TAIL(1) GNU textutils 2.0 (August 1999) TAIL(1)
NAME
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
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
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TAIL(1) GNU textutils 2.0 (August 1999) TAIL(1)--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.
REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs to <bug-textutils@gnu.org>.
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.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright c 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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