sv: `Swedish <https://github.com/tstack/lnav/blob/master/src/keymaps/sv-keymap.json>`_
+  :uk: `United Kingdom <https://github.com/tstack/lnav/blob/master/src/keymaps/uk-keymap.json>`_
+  :us: `United States <https://github.com/tstack/lnav/blob/master/src/keymaps/us-keymap.json>`_
+
+To create or customize a keymap, consult the :ref:`keymaps` section.
+
+
+Theme
+^^^^^
+
+The visual styling of **lnav** can be customized using a theme.  The following
+command can be used to the change the theme:
+
+.. code-block:: lnav
+
+   :config /ui/theme <theme-name>
+
+The builtin themes are:
+`default <https://github.com/tstack/lnav/blob/master/src/themes/default-theme.json>`_,
+`eldar <https://github.com/tstack/lnav/blob/master/src/themes/eldar.json>`_,
+`grayscale <https://github.com/tstack/lnav/blob/master/src/themes/grayscale.json>`_,
+`monocai <https://github.com/tstack/lnav/blob/master/src/themes/monocai.json>`_,
+`night-owl <https://github.com/tstack/lnav/blob/master/src/themes/night-owl.json>`_,
+`solarized-dark <https://github.com/tstack/lnav/blob/master/src/themes/solarized-dark.json>`_,
+and
+`solarized-light <https://github.com/tstack/lnav/blob/master/src/themes/default-theme.json>`_.
+
+To create or customize a theme, consult the :ref:`themes` section.
+
+
+Log Formats
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+In order for **lnav** to understand your log files, it needs to told how to
+parse the log messages using a log format definition.  There are many log
+formats builtin and **lnav** will automatically determine the best format to
+use.  In case your log file is not recognized, consult the :ref:`log_formats`
+section for information on how to create a format.