Linux command: tail

tail - output the last part of files

tail /var/log/syslog : read last 10 lines
tail -f /var/log/syslog : keep reading last 10 lines
tail -n 5 /var/log/syslog: read last 5 lines
tail -n +5 /var/log/syslog: start reading from the 5th line to the end

TAIL(1)                                                       User Commands                                                       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.

       Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.

       -c, --bytes=K
              output the last K bytes; or use -c +K to output bytes starting with the Kth of each file

       -f, --follow[={name|descriptor}]
              output appended data as the file grows;

              an absent option argument means 'descriptor'

       -F     same as --follow=name --retry

       -n, --lines=K
              output the last K lines, instead of the last 10; or use -n +K to output starting with the Kth

       --max-unchanged-stats=N
              with --follow=name, reopen a FILE which has not

              changed size after N (default 5) iterations to see if it has been unlinked or renamed (this is the usual  case  of  rotated
              log files); with inotify, this option is rarely useful


       --pid=PID
              with -f, terminate after process ID, PID dies

       -q, --quiet, --silent
              never output headers giving file names

       --retry
              keep trying to open a file if it is inaccessible

       -s, --sleep-interval=N
              with  -f,  sleep for approximately N seconds (default 1.0) between iterations; with inotify and --pid=P, check process P at
              least once every N seconds

       -v, --verbose
              always output headers giving file names

       --help display this help and exit

       --version
              output version information and exit

       If the first character of K (the number of bytes or lines) is a '+', print beginning with the Kth item  from  the  start  of  each
       file,  otherwise,  print  the  last  K items in the file.  K may have a multiplier suffix: b 512, kB 1000, K 1024, MB 1000*1000, M
       1024*1024, GB 1000*1000*1000, G 1024*1024*1024, and so on for T, P, E, Z, Y.

       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 in a way that
       accommodates renaming, removal and creation.

       GNU  coreutils  online  help:    Report  tail  translation bugs to 

AUTHOR
       Written by Paul Rubin, David MacKenzie, Ian Lance Taylor, and Jim Meyering.

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright © 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.  License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later .
       This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.  There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

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 coreutils 'tail invocation'

       should give you access to the complete manual.



GNU coreutils 8.22                                              June 2018                                                         TAIL(1)