1TAIL(1)                          User Commands                         TAIL(1)
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NAME

6       tail - output the last part of files
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SYNOPSIS

9       tail [OPTION]... [FILE]...
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DESCRIPTION

12       Print  the  last  10  lines of each FILE to standard output.  With more
13       than one FILE, precede each with a header giving the file  name.   With
14       no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.
15
16       Mandatory  arguments  to  long  options are mandatory for short options
17       too.
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19       -c, --bytes=K
20              output the last K bytes; or use -c +K to output  bytes  starting
21              with the Kth of each file
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23       -f, --follow[={name|descriptor}]
24              output appended data as the file grows;
25
26              an absent option argument means 'descriptor'
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28       -F     same as --follow=name --retry
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30       -n, --lines=K
31              output the last K lines, instead of the last 10; or use -n +K to
32              output starting with the Kth
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34       --max-unchanged-stats=N
35              with --follow=name, reopen a FILE which has not
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37              changed size after N (default 5) iterations to  see  if  it  has
38              been  unlinked or renamed (this is the usual case of rotated log
39              files); with inotify, this option is rarely useful
40
41       --pid=PID
42              with -f, terminate after process ID, PID dies
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44       -q, --quiet, --silent
45              never output headers giving file names
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47       --retry
48              keep trying to open a file if it is inaccessible
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50       -s, --sleep-interval=N
51              with -f, sleep for approximately N seconds (default 1.0) between
52              iterations;  with  inotify and --pid=P, check process P at least
53              once every N seconds
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55       -v, --verbose
56              always output headers giving file names
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58       --help display this help and exit
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60       --version
61              output version information and exit
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63       If the first character of K (the number of bytes or lines)  is  a  '+',
64       print  beginning  with the Kth item from the start of each file, other‐
65       wise, print the last K items in the file.  K may have a multiplier suf‐
66       fix:   b   512,  kB  1000,  K  1024,  MB  1000*1000,  M  1024*1024,  GB
67       1000*1000*1000, G 1024*1024*1024, and so on for T, P, E, Z, Y.
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69       With --follow (-f), tail defaults to  following  the  file  descriptor,
70       which  means that even if a tail'ed file is renamed, tail will continue
71       to track its end.  This default behavior  is  not  desirable  when  you
72       really want to track the actual name of the file, not the file descrip‐
73       tor (e.g., log rotation).  Use --follow=name in that case.  That causes
74       tail  to  track  the  named  file  in a way that accommodates renaming,
75       removal and creation.
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77       GNU  coreutils  online  help:  <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
78       Report tail translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>
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AUTHOR

81       Written  by Paul Rubin, David MacKenzie, Ian Lance Taylor, and Jim Mey‐
82       ering.
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85       Copyright © 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.   License  GPLv3+:  GNU
86       GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
87       This  is  free  software:  you  are free to change and redistribute it.
88       There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
89

SEE ALSO

91       The full documentation for tail is maintained as a Texinfo manual.   If
92       the  info  and  tail  programs are properly installed at your site, the
93       command
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95              info coreutils 'tail invocation'
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97       should give you access to the complete manual.
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101GNU coreutils 8.22               October 2018                          TAIL(1)
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