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tail - output the last part of files
tail [OPTION]... [FILE]...
Print the last 10 lines of each FILE to standard output. With more than
one FILE, precede each with a header giving the file name. With no FILE,
or when FILE is -, read standard input.
- --retry
- keep trying to open a file
even if it is
- inaccessible when tail starts or if it becomes
- inaccessible
later -- useful only with -f
- -c, --bytes=N
- output the last N bytes
- -f, --follow[={name|descriptor}]
output appended data as the file grows;
- -f, --follow, and --follow=descriptor
are
- equivalent
- -n, --lines=N
- output the last N lines, instead of the last
10
- --max-unchanged-stats=N see the texinfo documentation
- (the default is 5)
- --max-consecutive-size-changes=N see the texinfo documentation
- (the default
is 200)
- --pid=PID
- with -f, terminate after process ID, PID dies
- -q, --quiet,
--silent
- never output headers giving file names
- -s, --sleep-interval=S
- with -f,
sleep S seconds between iterations
- -v, --verbose
- always output headers giving
file names
- --help
- display this help and exit
- --version
- output version information
and exit
If the first character of N (the number of bytes or lines) is
a `+', print beginning with the Nth item from the start of each file, otherwise,
print the last N items in the file. N may have a multiplier suffix: b for
512, k for 1024, m for 1048576 (1 Meg). A first OPTION of -VALUE or +VALUE
is treated like -n VALUE or -n +VALUE unless VALUE has one of the [bkm] suffix
multipliers, in which case it is treated like -c VALUE or -c +VALUE.
With
--follow (-f), tail defaults to following the file descriptor, which means
that even if a tail'ed file is renamed, tail will continue to track its
end. This default behavior is not desirable when you really want to track
the actual name of the file, not the file descriptor (e.g., log rotation).
Use --follow=name in that case. That causes tail to track the named file
by reopening it periodically to see if it has been removed and recreated
by some other program.
Report bugs to <bug-textutils@gnu.org>.
The full documentation for tail is maintained as a Texinfo manual.
If the info and tail programs are properly installed at your site, the
command
- info tail
should give you access to the complete manual.
Copyright
© 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is
NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
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