Linux commands: tail - A Quick Guide to Monitoring File Changes | Tech Wiki Online

Linux commands: tail - A Quick Guide to Monitoring File Changes

tags: Linux commands, tail command, file monitoring, log files, UNIX environment

The tail command is a powerful tool in Linux that allows you to monitor file changes. One of its best use cases is when it is called with the -f option, which opens a file at the end and continuously displays any new content added to the file. This feature is particularly useful for monitoring log files. To utilize this feature, simply run the following command:

tail -f /var/log/system.log

To exit this mode, you can press ctrl-C.

Additionally, tail can be used to print a specific number of lines from the end of a file. For example, to print the last 10 lines of a file, use the following command:

tail -n 10 <filename>

If you want to print the entire contents of a file starting from a specific line, you can use the + symbol before the line number. Here is an example command:

tail -n +10 <filename>

It’s worthwhile to note that the tail command has many more functionalities, and to dig deeper into its capabilities, you can refer to the man tail documentation.

It is important to mention that the tail command is compatible with Linux, macOS, and WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux), making it widely accessible for use in UNIX-like environments.

So, whether you need to monitor log files or quickly view the last few lines of a file, the tail command is a versatile tool available at your disposal.