Ubuntu Manpage: tail - output the last part of files

Provided by: coreutils_8.21-1ubuntu5.4_amd64

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

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

-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 lines
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 even when it is or becomes inaccessible; useful when
following by name, i.e., with --follow=name

-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.

AUTHOR

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

REPORTING BUGS

       Report tail bugs to bug-coreutils@gnu.org
       GNU coreutils home page: <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
       General help using GNU software: <http://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>
       Report tail translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>

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