NAME

       logtail2 - print log file lines that have not been read

SYNOPSIS

       logtail2 [-t] -flogfile [-ooffsetfile]

DESCRIPTION

       logtail2  reads  a  specified  file (usually a log file) and writes to the standard output
       that part of it which has not been read by previous  runs  of  logtail2.   It  prints  the
       appropriate  number  of  bytes from the end of logfile, assuming that all changes that are
       made to it are to add new characters to it.

       logfile must be a plain file.  A symlink is not allowed.

       logtail2 stores the information about how much of it has already been read in  a  separate
       file  called  offsetfile.   offsetfile  can  be  omitted.   If  omitted,  the  file  named
       logfile.offset in the same directory which contains logfile is used by default.

       If offsetfile is not empty, the inode of logfile is checked.  If  the  inode  is  changed,
       logtail2  uses  the  heuristics  stored in /usr/share/logtail/detectrotate/ to find a file
       that might be the rotated logfile and prints it starting with the stored offset.  It  then
       proceeds to simply print the entire new file and generates a new offsetfile.  If the inode
       is not changed but logfile is shorter than it was at the last run of logtail2, it writes a
       warning message to the standard output.

OPTIONS

       -f     logfile to be read after offset

       -o     offsetfile stores offset of previous run

       -t     test mode - do not change offset in offsetfile

RETURN VALUES

       0      successful

       65     cannot get the size of logfile

       66     general file or directory access issue

       73     cannot write offsetfile

AUTHOR

       The  original  logtail  was written in C by Craig H. Rowland <crowland@psionic.com>.  This
       version of logtail is  a  modification  of  Paul  Slootman's  re-implementation  in  perl.
       enhanced by the Debian Logcheck Team <logcheck@packages.debian.org>.

       This  manual  was  written by Oohara Yuuma <oohara@libra.interq.or.jp> and enhanced by the
       Debian Logcheck Team <logcheck@packages.debian.org>..

SEE ALSO

       logcheck(8)