tail - output the last part of files
SYNOPSIS
tail [OPTION]... [FILE]...
DESCRIPTION
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 inaccessi
ble 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 equiva
lent
-n, --lines=N
output the last N lines, instead of the last 10
--max-unchanged-stats=N
with --follow=name, reopen a FILE which has not
changed size after N (default 5) iterations to see
if it has been unlinked or renamed (this is the
usual case of rotated log files)
--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, each iteration lasts approximately S
(default 1) seconds
-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)
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. Warning: a first
option of +VALUE is obsolescent, and support for it will
be withdrawn.
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.
AUTHOR
Written by Paul Rubin, David MacKenzie, Ian Lance Taylor,
and Jim Meyering.
REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs to <bug-textutils@gnu.org>.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying condi
tions. There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY
or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
SEE ALSO
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.
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