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tail

Explanation​

The tail command prints the last part (usually the last 10 lines) of files to standard output. It is frequently used to view the most recent entries in log files. It also has a powerful feature (-f) to monitor a file for changes and display new lines as they are added.

Basic Syntax​

tail [OPTION]... [FILE]...

Common Flags and Options​

FlagDescription
-n, --lines=[+]NUMPrint the last NUM lines instead of the last 10. (If NUM is prefixed with '+', start printing with line NUM.)
-f, --follow[=name|descriptor]Output appended data as the file grows.
-c, --bytes=[+]NUMPrint the last NUM bytes.

Real-world Examples​

  1. View the last 10 lines of a log file:

    tail /var/log/syslog

  2. View the last 50 lines:

    tail -n 50 /var/log/nginx/access.log

  3. Follow a log file in real-time (press Ctrl+C to stop):

    tail -f /var/log/apache2/error.log