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

6       tail - output the last part of files
7

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.
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15       With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.
16
17       Mandatory arguments to long options are  mandatory  for  short  options
18       too.
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20       -c, --bytes=[+]NUM
21              output  the  last  NUM  bytes; or use -c +NUM to output starting
22              with byte NUM of each file
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24       -f, --follow[={name|descriptor}]
25              output appended data as the file grows;
26
27              an absent option argument means 'descriptor'
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29       -F     same as --follow=name --retry
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31       -n, --lines=[+]NUM
32              output the last NUM lines, instead of the last  10;  or  use  -n
33              +NUM to output starting with line NUM
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35       --max-unchanged-stats=N
36              with --follow=name, reopen a FILE which has not
37
38              changed  size  after  N  (default 5) iterations to see if it has
39              been unlinked or renamed (this is the usual case of rotated  log
40              files); with inotify, this option is rarely useful
41
42       --pid=PID
43              with -f, terminate after process ID, PID dies
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45       -q, --quiet, --silent
46              never output headers giving file names
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48       --retry
49              keep trying to open a file if it is inaccessible
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51       -s, --sleep-interval=N
52              with -f, sleep for approximately N seconds (default 1.0) between
53              iterations; with inotify and --pid=P, check process P  at  least
54              once every N seconds
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56       -v, --verbose
57              always output headers giving file names
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59       -z, --zero-terminated
60              line delimiter is NUL, not newline
61
62       --help display this help and exit
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64       --version
65              output version information and exit
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67       NUM may have a multiplier suffix: b 512, kB 1000, K 1024, MB 1000*1000,
68       M 1024*1024, GB 1000*1000*1000, G 1024*1024*1024, and so on for  T,  P,
69       E,  Z, Y, R, Q.  Binary prefixes can be used, too: KiB=K, MiB=M, and so
70       on.
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72       With --follow (-f), tail defaults to  following  the  file  descriptor,
73       which  means that even if a tail'ed file is renamed, tail will continue
74       to track its end.  This default behavior is not desirable when you  re‐
75       ally want to track the actual name of the file, not the file descriptor
76       (e.g., log rotation).  Use --follow=name in  that  case.   That  causes
77       tail  to  track the named file in a way that accommodates renaming, re‐
78       moval and creation.
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AUTHOR

81       Written by Paul Rubin, David MacKenzie, Ian Lance Taylor, and Jim  Mey‐
82       ering.
83

REPORTING BUGS

85       GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
86       Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>
87

89       Copyright  ©  2023  Free Software Foundation, Inc.  License GPLv3+: GNU
90       GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
91       This is free software: you are free  to  change  and  redistribute  it.
92       There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
93

SEE ALSO

95       head(1)
96
97       Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/tail>
98       or available locally via: info '(coreutils) tail invocation'
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102GNU coreutils 9.3               September 2023                         TAIL(1)
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